Chapter Text
Roquefort Cookie hung up their hat and cloak in what they called 'Bleu's Hideout', but their daughter Walnut Cookie called 'the shed with the gardening tools'. They didn't like lying to her, but they just couldn't tell her that they were the infamous Count Bleu, aka Roguefort the criminal and thief. They couldn't tell her that they were constantly trying to stay ahead of the famous half-pint detective, or that there were millions of diamonds worth of stuff so close to their house. This didn't make them feel guilty, the cookies he stole from had more than enough, and Roquefort often gave back some of the spoils to the less fortunate. If it weren't for the fact that they also collected interesting yet stolen pieces, they would call themself a modern-day Robin Hood. But the Robin Hood of legends was not as materialistic as Roquefort themself.
Sitting at the kitchen island with a steaming cup of coffee, they reflect on their previous night. They sighed, as that evening, they had come too close to being caught. While they did leave clues in the hopes of creating a compelling mystery, they usually were at least several steps ahead, but the detective was able to crack their clues faster than they anticipated. Next time they would have to up the difficulty, after all, they had a daughter to come home to and a cat to take care of. Sir Crumbles the Third and Walnut were their pride and joy. They stand up, dusting off their hands on their vest. They can worry about being better at their job later, for now, they need to greet their daughter and serve her an afterschool snack as soon as the bus got to their street.
***
"And I almost got them! Count Bleu! I absolutely despise them! They just think they can steal whatever!" Walnut gripes to her friend Peppermint Cookie while on the school bus. "I just.. Urgh!"
"Hey, it's ok," Peppermint says softly, patting her shoulder gently. "You'll get 'em next time."
"But I was so close!" Walnut whines as the bus comes to a halt. "Well, this is my stop, want to come in? We can study together and my ren will make us snacks and dinner. Ren is such a great chef, I think it's because they're French."
"Tempting offer," Peppermint ponders. "I have a new story from the Icebreaker, want to hear it?"
"Of course! I'd love to!" Walnut beams and the two walk off the bus together, hand in hand.
***
Roquefort loves playing the host. Nobody can deny that, as both a civilian and a criminal, they are incredibly charming. That's why they get so excited whenever Walnut brought home a friend. Children are much easier to impress than adults. Hell, tell a child that they can open a jar and they'll look at them starry-eyed. Today, they were giving the kiddos some carrot jellies while they worked on an elaborate dinner. They smiled to themself as they remembered stealing the jellies from Carrot Cookie, which serves her right for being a capitalist bootlicker. Carrot Cookie wouldn't even miss these, and they were overpriced anyway.
"Ren, I didn't know you went to the store today!" Walnut chirps, shoving a carrot jelly in her mouth.
"Oh? Right, I did, Crevette," Roquefort fibs. "I know you like them a lot."
Peppermint shoots a confused look at Walnut who promptly ignores it as Roquefort leaves the room to grab juice boxes from the pantry. With this, Peppermint changes the subject. "So about Bleu-"
"Icks Nay on the Leu Bay!" Walnut hisses once she's sure her parent wouldn't hear her. "Ren wouldn't let me go around unsupervised at all if they knew I was a detective, or if I wanted to catch Bleu. They're so protective, and they'd freak if they knew I was getting myself into danger!"
"Oh, sorry," Peppermint whispers. "I was only thinking, what if you asked that newspaper boy... Cashew... no... Peanut..? He could help you. What with his insider perspective."
"Chestnut! You're right, I can't believe I didn't think of asking him before! Peppermint Cookie, you're a genius!"
***
Chestnut Cookie shivers as he locks up the storage container. Considering that it houses some of the last memories of his parents, along with his printing press, the key to the door is one of his most prized possessions. He grips it tightly even though it is securely around his neck. There are a lot of places around town that he can hang out until tomorrow. Pudding Cookie's house? No, their parents are starting to get suspicious. The school? He doesn't want to show up too early. He settles around a bench in front of the bakery. Sure, it's not that comfortable with the wind, but if he digs around the trash, he'll probably find some kind of snack. But for now, he settles down on the bench, pulling up the fresh copy of tomorrow's paper. It details Count Bleu's last heist, and though he and Pudding wrote it, he still gets the same thrill reading it over and over.