⏳CLOCKWORK⌛️ - timekeeper/croissant x reader

[🧩]

   You huffed, slumping down in your seat, defeated. It had been not even a day since your last encounter with the mysterious time-bending Cookie, and you were already stumped. Since the encounter, you and Croissant Cookie had been working together in an attempt to figure out just who the Cookie may be.

  "I just don't understand..." muttered Croissant, puzzled. "Why us? Surely there's a reason she's picking on you and I... unless it's random...?"

       You shrugged. "She clearly knows what she's talking about... And for some reason, she also seems familiar with the layout of the TBD."

       "Hell, I'd bet she knows more than I do!" Croissant joked, getting a smile out of you and flashing one back in response. "If she won't tell us herself, I guess we'll have to figure it out on our own."

       Suddenly, a familiar voice sounded from behind you. You flinched, hitting your knees against the bottom of the table just like last time, and you spun around, already knowing who you'll see.

       "Now you've got it! See, you two are smarter than you look," she teased, giving a playful giggle and a smirk, not unlike her usual expression. "I've been kind enough to leave clues, if you hadn't noticed. Think about our meetings more deeply... Analyze them. Then, you may find the answer you're looking for. Or maybe an entirely different answer! We'll just have to find out~!"

       Frustrated and in pain, you grumbled a response. "You really need to stop doing that..."

       "What's wrong with you?!" Croissant suddenly yelled, catching both you and the mysterious Cookie off guard. "Why won't you just tell us who you are?!"

       "Because that takes the fun out of it, silly!" exclaimed the Cookie, grinning as she sat atop her floating pair of scissors, crossing her legs. "Oh, how dull it would be if everyone always just gave you the answer... No fun, no fun at all!"

       Croissant rolled her eyes, displeased and annoyed, as the other Cookie gave the complete opposite expression—one of amusement and confidence. You took a few seconds to look towards Croissant, who was looking away angrily, but as soon as you glanced back towards where the other was, she was gone.

       "I... I-I suppose," you stuttered, looking back towards Croissant, who gazed at you with a look of bemusement. "I suppose we're missing some pieces. Like... What else happened in that rift?"

       Croissant seemed in thought for a few seconds. Then, she perked up, grabbing your hand and dragging you towards her garage, where she kept her Timecraft. Once there, she dug around in the machinery desperately, then carefully—though still quickly—removed a component.

       "This part," she explained, "was what she gave us to repair the Timecraft when we were in the rift." She turned towards her worktable, dragging you over to that as well, and picking up a seemingly identical part from there. "Look," she said, holding the components side-by-side in front of your face. "They're identical. Perfectly identical. Every scratch, every nook and cranny, every scuff. It's the same part. But, for some reason, it exists twice."

      You just stared blankly, shocked at the astonishing similarity of the two. Still, despite the clear evidence, all the common sense in your body opposes the idea, thinking up every possible explanation to prove it wrong. Still... You can't.

       "[Y/N], do you know what this means?" she asked, smiling as she put both parts down and took your hands in hers. "It means we have a lead! We have a substantial piece of the puzzle, and it's only a matter of time until we have another!"

       Only now, seeing Croissant's excitement, did a smile rise to your face as well, a blush accompanying it. Hesitantly, you held her hands back, and she seemed to blush as well now. "I knew we could do it," you said after a pause, prompting an even brighter smile from Croissant.

"We make a great team, [Y/N]!"