Chapter Text
Sugarfly Cookie had gone quiet for a moment as she stared into Pavlova Cookie’s eyes with wonder. “You.. you would really do that for me??”
“Of course, it’s been something I’ve been considering since I found out I could carry you.” Pavlova Cookie told her “I promise you; I will make sure you won’t fall. Just hold onto me and I’ll fly you to wherever you wish to go. Only if you’re comfortable with the idea though.”
It was hard for Sugarfly Cookie to describe the emotions she was feeling in that moment. The sheer amount of admiration and warmth she felt for Pavlova Cookie here. This offer meant the world to her, and no way was she going to let it go to waste.
“Let’s do it.” she agreed “Let’s go flying.”
“Great. Just be sure to hold on tightly. Again, I promise I won’t let you fall or drop you, but just to be safe make sure you’re holding on.” Pavlova Cookie advised “I would feel terrible if you accidentally fell..”
“Aww, don’t worry. I trust you, Pavlova Cookie.” Sugarfly Cookie stated “I know you wouldn’t let me go on purpose.”
Pavlova Cookie softly smiled. “Are you ready then?”
Reaching out and wrapping her arms around him, Sugarfly Cookie held on tightly. “I’m ready.. whew..”
“Huh? Are you nervous?”
“A little, but also excited! This’ll be the first time I’ve flown in the sky in so long…”
The excitement Sugarfly Cookie radiated could be seen and felt by just how much she was smiling. Such a gracious smile that was so precious to see. Pavlova Cookie felt that this idea had already been worth it, and he hadn’t even carried out the idea yet.
Time to follow through on that.
He asked her one more time if she was ready, and with her assurance he began to spread his wings out wide. Once his wings were ready he flapped them a few times to warm up a bit, then began to count down to three.
On three he and Sugarfly Cookie took deep breaths and after gathering up all his strength; he sprung up into the air and lifted Sugarfly Cookie up in his arms.
Upon being lifted from the ground, Sugarfly Cookie was initially startled and gripped onto Pavlova Cookie closer. He noticed this and asked if she was okay, which she was after only a few seconds. The tiniest bit of fear she felt melting away as they went further up into the air.
This feeling, the grand feeling of having the sky’s breeze flowing through her antenna and gently brushing against her wings, she had almost forgotten this amazing feeling. It gave her such an indescribable amount of joy that lit up her face with such positive radiance.
Here up in the sky she felt so.. free. How could she ever forget this beautiful feeling? It didn’t even matter that she was only able to feel this way thanks to Pavlova Cookie, just feeling it again was wonderful on its own.
Actually, the fact that she was sharing this feeling with someone made it even better.
Pavlova Cookie felt at peace being up in the sky too, though he was very focused on holding onto Sugarfly Cookie to regard these feelings himself. “How high up do you want to go?”
“Can we go past the clouds?” Sugarfly Cookie requested “I haven’t touched the clouds in so long..”
“Of course, as you wish.” Pavlova Cookie was more than happy to oblige as he rose up higher into the sky.
Thankfully there was no shortage of clouds up in the sky for the two to interact with, and plenty of fluffy ones to choose from. Pavlova Cookie started to fly up to one of the fluffiest looking ones, and upon Sugarfly Cookie’s request, started flying through it.
He recalled when Eternal Sugar Cookie was first teaching him how to fly that he had thought clouds were made out of cotton candy and was very disappointed when he found out they were just water and mist when he tried to dive into one, as he had wanted to achieve his dream of diving into a giant floating pile of cotton candy in the sky. Now however, he realized how nice and soothing the feeling of flying through such a cool and calming mist was, and it was especially prevalent here.
Better yet was the look of wonder and contentment on Sugarfly Cookie’s face as she held out one hand to feel the cloud with as Pavlova Cookie carried her through it.
Once the two had made it through the cloud, they were now elevated at such a height that they could see the Faerie Kingdom just below them. If Pavlova Cookie had flown any further or higher they’d have flown just past the barrier protecting the kingdom. Not that it would’ve been a problem, Sugarfly Cookie could easily get them back inside, yet it would be safer to remain within the kingdom. After all, who knows what dangers lurk out in the dark nights of Beast Yeast.
The two were content like this though, just flying safely above the clouds as they looked out at the kingdom below. From the height they were at they could make out the Silver Tree and some of the kingdom’s facilities. One thing they both noticed upon squinting was the sight of some faeries flying nearby the tree, but the faeries were positioned in a way that looked as though they were dancing.
Ah yes, the sky dance that Sugarfly Cookie had told Pavlova Cookie about must’ve started. The two weren’t able to fully make out how the dance was going, but it did look nice.
And hopefully Spier Silk Cookie and Breeze Cookie were some of the Cookies dancing together, maybe even Silverbell Cookie and Wisteria Cookie.
“Looks like the dance is going well.” Sugarfly Cookie hummed, a gentle smile on her face.
“Mhm.. do you want to join the dance?” Pavlova Cookie offered.
Sugarfly Cookie gave the suggestion some consideration. “Hmm.. actually, there’s something else I want to do. How fast do you think you can dive?”
“Hm? As in sky dive?” Pavlova Cookie chuckled.
“Heheh, yes. When I was able to fly I would sometimes dive down to the ground as fast as I could and then pull up right before I reached the ground, flying back up as high as I could. Do you.. think you could do that for me?”
“Ooh of course! I’ll give it a try. Just hold on tight, I might have a bit of trouble pulling up in time.”
“Oh yes, I am a bit of extra weight aren’t I?”
“Oh no I didn’t mean it like that!!” Pavlova Cookie reassured her “I just want you to be safe. Alright.. ready?”
Sugarfly Cookie held onto him tightly and gave him a confident nod. “Ready.”
Pavlova Cookie then flew out a bit before he began to dive down, closing his wings for more velocity. The speed at which the two were diving was pretty exhilarating, the wind blowing past them fiercely and blowing through Pavlova Cookie’s hair. The ponytail probably would’ve prevented it from getting messy if he had kept it on, but that was okay. He didn’t mind at all.
The ground was getting closer and closer as they kept diving, and right before they reached it Pavlova Cookie was able to open his wings as he pulled up and rose back up into the sky at such a high speed. When he pulled up he created a very satisfying gust that blew down onto the grass below.
What an exciting experience, no wonder Sugarfly Cookie enjoyed doing that when she could fly.
Speaking of whom, Sugarfly Cookie was letting out a joyous and excited laugh. “That was amazing!! You did great!!”
“Heh, glad you enjoyed it! That was pretty fun.” Pavlova Cookie smiled.
Sugarfly Cookie beamed at him. “What about you? Do you have any flying maneuvers you do in the air?”
Pavlova Cookie grinned. “I think I’ve got a few. Hold on tightly!”
With that, Pavlova Cookie lifted up Sugarfly Cookie as he began to fly out and do a few loop de loops in the sky. He was worried the maneuver might be a bit much for Sugarfly Cookie, but she was absolutely delighted by it, happily smiling and laughing the whole way through. Pavlova Cookie couldn’t help but chuckle himself.
He did a few more aerial maneuvers with Sugarfly Cookie after that, some of which were simple dives and loops, while others were a bit more exciting; like this one move that had Pavlova Cookie dive through four clouds in a row.
Didn’t matter if it was exhilarating or not though, Sugarfly Cookie was having a wonderful time. And so was Pavlova Cookie.
After a few maneuvers, Pavlova Cookie did one last spin with Sugarfly Cookie, then slowed down a bit.
Sugarfly Cookie noticed he was panting a bit. “You okay?”
“All good! Just catching my breath.” he reassured her “Mind if we slow down a bit?”
“Of course not.” she smiled as Pavlova Cookie began to gently fly right above the clouds, holding Sugarfly Cookie close.
The two were holding onto each other pretty closely, their figures being illuminated by the soft moonlight.
Guess they didn’t need to go to the dance after all, as in a way; what they were doing now was kind of like dancing.
Pavlova Cookie could feel a slight breeze blow by, yet it didn’t feel cold to him. He did notice Sugarfly Cookie had her eyes closed as she felt it go by though.
“Sugarfly Cookie? You okay? Are you cold?”
“No, I don’t feel cold at all.” she told him with a beaming smile, her forehead starting to lean against his.
Pavlova Cookie could feel his face grow warm as their foreheads leaned together. He couldn’t deny how warm her presence felt like this, how wonderful it was being up in the sky with her, illuminated by the moonlight.
He also couldn’t help but notice.. their lips were really close to each other..
Perhaps if he leaned in a bit closer…
…
…He stopped himself.
He wanted to pursue this, oh by love’s grace did he want to pursue this.
But a nagging thought in the back of his mind kept him from doing so.
He still had one more trial.
If he pursued a relationship with Sugarfly Cookie now, and proceeded to fail the final trial and had to leave, it would be devastating.
There was the chance he would pass, but in the event he didn’t, he didn’t want to crush Sugarfly Cookie’s heart by having to leave her.
He already knew what it was like to have your heart crushed, he didn’t want Sugarfly Cookie to go through something like that.
There was the option of asking her to come with him if he failed, but he couldn’t ask her to leave her kingdom. Not when tensions with Dark Enchantress Cookie and the Beasts were so high, not when she had just returned to her kingdom after being away for so long.
Not when the majority of the kingdom had yet to see what an amazing and loveable Cookie she really was.
Therefore he felt the best thing he could do right now was to wait until he had passed the final trial. After that..
Perhaps he could tell Sugarfly Cookie how he felt?
It would be agonizing to wait to tell her such a thing, there had been so many times leading up to this moment where he wanted to blurt it out to her. He supposed he could hold back a little bit longer.
..Yet there was one thing he couldn’t help himself with.
He knew doing this was risky, but he wanted to go for it. Plus it might help in signaling to Sugarfly Cookie how he felt, and that could be beneficial for when he tells her after the final trial.
Withdrawing his forehead from hers, he leaned his face close to her forehead..
And gently kissed it.
He had closed his eyes and leaned his forehead against hers again after doing that, so he didn’t she her reaction, but she was looking at him with an intense blush.
So many thoughts rang out in Sugarfly Cookie’s mind. (Did that really just happen?? Did he really just do that? Was that in a friendly manner or.. does he…)
The blush on her face grew, as did the wide smile she carried. She said nothing, just leaned her forehead against Pavlova Cookie’s and enjoyed the peaceful moment they were sharing.
This moment in the sky.. the peace of being up in the air.. with Pavlova Cookie..
She couldn’t put into the words how much she adored it.
As much as they would’ve loved for this moment to last forever, Pavlova Cookie slowly started to lower the two of them back down to the ground. Something that Sugarfly Cookie took a moment to acknowledge.
“Pavlova Cookie? Are you okay?”
“Mhm… just a little tired.. we have been flying for a while now..”
“Oh, no worries. We can stop now. The others are probably worried about me huh..”
“Right.” Pavlova Cookie agreed as he landed the two of them onto the ground “You should’ve seen Periwinkle Cookie, she was so upset.”
“Aww! Let’s head back then. Oh, and.. Pavlova Cookie?”
Pavlova Cookie tilted his head as he set down Sugarfly Cookie. “Hm? Yes?”
Before he knew it, Sugarfly Cookie had wrapped up Pavlova Cookie in an endearing and thankful embrace. “Thank you.. so much..”
..Pavlova Cookie wasn’t sure why, but he felt himself grow very emotional. He was able to withhold these emotions though as he hugged Sugarfly Cookie back. “You’re welcome.”
As the two hugged, something unexpected happened. A silver butterfly landed on Pavlova Cookie’s head.
Neither of them noticed at first, but once the hug concluded Sugarfly Cookie pointed it out. She had chuckled at the sight while Pavlova Cookie raised an eyebrow.
“Oh now a butterfly shows up.” he commented, earning more chuckles from Sugarfly Cookie.
“Heheheh, the butterflies really do like you.” she smiled, watching the silver butterfly fly off of Pavlova Cookie’s head and return to the trees “Let’s head back now.”
Pavlova Cookie agreed, and the two started walking back towards the Silver Tree, hand in hand.
When the two arrived, they found their friend group anxiously awaiting them. Once they all spotted Sugarfly Cookie, looks of relief were abundant.
“Oh darling you’re alright!” Spider Silk Cookie exclaimed with a hand on her heart.
Before Sugarfly Cookie could say anything, Periwinkle Cookie had run up to her and brought her into a hug. “Oof! Heheh, I’m okay, Periwinkle Cookie.”
“She was so worried about you, we all were.” Wisteria Cookie noted, Breeze Cookie nodding in agreement.
Periwinkle Cookie eventually let go of Sugarfly Cookie, looking at her with a relieved smile. Pavlova Cookie smiled too.
This was just further proof for Sugarfly Cookie that she did have Cookies who cared about her greatly.
“Ahem.”
Everyone turned their heads and saw that it was Mercurial Knight Cookie who had spoken up. Alongside him were Silverbell Cookie and Pine Needle Cookie.
“Silverbell Cookie filled me in on what he heard had happened.” Mercurial Knight Cookie explained, making Pine Needle Cookie step forward “Pine Needle Cookie, do you have something to say?”
A huge sigh sounded out from Pine Needle Cookie as she stepped towards Sugarfly Cookie and bowed her head. “…I’m sorry.”
Sugarfly Cookie looked at her for a moment, a contemplative look on her face. She then bowed her head in return. “I’m sorry too..”
There was a moment of silence before Pine Needle Cookie stood herself up, asked to be dismissed, and flew away once Mercurial Knight Cookie allowed her to.
Silverbell Cookie flew up to Sugarfly Cookie. “Don’t worry, she’ll come around.”
Sugarfly Cookie nodded at him. She really hoped so.
“Well, if that’s all for that matter, Soft Moss Cookie has a nice surprise for all of you.” Mercurial Knight Cookie revealed “They heard about what happened and felt bad, so they made some more milkshakes specifically for all of you. You may enjoy them before partaking in the dance, if you so wish.”
“YOU HAD ME AT MILKSHAKES!” Breeze Cookie joyfully exclaimed as she started to fly back to where the buffet area was. Spider Silk Cookie let out a laugh and flew after her girlfriend.
“Actually speaking of milkshakes,” Wisteria Cookie held up two vanilla milkshakes “been holding onto these for you. You still want them? Or do you want to get some fresh ones?”
“Aww, we’ll take them.” Pavlova Cookie decided, taking the milkshakes from Wisteria Cookie and handing one to a smiling Sugarfly Cookie “I didn’t wait in a line for nothing.”
“Ha, fair enough.” Wisteria Cookie agreed.
Together everyone flew over to a much less busy buffet and enjoyed some milkshakes together. Emphasis on delicious, these things were like an explosion of tasty sweetness.
When Pavlova Cookie finished his, he expressed a tired yawn. “Hey um.. I think I’m going to turn in for the night…”
“Aw okay!” Sugarfly Cookie told him as she finished hers “Want me to come with you?”
“You sure? I wouldn’t want to take you away from spending more time with your friends.”
“That’s okay! I can quickly come back.”
“Don’t worry, we won’t start any interesting conversations without you.” Silverbell Cookie promised. Wisteria Cookie- who’s arm was wrapped around Silverbell Cookie- agreed with a wink. Periwinkle Cookie agreed too, signing confident words to Sugarfly Cookie.
Pavlova Cookie smiled at everyone, wished them all goodnight, and started heading home with Sugarfly Cookie.
It only took a few minutes for the two of them to reach their homes, and upon arrival they had one last conversation for the night.
“Thank you again for earlier.” Sugarfly Cookie beamed “That was the sweetest thing anyone has done for me in a while.”
Pavlova Cookie smiled back at her. “No problem, if you ever want to go for another flight let me know. “
Sugarfly Cookie thanked him again, her cheeks growing more rosy. She would’ve just said goodnight and left it there, but she couldn’t help but do something else.
She leaned her face close to Pavlova Cookie’s..
And kissed him on the cheek.
Pavlova Cookie froze in response, the flush on his face growing ginormous. Sugarfly Cookie softly giggled in response. “Goodnight, Pavlova Cookie.”
It took a moment for Pavlova Cookie to say anything, but he recalled something that made him snap out of his trance and pull something from his pocket. Sugarfly Cookie’s pink hibiscus.
“Goodnight, Sugarfly Cookie.” he told her as he handed her the hibiscus.
Sugarfly Cookie gratefully took the hibiscus back, gave him one last hug, then waved goodbye as she made her way back to her friends. Pavlova Cookie watched her go with a warm feeling in his heart.
He savored this moment for as long as he could before flying over to Periwinkle Cookie’s old home and heading inside.
Inside the home he quickly found his way to the bed and laid down on it. It was only then that he let out a deep breath and gathered his thoughts.
It was hard to tell what the future would hold, but after tonight.. the idea that someone might love him no longer seemed so unlikely.
…
Why did that idea make him so emotional?