Cookie Run - The Calling Card

Chapter Three

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.