Chapter Three

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Almond turned, and behind him was none other than the very cookie he had put all this effort in for. Lord Crumbles promptly hopped out of Almond's suit, climbing onto Roguefort's, who was enthralled with a glittering suit covered in jewels and gemstones that Almond couldn't begin to fathom the price of. On an average day, Roguefort would be shrouded in darkness, masked by the shadows. But now, they were practically glowing, calling the attention of all of those around the bar. And yet, no one seemed to have a lick of suspicion. Because the suit had been cut with a pattern vastly different from their usual attire, and they wore no hat. It would seem Almond was the only cookie that recognized Roguefort in such an outfit, and he couldn't help but feel a fizz of excitement in his gut as they spun around, displaying the suit in all of its glory.

"You are precisely ten and a half minutes to our get-together," Roguefort sneered with a taunting smile, petting Lord Crumbles, who had perched upon their shoulder. 

"I had hardly an hour to prepare. Why would you set something up so early?"

"Because, my dear Almond. I wanted to spend this lovely morning with you," Roguefort placed a hand on Almond's cheek, whose heart pounded so heavily from the touch that he thought it would explode in a flurry of excitement.

 "Well, I… I didn't have the energy to…." Almond said in between breaths, suddenly gasping for air. Roguefort could sense his nervousness quite quickly and only aimed to increase it.

"It's quite alright, I accept your apology," with that, Roguefort looked down and faced the bouquet, born in Almond's hands, "Is this for me?" They asked, in a soft, almost genuine voice. 

Almond nodded quickly but didn't speak, in the fears that he would only make it all the more embarrassing for himself. Roguefort took the bouquet and smiled at Almond, a rather odd-looking smile, but it was indeed genuine, as Almond had made Roguefort happier than they would've expected. 

"These roses smell so delightful… and they're quite pretty, as well. They remind me of you, especially in that lovely dapper suit," Roguefort said, and took Almonds hand in theirs, and began to head into the bar with him. Almond felt his legs shake and was almost sure he was going to faint, barely getting a hold of himself as he walked.

“For the record, er… Just know I’m only doing this for research, as I mentioned.” 

“I know, Almond. You’ve made that abundantly clear.”

“Have I? Well… I figure it’s good to be thorough.”

“It is indeed,” Roguefort nodded, “But not when you appear as nervous as you do now,” They smiled at Almond, who let out a low growl in annoyance while simultaneously trying to convince himself that their smile wasn’t ridiculously charming.

“Don’t get yourself too caught up in anger, dearest detective! We haven’t even gotten to our table yet,” Once again, Almond couldn’t say much in protest because Roguefort promptly dragged him. The reserved table for the two of them was next to a large windowsill, one that had been noticeably polished to be clean and precise, so much so that Almond couldn’t even see a speck of dust on it. And outside of it could be viewed the crisp sky clashing against the busy streets and buildings of Parfaedia. The moon had just begun to set, with the sun cutting through the darkness, barely visible. 

Almond and Roguefort sat down parallel to each other, and Almond quickly felt distracted by the incredible view. As he looked at each building, he could remember the cases he had solved in them… tiring yet great memories. He turned to face Roguefort, who was holding the bouquet closely with closed eyes and a peaceful smile, clearly contagious because Almond began to smile as well.

Though Roguefort did not utter a word, the content expression on their face spoke louder than any sentences could. Almond wondered if the thief had anyone else in their life; after all, the Blue Cheese manor had fallen from grace long ago, and he was quite convinced that if it had not, Roguefort would’ve been someone better. Perhaps all they needed was another cookie to take comfort in, and Almond could empathize with that quite heavily.

Roguefort’s eyes opened and blinked at Almond, who had been staring intently at them for well over five minutes. They narrowed their eyes at him with a face that shifted into an imperious smirk.

“I knew I could feel someone’s eyes gazing upon me, even without having to see them myself,” As Roguefort spoke, Almond felt his cheeks go red with blush once more at the sound of their voice, which was as smooth and luxurious as silk, every word coming out with such a flow as an art piece.

“I thought I saw something on your shoulder.”

“Is that so?”

Almond only nodded.

“You’re not a very good liar, are you, detective? It’s okay to admit you were staring.”

“That is true,” Almond said with a protest, “Which is why I don't lie. I’m not lying.”

Roguefort rolled their eyes with exaggeration at Almond’s inability to admit his truths but brushed it off, as they knew he would only continue to lie about his true feelings throughout the date, and they hoped he would warm up eventually. 

"Nice view, isn't it," Almond said quietly, facing the glass of the window once again and resting a hand on the table. 

"Most certainly. Why do you think I chose such an early time, Detective?"

"To ruin my sleep schedule?"

Roguefort softly chuckled, "Haha, no, not quite. You don't need me to ruin that, after all. Don't act like your schedule was all put-together," they winked at Almond, who furrowed his brow in response and scowled at Roguefort.

"I chose this time to watch the sunrise with you," Roguefort continued, smiling at the other, who had noticeably put a hand over his face to cover the reciprocated smile that they shared, "I've always wanted to do this, Detective. It's rather thrilling to get to experience it finally."

"Yeah? Aren't you sweet," Almond quickly regretted these words, and he felt his cheeks grow increasingly hot as he blushed in embarrassment. To his surprise, as Almond turned to face Roguefort directly, he noticed that their face was just as red, the both of them thoroughly flustered at the exchange of words. A silence passed amongst them, with neither of the cookies having the confidence to speak upon Almond’s sudden remark. Even Roguefort did not say anything, only repeating Almond’s words in their head, over and over again. ‘Aren’t you sweet.’

Roguefort turned to face Almond once again with a soft smirk on their face, one that would never admit just how flustered they truly were, “Here it comes now, Almond. The sunrise.” Almond watched it and glanced back at them for a brief moment. He knew they were rather fond of jewels, and knew this was no different, as their enjoyment of the sunrise came from how shiny and vivid the colours in the sky were. And yet, it was rather sweet of them to have such childlike excitement over something as simple as this. 

In a moment of raw emotion, Roguefort grabbed ahold of Almonds hand as it rested on the table. He let out a quiet gasp in response as his heart quickly began to pound, but did nothing to resist the touch. Roguefort held his hand gently, rubbing it to coax Almond back into a state of relaxation, and though the detective was in thorough shock, he reciprocated the touch, holding onto Roguefort’s hand tightly as if his life greatly depended on it. There was something that felt so immensely right about this feeling to the both of them. It felt as if their hearts were both intertwined, and slowly enough, Almond’s heart stopped pounding so much as he relaxed into his chair, not letting go of Roguefort’s grasp. It felt almost natural to him, as if they had always been lovers all along.

“When will we do this again?” Almond asked, aware of how jittery his voice spilled out, but doing nothing to correct it. 

“Soon, Detective.”

“How soon? I figure we schedule another meet-up as quickly as possible. I can write it down, and then we’ll see-”

“Almond, shhh….Relax, my dear,” Roguefort said, placing their freehand over Almond’s lips, “I can see why you're so eager, but patience will be key. After all, that's what any good detective needs… Right?”

“I… Suppose, yes,” Almond sighed out in a quiet voice, as he guided Roguefort’s hand away from his lips, only to hold it in his own. The two held each other‘s hands, finally indulging in the peaceful beauty of the view. They did not exchange words, and yet could understand each other almost perfectly. 

Almond thought to himself once more and thought about the things he missed out on every day. If such a simple sunrise brought such joy to Roguefort, with its vivid colours, then perhaps Almond could find just as much joy in his own manner. Maybe this would explain the childlike happiness Roguefort brought upon him… They could show him a certain sense of positivity, one that he could find anywhere. A good detective was always learning new things, and Roguefort had certainly taught him something new; how to be happy.

One thing was for sure, though, nothing would be able to replace the happiness he felt in this moment as the sun rose, and the pleasant date the two spent together afterward.

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