Fandom oneshot book [Requests open]

[Cookie Run: Kingdom] Yan! Pitaya Dragon Cookie x Fem! Reader

requested by: nayliet (idk where the tag went when I put it here the first time...)

(C/F) Cookie sobs quietly to herself as she dries her eyes in the otherwise deserted portrait room. A typical day in the Hollyberry Palace should never involve this many tears. Regardless of her efforts, her tears continue to fall.

It has only become like this recently. In the several years she served as a retainer in the Palace, nothing had ever made her cry quite as much as the monster that had recently started occupying the castle. The legendary Greenish Red Dragon (Pitaya Dragon Cookie) has recently been taking advantage of Her Majesty, Hollyberry Cookie's, absence to control the Kingdom–in particular the Palace and all the servants in. Unfortunately, they seemed to have a special hatred for (C/F) Cookie. She could not do anything without that beast seeing something worth ridicule. Bring them berry juice? It's not the kind they wanted. Assist with cleaning their scales? Even their most meticulous touch is too careless. It was bad enough that even when she was performing other work in the Palace, if the Dragon happened to be passing by, they'd find some fault with her–imaginary dust left in places and the like.

This wasn't the first time she had found some isolated place to cry like this, and—so long as they are here—it certainly won't be the last. Everyone has some degree of criticism they can tolerate, but this is just far too much. Even colleagues she used to get along with are avoiding her, or adding to the mountain of insults the dragon spat at her to not be targeted next.

The door creaks open and she looks up to see a very familiar face—the Cookie who was the entire reason she hadn't quit yet. "There you are (C/F) Cookie," (Sibling/Flavor) Cookie smiles, "I was looking for you." (S/F) Cookie is a respected member of the Royal Guard, and (C/F) Cookie's best friend. Even with all their duties, they tried to find her whenever they had a moment. With the nightmare her life had been recently, it felt as if they were the only source of support she had left.

Their smile drops the second they see her face. "Not a good day then..." Pulling her into a tender embrace, they angrily say, "If Queen Jungleberry Cookie hadn't specifically forbidden it, I'd give that lizard a piece of my mind. You don't deserve to be treated this way!"

(C/F) Cookie shakes her head, "It's fine. I won't crumble because of a few insults and nitpicks..." There's more to quitting than just leaving anyway. They both have been serving in the Palace for years–she had trained many servants while watching (S/F) Cookie rise the ranks in the guard– to leave now would be to start over completely. She would be labeled a failure of a servant for abandoning the Palace and that would destroy both of their reputations. All the respect they both—and in turn their tiny, commoner house—had gained would be gone. The mistreatment would likely be far worse at some noble's chateau, who feels as if they're doing her a favor by employing her at all; she'd never hear the end of how having her there drags their family name through the mud. No, tolerating the insults of a dragon who barely understands the work she does is far better than anything like that...

"Look, (C/F) Cookie, I know you're going to play this off like it's no big deal, but it is!" (S/F) Cookie leans back to look her in the eyes, tightly grabbing her shoulders, "I don't care if it means you need to go on sick leave or something, you can't keep this up!"

"Yes I can!" She tries to assure them, but they shake their head.

Shaking her shoulders gently they say, "I know you too well to believe that. Whenever I have a minute with you alone, you're in tears. I'm not going to step in, I know it's not my place to, but it hurts to see you cry so often." They carefully dry her eyes and joke, "Your dough's salt levels have probably gone up like 4% due to how much you've been crying. I'll have to start calling you Salty (C/F) Cookie!"