a͟m͟b͟i͟v͟a͟l͟e͟n͟c͟e͟ - espresseleine au

two grown men have a fight about their daddy issues

yes i am going to shoehorn half of my ships in here

no you can't stop me (also oc lore drop)

The Ancients ran us ragged the next few weeks, visiting the sea, Dragon's Valley, even the Fairy Kingdom! By the time we had brought the news to everyone, we had been living in the tree for a month.

"Oh man, I'm tired! It's good to be home. Or, temporary home at least. I miss the estate..." Ricotta pouted, after yet another run out, spreading the news and delivering invitations to even more Legendaries.

He'd been in the Dragon's Valley for a week, and I'd been visiting Tearcrown to invite Crimson Coral. Madeleine had been at Clotted Cream's, as they were apparently childhood friends.

"Where's Madeleine been?" Ricotta asked, as he already had known where I was.

"Oh, the Republic. Talking to Clotted Cream, Oyster, and the lot." I mentioned offhandedly, and saw Ricotta's mouth tighten. I was about to ask what that was about, when he stalked off, heading back to his room with his suitcase behind him.

Whatever... I thought, and went to check on Madeleine. 

He was in the middle of unpacking his suitcase, and was currently shaking his head at Dux, who was curled up right inside it.

"Hey, love." I said, walking over and sitting down next to him. He wrapped an arm around me and pulled me closer as I reached down to pet Dux. 

"Please help me get him off my good sword-polishing cloth." he said, gesturing to Dux with his free hand.

"What, so you have a bad sword-polishing cloth?" I teased, picking up the dog and putting him on my lap.

"Yeah, it's your face." he jokingly replied, petting our dog before returning to unpacking.

Hold up. When had I started thinking of Dux as 'our dog?' Actually, now that I think about it, this had been happening for a bit longer than I'd consciously recognized. I guess the domestic life was really getting to me.

Huh.

88888

"Here, take these streamers and get hanging! The streamers, I mean." I said completely rationally to Madeleine as I shoved aforementioned streamers into his arms before running off to help elsewhere.

Prepping for the party was in full swing, with everyone doing something to help. A few people had showed up early, and Pure Vanilla had had to conjure new bedrooms in addition to the large ballroom complete with fake windows for the actual party. 

Hey, wait... Something struck me. Pure Vanilla didn't conjure up a new bedroom for White Lily, I distinctly remember him only creating the three for us. I smiled as I realized what this meant. I guess anyone can find love, even in the middle of war.

As I ran, I saw Crimson Coral and her sisters doing the finer points of decoration in the ballroom, and Frilled Jellyfish sparing no surface as she aggressively cleaned the rest of the underground mansion. 

"Are you okay?" I called to her as she scrubbed a table with a dustcloth like it had kicked her puppy. She turned and smiled at me and said in reply, "I'm about to meet my lady for the first time in years, everything has to be perfect!" before going back to single-handedly destroying the table's finish.

I shook my head, and went back to Pure Vanilla for more direction. He told me to go instruct Crimson Coral's Marlin guards about the security, and I nodded before heading to wait by the door. 

They opened the door and rigidly marched in just as I got there, leaving me to wonder yet again about Pure Vanilla's omniscience. 

They marched in, and it was a little unnerving that I couldn't see their faces, but I directed them to the most vulnerable spots in the enchantment and stationed two at the door and two at the entrance to the ballroom.

The next to arrive was Pitaya Dragon, who looked angry until Hollyberry came running up and hugged them. Their face softened, and they picked her up and twirled her around as she laughed.

I noticed small things about their interaction, like gazes lingering where they shouldn't and Pitaya bending down to whisper something in her ear, which made her smile.

Time was, I would have frowned and internally chastised them for being so brazen. Now, it just made me smile and think of my boyfriend. I hadn't seen him in a few days, and I'd missed him.

I guess I have changed.

88888

The party started off well - everyone was mingling, Sea Fairy and Moonlight were dancing, the Legendaries were socializing.

The first sign of it going downhill was when, half an hour into the party, the doors swung open and Clotted Cream walked in, flanked by Financier. I saw Ricotta snap the crystal wineglass in his left hand, and he swore, repaired it, and placed it on the tray of a passing waiter. He then began to... check his nails? 

I was confused until Clotted Cream, who had crossed the room while I was looking at Ricotta, loudly say to Madeleine, drawing eyes, "Who invited him? I didn't think my little brother had this many connections."

Ricotta looked up to respond, and I saw years of lashing out at each other etched in every line on his face. "For your information, I actually helped organize this." he said, then went back to his nails. This was still completely bizarre to me, until Madeleine spoke.

Madeleine scratched his head, confused. "Wait, you two are related? You never told me you had a brother, let alone that it was my boss." 

Clotted Cream smiled in a self-satisfied way, like he was about to drop the biggest roast of Ricotta's life. "Well, that's because he's a stain on the family name."

Ricotta scoffed, and said in a quiet but also somehow deafening way, "That's not what Father said when you failed the college entrance exam."

Conversation immediately dropped out, though the DJ hadn't seemed to notice, whoever they were. But also ouch. The Republic's college entrance exam was known among scholars and teachers for being extremely easy. Several people in the room sucked in a breath, having come to the same conclusion that I had.

Clotted Cream's ears had turned red, and Ricotta smirked slightly. Clotted Cream fumed for a few seconds, before turning on his heel and stalking toward Ricotta with an expression so cold it could have applied frost to him, saying "At least I had friends as a child."

Ricotta did the same, loftily saying. "At least I got one of the highest scores the entrance exam had ever seen." A few people in the room clapped politely at that announcement, myself included, which seemed to infuriate Clotted Cream even more.

"At least I became a politician, just like Father wanted." Clotted Cream snapped back.

They came so close they were practically touching foreheads, and Ricotta hissed, again somehow loudly, "At least Father actually loved me."

The music stopped, the DJ having apparently finally taken the hint. Clotted Cream, face a mask of hate and anger, said, "Fine, Sourpuss. Be that way." and turned and left, Financier running after him and Affogato trailing out after her.

Ricotta stood for a few seconds, before burying his face in his hands as the party resumed around him. He fell to his knees, and began to quietly sob.

welp y'all are welcome