i͓̽t͓̽a͓̽i͓̽ ͓̽i͓̽t͓̽a͓̽i͓̽ ͓̽n͓̽o͓̽ ͓̽S͓̽I͓̽C͓̽K͓̽ ͓̽S͓̽I͓̽C͓̽K͓̽ {Cookie Run}

ᴎoiƚɒƚi|idɒʜɘЯ

The poison was finally clearing out of her system; the battle was over, and she had been victorious. But alas, war was not without its casualties:

Dr. Bones Cookie had been quite apologetic, and very apparently frustrated about their own limitations the entire time, even if no one held it against them that they were essentially running an entire miniature hospital by themself. When Alchemist Cookie was finally discharged, she was essentially wheelchair-bound. She wasn't incapable of walking, but the pain and fatigue that it brought was too much to be reasonable, and she was far too at risk of stumbling, falling, getting hurt-

The amount of time it would take to recover her walking ability was uncertain. If she ever did, then the disuse of her legs would likely mean she'd need physical therapy to be able to use them again. But at this point, she was just happy to go home...

Even if she would still need some degree of taking care of. The doctor still recommended she spend most of the day resting at the very least. Her brother would have to take care of her, a̷g̷a̷i̷n̷s̷t̷ ̷a̷l̷l̷ ̷p̷r̷o̷t̷e̷s̷t̷s̷ ̷o̷f̷ ̷h̷e̷r̷s̷.̷ ̷S̷h̷e̷ ̷h̷a̷d̷ ̷b̷e̷e̷n̷ ̷t̷a̷k̷e̷n̷ ̷c̷a̷r̷e̷ ̷o̷f̷ ̷f̷o̷r̷ ̷l̷o̷n̷g̷ ̷e̷n̷o̷u̷g̷h̷.̷

S̷h̷e̷ ̷w̷a̷s̷ ̷c̷e̷r̷t̷a̷i̷n̷ ̷i̷t̷ ̷m̷a̷d̷e̷ ̷h̷i̷m̷ ̷n̷o̷ ̷b̷e̷t̷t̷e̷r̷ ̷t̷h̷a̷n̷ ̷w̷h̷a̷t̷ ̷h̷e̷ ̷h̷a̷d̷ ̷b̷e̷e̷n̷.̷

B̷u̷t̷ ̷h̷e̷ ̷s̷e̷e̷m̷e̷d̷.̷.̷.̷ ̷j̷u̷s̷t̷ ̷f̷i̷n̷e̷ ̷w̷i̷t̷h̷ ̷t̷h̷i̷s̷ ̷p̷r̷o̷s̷p̷e̷c̷t̷.̷.̷.̷?̷

"What if I never get better...? What if you're stuck taking care of me for the rest of my life?"

"C'mon, sis, aren't you the one who goes on about giving stuff in return...? Honestly, you shouldn't have been giving it in the first place, but... hey, at least now you get to sit back and relax, right?"

"..."

"...come on, give yourself a break for once. You deserve it, you know."

...

Recovery really was going to be a long process...

But she had her brother, and he was actually going to put in the effort to moderate himself. And she had never been more happy to be in those grape juice-smelling rooms of their home again.

(The smell had just barely begun to fade...)

And there at home at last, they were surprised by her brother's friends- Sparkling Cookie had been trusted to watch the house for all the times her brother was out to see her, and with how Vampire Cookie had so excitedly relayed the news to him that she was coming home that day, he had invited Herb Cookie and Mint Choco Cookie over to welcome them home.

...the latter two were clearly more there for her brother, and she supposed she couldn't blame them as beyond the belated 'thank you's for keeping her alive until the ambulance had arrived, she didn't really have anything to say to them either. They just didn't really know each other that well.

...

But the former, sitting to the side and patiently listening to the rest, chiming in here and there- she wheeled right up to him and plainly stated: