"Where is he?" you thought, letting your feet carry you further and further north, as per your instructions. You had another letter gripped tightly in your hand, and were following its instructions detailed in those emerald green ink on the page.
When you woke up this morning to a soft rapping on your hotel door, you were greeted by an employee wishing you a pleasant morning, and held out another envelope for you to take.
"This was left for you at reception." The bellhop smiled at you holding his hand out.
"Oh, thank you very much!" you said excitedly, grabbing the envelope from him and wishing him a good day. Even though you knew who was writing them, these letters would still give you a giddy excitement that bubbled up from your stomach.
Sugar,
Meet me today around noon, North of town. Take a left at Bakery Gourmet and follow the path that leads out into the green fields. Keep walkingand I'll meet you along the path.
I give you my word that I'll meet you. Please don't turn back.
C
That was quite some time ago, but as you kept walking along the path, you noticed it was beginning to die out; the white stones becoming quite sparse before they were swallowed by a lush grass entirely. The fields stretched onto the horizon for ages, and you began to feel unease snaking its way through your body.
"Did I go too far?"
There was no trace of Coco or any sort of thing to gauge a landmark from, and by this point you were really starting to worry. Had something happened to him? Was he hurt?
…were you about to get hurt?
Even though you shook your head at that thought, you couldn't stop the panic rising in you, and you pressed all of your hope into your heart. Should you keep going? Glancing back, you noticed just how far you had travelled; Gourmet Fortune was only a small beige blur behind you, and you could barely see the ocean surrounding the small town. The wind began to whip and pushed a cloud of dirt into your eyes, causing you to wince and shield yourself from the oncoming natural onslaught. Thank goodness you wore jeans and a blouse today; this wind would have sent any skirt or dress flying upwards and revealing a little too much of yourself.
Not that anyone was around to see it.
At least, that's what you thought before a sound prickled in your ears. You swore it was a voice calling your name being drowned out in the wind. You lowered your arms and waited for that sound again. Were you just hearing things you wanted to hear?
"….(y/n)!"
There it was again! It was getting louder now though.
"(Y/n)!"
No, that really was a voice calling out to you! You faced North again and you were flooded with relief. You could begin to make out the shape of Coco's turban, before you could see his hand waving out to you.
"Coco!" you yelled back, making strides to close the distance between you both. Eventually you were face-to-face with the Heavenly King again. Well, face-to-chest more like; he was a lot taller than you and you kept forgetting that fact. To be fair, this was the first time that you had seen him in broad daylight, and you had grossly underestimated his features.
His chiselled jawline was shaped by the deep sideburns on his face, and his cheekbones were a lot more prominent in the light. Truly, Coco was blessed with a face that would definitely attract a lot of attention, and you were starting to understand why throngs of women threw themselves at him at every opportunity. Even though he was still wearing the same things as he was yesterday, the sun brought out a lot more of the definition in his muscles and you could see the shape of his biceps under his bodysuit. The shape of his pectorals hugged behind his dark coverings, and you felt your mind begin to wander at what other mysteries he was hiding beneath those dressings.
"Stop it!" You scolded yourself mentally.
"Were you waiting long?" Coco's mellow voice broke your reverie, as he once again smiled down at you with that soft smile.
"Not too long. For a moment I thought I was in the wrong place." You admitted. "I have to ask though; this is certainly a long way to go. I didn't think we'd practically be in the middle of nowhere."
"Well, it's not quite nowhere for me." He chuckled, gesturing you to follow him further.
"See that pillar there?" He pointed off to a detached natural pillar in the distance. "That's home for me."
"Oh, wow." You breathed, noticing the large expanse of space between the mountain side you were standing on and the pillar Coco's house was on.
"You're so… detached from everyone." You said sadly, wondering exactly just how far would Coco have gone to be away from people.
Coco felt the sadness in your tone, and a fleeting, subtle wave of sorrow washed over him.
"I always thought that it was best." He admitted softly, scratching the back of his head. "I still sort of do. I like my company, and it makes me feel safe."
"What in the world could make you feel unsafe?" you wondered, turning to look at him again. You had this urge to lean over and hold him close, but you couldn't. You were on the job.
"Right, well, let's get down to business." You said, taking a seat on the grassy hill. It was pleasantly soft, much to your surprise. The wind was blowing a little, but you didn't mind the warm gales. Coco followed suit, sitting down next to you. His cape brushed over your arm as he moved it behind him, and you were surprised by the weight it had behind it.
"So, I have some paperwork here," you began, pulling a small folder out from your shoulder bag and opening to a small stack of paper. "It's the boring stuff, but you know, it's all protocol."
"Of course." Coco said, watching you scan over the texts.
"Based on what we had discussed yesterday, I worked out what I think is a pretty fair price. We can negotiate it now if you like? I've also added the types of things that are expected from the both of us, and we can go over those too if there's anything you want to change."
You handed the contract to him and he started to read it while you busied yourself with searching for the pens in your bag. You had brought two, which was not something you normally did, but he seemed quite partial to the colours he liked to use, so you opted for a green and purple one to choose from. You could hear the rustling of paper while you were still scratching around, but you didn't expect him to be finished already.
"Everything seems good so far. There's just a few things I'd like to alter, if that's okay?"
"Huh?" You blinked at him owlishly. "Did you even read it?"
"Of course I did!" Coco laughed, turning back to the front page. "Good eyes, is all."
"Oh…right."
"I'd just like to add a small change to the confidentiality agreement, is all." Coco said softly. "I'm quite a private person, as you may have guessed."
"Sure, go ahead. I mean, there was always going to be that, but what did you have in mind?"
"Just a clause that this contract is not to be digitally saved in any way. I'm not comfortable with having any records of mine saved on that sort of format. I'm trying to keep myself off the grid as much as I can."
"I can do that for you, no issue." You marked the edit on the second sheet of paper. Thankfully you had taken the time to hand-write the contract this time around, inwardly praising yourself for leaving your laptop back at home. Frankly, you didn't even want to check your emails or incoming messages so you had silenced all of your notifications relating to it on your phone too; a late-night decision you were happy you had done.
"Anything else?"
"Just one more thing. Can I borrow your pen?"
"Err, okay?"
Coco flipped to the last page and began scribbling some extra digits to your final price. You watched him with wide eyes as your mouth dropped. Suddenly, your five-digit number became ten.
"Oh no, no no no no!" You said, attempting to take the paper away and cross out his edits. "Coco, that's way too much!"
"It's nothing."
"Nothing?! Are you kidding me?"
"I think it's more than fair." He said simply, holding the paper high up into the air like a schoolyard bully. "Could I have the green pen now?"
"Coco," you said, your tone almost a whine. "I can't ask that from you…"
"It's not asking if I wrote it." With that, he plucked the other pen from your hand and scrawled his signature on the dotted line. "And now, it's official."
"Oh my god." You whispered, not entirely sure of what you just witnessed, as Coco handed everything back to you with a smirk.
"Don't worry about it." He said, prompting you to put everything away. 'You might not want to lose that. It's important you know." He grinned at you playfully, and you found yourself sighing with resignation. You weren't going to win this battle, so you did as you were told.
"How old are you again?" you joked.
"Twenty-seven."
"Wait, really?"
"Do I not look it?"
"…I don't know how to answer that properly, so I'm not going to."
"Nice deflection. What else do you want to know?"
"As much as you want to tell me, I guess. The more information I get, the easier this is going to be to work with you properly."
"Let's take it in turns then. I'll need to know more about you too."
"Fair point… What's your favourite... colour?"
Coco let out a strong laugh.
"That's pretty obvious, isn't it? It's green."
"You're an idiot." You chided yourself mentally.
"I should have guessed that." You burst into laughter. "It suits you well."
"I've noticed something strange about that, though." He said, looking out over the field.
"What's that?"
"The townsfolk don't wear any green. I think maybe they believe that the colour belongs to me or something. It's not like they don't have the option available to them. It's like they all just universally decided to not wear it."
Thinking back, you did recall that there was an absence of green clothing on all the people that you saw yesterday. Now that it was pointed out to you, it was odd.
'Maybe it's a sign of respect?" you suggested. "Perhaps they think that wearing it is a bit of a faux pas unless they're personally associated with you? Like how purple used to be considered a royal colour, so only nobles would wear it."
"So, you're saying I'm royalty?" Coco joked, giving you a grin.
"I wouldn't be surprised if they thought that. You are a Heavenly King, after all."
"Hmm. I never thought of it that way. Okay, what's your favourite food?"
"That's tough... I guess I'd have to say... (f/f). Yours?"
"I have a few but...Lee Dragon's Tears Soup."
"I've never even heard of that, but it sounds delicious."
"Believe me, it is. What scares you the most?"
"Wow, we're getting a little deep aren't we?"
"You don't have to answer it if it makes you uncomfortable. I don't really know where that came from."
"No it's fine. Umm...-"
You tapped your finger to your chin again, a habit you had picked up back in your days of culinary school when you were stuck on something.
"Being afraid of dying without meaning anything to someone." You said softly.
Cocos mouth parted lightly at your answer. Truthfully, he wasn't sure how to respond to that, since it wasn't the kind of answer he had expected to come from you.
"What about you?" You asked, just as softly as you had answered.
"Scie- uh, samba outfits." He corrected awkwardly, leaving you to make a snorted laugh.
"Wait, samba outfits?!" You said incredulously. "How?!"
A sheepish look flashed across Coco's face.
"...There was a time where, for twelve nights, I had the same recurring dream of me being stuck in a samba outfit and I was dancing."
You tried to stifle your giggling behind a hand, but you were failing to even disguise them.
"Did you have the big feathers?" You choked out the question between giggle and snorts.
"Yes! They were azure! And I was stuck with these gaudy purple shoulder decorations and a purple belt and...-"
Coco covered his face with both hands, hiding his embarrassment.
"I stood out so much. I hated it. It was a nightmare and it didn't even exist."
By this point, you couldn't contain your laughter anymore and the laughs were flowing freely; so much so that you were hiccuping between words.
"I'm sorry! - I shouldn't -hic- laugh! But that's -hic- the funniest thing I've ever -hic- heard!"
Before long, the two of you were swapping different stories and anecdotes about yourselves freely for hours. You were surprised at how relaxing the whole endeavour was, and what surprised you more was how much Coco seemed to be relenting to you. You found out that he liked to read, and books about poisons and nature were a favourite of his. Neither of you went too deep about your past, but that was fine; you felt at ease, and strangely, you felt like you were making a connection with him. Still, your warnings about getting too close to a client kept nagging in the back of your mind, and you tried to push them away.
"Coco, have you got any family?" You asked, as you lay on your back staring at the sky.
"Well, I guess technically I do. You'll meet some of them soon enough."
"Oh really? Can I ask who they are?"
Coco passed a sly smile your way.
"No, I think I'll let you wait on that one." He said. You almost saw the gleam of a wink in his eye. "Although, there is someone in my family you can meet now."
"Now?"
Coco just kept smiling before drawing his third finger and middle finger to his lips, blowing a high pitched whistle. It was so loud it caused your eardrum to vibrate a little and you clapped a hand to your ear.
"Who are you-?"
"Just wait."
A beat of a moment passed and you could hear the sound of flapping drawing closer to you from behind. You whirled around and stood, watching the shadow of an enormous bird begin to descend to your resting place.
"Krrryaaaah!"
"Holy shi-"
"Hi Kiss." Coco greeted the bird enthusiastically, patting the amethyst beak of the creature.
"(Y/n), this is Kiss. He's an Emperor Crow, and I consider him family."
"Oh my god..." you whispered, taking in the sight of the incredible avian before you. His plumage was a beautiful deep purple; so dark it looked black in the shadows of its curves and edges. Red eyes watched you intently as you stood shaking in front of it. You had pulled your arms in front of you instinctively to protect yourself, but you knew that if he wanted to kill you, he'd have no trouble doing so.
"Can... can I touch him?"
"What do you say, Kiss? Is that okay?"
"Kryyyaww." Kiss squawked.
You extended a hand, not even trying to hide your fear as your whole arm shook with nerves. You opened a palm and turned your face away and closed your eyes; fate would decide if your limb made it out alive or not. Your took a rattled breath and waited.
And waited.
You felt a thick, glossy texture underneath your fingertips, and you peeked out from your eyelids. Kiss had tipped his beak towards you and let you make contact with him. Even Coco looked surprised; Kiss wasn't normally as trusting with new people, just like his master. You gently made a patting motion along his beak, taking in every small bump and ridge underneath your fingers.
"He's beautiful!" You exclaimed quietly, feeling your lips grow into a smile. "How in the world did you even get to come across someone like him?"
"I raised him from an egg I found. Since then, he's had my back ever since."
Coco continued to pat his animal friend, scratching him behind his neck in the places he knew he liked.
"He's also our ride to the banquet." Coco said quickly. "So you better get used to riding him!"
"Wait, Coco- aah!"
In the blink of an eye, Coco has ascended onto Kiss's shoulders and pulled you along to sit behind him.
"Let's go!"
"Coco, wait! What do I hold on to-!"
With several powerful flaps of his broad wings, Kiss had ascended into the air as you let out a shriek. With sheer panic, you wrapped your arms around the first thing you set your eyes on, which happened to be Coco's waist, and squeezed your eyes shut. Harsh winds whipped around you and you clung onto the body in front of you for dear life.
Having someone touch him so intensely was a feeling Coco had never experienced, so he was quite taken by surprise to feel your hands clasp together around his midriff, but oddly he didn't mind the sensation. You would never know it, but he smiled at your touch as he guided Kiss into a gentle flight.
"(Y/n), open your eyes." He said kindly.
"...I'm scared." You admitted over the wind.
"It's okay, I won't let you fall."
Slowly, you opened your eyes and gasped. You were soaring through the clouds hundreds of feet into the air, and the landscape around looked like a watercolour painting. Emerald greens of hills and sapphire pools of water blended together into a beautiful landscape around you, spotted with colours from the foliage below. The ocean sparkled under the light of the afternoon sun, and although the air temperature had changed into a crisp cloak, your adrenaline stopped you from feeling it. Goose bumps erupted over your body in sheer exhilaration. You had no words to describe how you felt.
"Doing okay back there?" Coco asked, tipping his head back to cast an eye over you. He smiled as you nodded exuberantly, not bothering to answer him with your words as you took in all of your emotions in the moment.
Coco kept smiling even as he turned away, leaving you to your wonders.
Kiss guided a lone Coco back to his home late into the night after dropping you back at your hotel safely. He waited until you were back into the building before setting off again towards home. He would never forget the way your (e/c) eyes had sparkled with admiration as you flew over the surrounding areas of Gourmet Fortune, still full of a delirious happiness long after you had landed and continued talking late into the evening.
Dusk had cast its amber rays over the hills, turning everything into a sweet orange before you decided to call it a day. Take off on Kiss was still a scary sensation for you, and he found your arms wrapped around him tightly again. Even though his fear of poisoning you immediately spiked, he settled once he realised his clothes would stop you from being hurt, and he tried to force himself to calm down at contact.
The Emperor Crow touched down outside of his house, and he thanked his companion graciously as always before heading inside. Throughout the day, Coco had noticed his heart making odd kicks that were very out of the ordinary for him. He placed a hand on his chest over his heart and felt it happen again, frowning a little at the feeling. He made a note of keeping an eye on it and began to turn in for the night, hoping the several glasses of water and the small bowl of strawberice would stop the sensation from occurring again.
Perhaps he was coming down with something. A good night's rest should fix that.