Madeleine Grows a Pair

3 - A Cover Up, That's What it's Called

He was about to leave Madeleine's home in the most dignified way possible while mentally screaming at himself for accepting his offer, but Espresso had to stop when he got to the entrance.

"Madeleine."

"Yes?" Madeleine peeked his head into the entryway.

"What do you plan to do about all of..." Espresso started, gesturing at the dried jam on the walls and floor, "this?"

Madeleine paused, having a lost look on his face. He seemed to have forgotten about his jam-stained doorway.

He started threading a hand through his hair while looking away, "Well, I was planning on getting a rug for the floor since there's no way that's coming off."

"Well, it's comforting that you thought that far at least. I'll be taking my leave now," Espresso reached for the door.

"Wait!" Madeleine reached out to stop him, "I..."

He looked at a loss for words.

He also looked incredibly embarrassed.

"Can you..," Madeleine paused, curling up his hair in his hands nervously, "come with me?"

His wings flattened against his form. Espresso hesitated. He had so many questions about why the paladin acted out of character. As much as he wanted to ask them, he held back the urge.

Espresso decided to go with the safest question, "May I ask why?"

The mood in the room significantly changed. Madeleine still kept his nervous demeanor, but he started to talk, "I don't want anyone to know about, well..."

He gestured to his wings, which fluttered slightly but were still pressed against his side.

"I don't even know why I'm so nervous about them, and it's probably just me being irrational..." Madeleine started rambling.

"Okay." Something about the overly confident paladin he was used to suddenly venting about his insecurities made him feel uncomfortable. Espresso wasn't familiar with that side of him, "I'll go with you."

Espresso brought a hand up to his face in thought, "We do need to find a way to hide your wings though. Go grab one of your capes. That should do."

Madeleine looked surprised, but steeled himself and ran to grab a cape.

In a few moments, he skidded into the doorway with a cape hanging from his shoulders.

Espresso analyzed the fit.

Madeleine shifted uncomfortably, holding up one of the sides of the cape to reveal a wing, "Yeah... I don't think it's working."

"A winter cape, maybe?" Espresso suggested, "If my memory serves right, your winter capes have white lining on the insides."

Madeleine left again and returned with a similar cape, but considerably bulkier. It looked more weighted, a bit like a blanket.

He put it on, and the cape hugged closer to his frame. It seemed stiffer than the other one.

It also hid Madeleine's wings perfectly.

"Do you think I'm underdressed?" Madeleine asked, not seeming to have an issue with the cape itself, just his overall lack of flair.

"We're just getting a rug. You should be fine," Espresso opened the door and beckoned him over, "let's run along now."

They exited the house, the door slamming shut with a loud SLAM. Both cookies cringed.

"You need a new door, too," Espresso added, "later, though."

Espresso couldn't handle getting a rug AND a door. One thing at a time for now.

Both Madeleine and Espresso made their way through the kingdom to the marketplace.

On the way, Espresso caught a glance of Latte in the distance. She smiled and waved from her spot seated outside of the cafe.

Great. Espresso was not looking forward to his sister barging into his house to talk about him being 'less of a shut-in' and 'finally getting friends.'

Espresso spared a glance at Madeleine. The paladin was beaming, bobbing his head from side to side as he walked. He seemed to be doing better.

Just how painful was it to grow wings?

Sure, Madeleine was fine now, but how much pain did he have to go through? Nobody was there to help him. He was alone.

There was so much jam in the doorway. Losing that much was enough to kill a cookie.

How Madeleine kept up his cheery appearance, especially after such a traumatic event, was a mystery to him.

Madeleine jumped suddenly, his arms reaching out as he gasped, "Espresso, look! That one's perfect!"

Looking where the other was gesturing, Espresso deadpanned at a blue and gold patterned rug. It looked all too over the top and reminded him all too much of Madeleine. He was about to criticize the hell out of it as well as the paladin, but then he looked back at him. Espresso's heart stopped.

Madeleine's cape fluttered as he had an animated look on his face. He was filled with excitement. The wings, well hidden under his cape, spread out. The cloth shifted to reveal them. The golden specks on his feathers glimmered in the sun like the brightest glitter.

They complimented his overjoyed expression perfectly.

It couldn't have been more than a second when Espresso jolted forward, wrapping his arms around Madeleine, pulling at his cape and wings to secure them in place. It couldn't have been a more impulsive spur-of-the-moment decision.

"I am so sorry," Espresso apologized, "I know you didn't want me touching your wings."

He kept them in place still. He supposed the paladin's wings were incredibly expressive, going along with his emotional highs and lows. That would explain their current predicament, at least.

Still, Espresso felt incredibly displeased at the situation, "Can you try to calm down?"

He looked down to Madeleine for a response, only to find him staring back, eyes as wide as moons.

"I can't," He said, wearing a shaky smile. He looked somewhere between overjoyed and terrified, "I'm just so happy."

Espresso couldn't understand how such a stressful situation could be happy until he felt arms wrapping around him. Madeleine beamed, "You're hugging me!"

Ah, that was it.

Still, though, Madeleine's breath was shaky, and Espresso felt trembling against him. Maybe they had tried going outside too early. Maybe they should have figured out more about Madeleine's wings.

Madeleine perched his head on Espresso's shoulder, looking past him and at the storefront from before. His eyes were trained on the rug.

Espresso was suddenly pulled tightly against his accomplice, feeling his legs leave the ground as he was picked up. Madeleine strode up to the merchant, still hugging Espresso tightly, and made his first purchase as a winged cookie. He acted as if he didn't just avoid a disaster moments ago.

Espresso could not believe this man's audacity.