Not The Way I Used To Be [Pure Vanilla Cookie x Reader]

?? Chapter 9 - A City to Behold ??

More people filled the streets, bustling with talking and people just trying to get to their next location. Healer cookie, who now pulled his hood over his head, was walking very close behind me and avoided looking up. Maybe he was just paranoid.

The buildings surrounding me felt unfamiliar, I don't remember going down this area when I last visited. As my eyes bounced between each of the tall and colorful buildings, I failed to notice the cookie that magically appeared before me.

"Hey! Watch where you are going!" An annoyed biscuit cookie yelled into my face. I apologized profusely as I walked around them. We weren't going to get anywhere at this rate.

After the pushing and shoving from surrounding cookies, a flash of pretty light caught the corner of my eye. I looked over and saw an ice cream stand. The ice cream, while kind of scary, had large eyes and a big smile, which looked all too familiar.

"Hey wait I think I remember this place, c'mon" I rushed between cookies, running up to the stand. Gazing for a moment, it clicked, my uncle had brought me here once, the ice cream he got me gave me food poisoning, and we both agreed to never go here again.

Just around the corner, I saw a medium-sized red brick building. That had to be the one, and so I scurried over to it. The building was smaller than most of the surrounding buildings in size, but it was very fancy, with large amounts of light fixtures and flashy gold borders. This was the one.

The door pushed open with ease, as I fell into the main hall, a small desk was at the front, and a carpet led over to a hall of stairs, and an elevator. The lights glittered on the ceiling and filled me with excitement. Healer cookie, on the other hand, stumbled in after trying to catch his breath.

"Is this it?" He asks in between deep breaths, looking around at the few doors on the first row. "Which door is it?" I shrugged.

Hey, what can I say, my memory isn't that great. How would I be able to remember such a small number from over 10 years ago?

"We can just knock on each of the doors until we find him-" I started as he dramatically fell to his knees.

"No offense Y/n but, I think your medicine sucks. It helped a little but now I'm tired and knocking on doors doesn't quite sound like what I'd like to spend my afternoon on." He mumbled, before sitting against the wall in a more natural position.

There could only be so many people in this apartment, and if I got lucky, it would only take me a few tries to find the right room. I can do this by myself. The first few doors were random cookies I didn't know, the middle 2 were vacant, and the last one didn't answer. So up the stairs, I go.

The next level all had cookies living in the apartments, but none of them was my uncle. It wasn't until the level after that, the 3rd level, the 2nd door from the stairs, that I knocked and waited for a cookie.

Swinging open, the door revealed a beer-bellied, balding middle-aged cookie. He looked at me with a questioning look, before gruffly asking, "What do you want?" I recognized him, not my uncle, but his boyfriend.

"Is my uncle home?" I asked, rocking back and forth in the balls of my feet, peaking slightly behind him. He huffed and motioned for me to give him a second. The door shut, and a few moments later, it reopened to reveal a slightly more familiar face.

My uncle, a shorter less gruff cookie, with white shiny long hair. He held a cigarette in his hands, the smell was overpowering.

"Ah, Y/n. Tough bastard to show your face around here. What do ya want?" He swirled his hand around, before blowing the smoke into my face. I fanned it out of my face, and a little less enthused, I explained.

"I'm trying to get home. I don't know how I ended up all the way out here but, I have to get back. Plus.." I lean in closer to his ear and whispered, "I met a guy, he can heal and stuff." I back away again, not pleased with the scent radiating off of him.

"Maybeee he can help heal Coconut, my other cousins, my nephew, and, maybe even your daughter." My words carried a happy tone that did not translate well. His eyes went cold, and he slammed the door in my face. Through the door, he yelled, "That's not fucking funny Y/n, you shit. Get out of here."

What?

"What do you mean?" I asked through the crack of the door, not sure why he flipped the switch so quickly.

"If that's some sort of sick joke, I don't want to hear it. You know how much her death impacted me, asshole. Fuck off." He yelled back, his voice getting farther away from the door. She's dead?

Surely not, I don't remember her dying, had I not just talked to her a couple of weeks ago? She was fine then.

"I don't know what you mean, I just talked to her a while back, when did this happen? I don't remember that." I raised my voice more so he can hear it, and out of concern. A silence, only the sound of a tv show quietly playing in the background. I leaned against the door to listen in.

The door opened again, and I almost fell into the room. I catch myself and look up at the cookie.

"Are you being serious?" He seemed less angry, but still upset in a way. I nodded.

"Y/n, what's the last kid your aunt, Piña Colada had?" His voice was stern, gradually getting less upset. Wasn't sure how this was supposed to help but, that seemed like a pretty easy answer.

"She just had a kid, maybe a week ago? Haven't learned their name yet, why?" She never gave me a name, just kept me updated on the progress before I seemingly dropped off the face of earthbread.

The glint in his eye warned me but his smile felt safe, he chuckled and invited me in. I smiled back, before remembering I forgot Healer downstairs.

"Hold that thought, I'll be right back"

I rushed down the stairs, and on the last floor, my eyes fell on an asleep cookie, leaning against the wall, using his bag as support for his back and hugging the bird plush.

"Hey, Healer, I found the room. I'm sure he wouldn't mind you resting there, let's go."

Leading him up the stairs, I was regreeted by my uncle, as he held the door open for me and the healer.

The apartment was below average, and you'd think it would look nicer based on the interior of the hallways. The carpet was stained, and the furniture looked like it was scrapped together with wood and some school glue. The place gave an eerie vibe, it felt dark and heavy on my chest and made me dizzy. Alas, I didn't often live in much better conditions so, I wouldn't judge.

I sat Healer on the couch beside me, as he rested back, and gazed at the two unsightly men in front of us.

My uncle seemed to stretch his head, and lean in from his chair, staring the healing cookie directly in the eyes.

"You look... familiar."