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I'll admit, I loved the 2025 update with the Citrus Squad.
I will also admit, I don't understand WHY the four are so popular (I got into Cookie Run through OvenBreak, right around the time that White Choco and Whipped Cream Cookie were unlocked), but their dyanmic is very interesting. We've got the classic love triangle and a tagalong kid, but we also have the dynamics within the dynamics like Lime Cookie's jealousy of Lemon Cookie and her annoyance with Grapefruit Cookie and how Grapefruit Cookie truly idolizes Orange Cookie, though I'd like to know what Lemon Cookie sees in Grapefruit (which is the only thing I felt was missing in the Starfall Islands update). I always loved Orange Cookie for her personality and her beautiful Summer festival outfit, but Cookie Run Kingdom gave her plenty of time to shine when it came to her relationships with the cookies. We can truly see her as the mom of the four in their bond story: not only does she care for them, but THEY equally care for her. Lemon Cookie says it best that she's able to bring cookies with contrasting viewpoints together just by being the voice of reason and the heart of the four.
Cookie Run Kingdom: Citrus Squad Love
The fireworks finished exploding in the sky, leaving nothing but the stars shining in the distance.
The Citrus Squad smiled and laid back on the sand, feeling refreshed after the splashing around in the sea. It felt like magic at how everything came together. The night sky, the stars twinkling in the water, the crackling fire made from driftwood...it was just like in the movies Orange Cookie grew up with. A zesty summer of sand, surf, sun, soda, and solidarity.
"Dum de dum," Marshmallow Bunny Cookie hummed, preparing marshmallows and sweet potato jellies by the fire. The marshmallows were roasted to perfection, ooey-gooey with a nice light brown char. "Playing by the ocean really works up an appetite, don't you think? Oh, I need to go grab some roast meat jellies, I'll be right back!"
A pink and blue bunny-eared burrow poofed to Marshmallow Bunny Cookie's side. She hopped off and the burrow disappeared in another puff of blue and pink smoke. Once she was gone, that was when Orange Cookie spoke.
"This was the best summer I've ever had," she said, orange eyes gazing off at the moon. "And it's all because I had all of my friends together to celebrate it with. Seriously, you three are the best type of friends a cookie could ask for."
"You totally scared us back there!" Lime Cookie exclaimed, cuddling her beach ball. "Tripping on yourself and then going all that way to gather the crystal coal for the fireworks? What if you were injured and broke your arm?"
"We could have used Marshmallow Bunny Cookie's burrows to teleport us to the nearest hospital," Lemon Cookie stated simply.
"Well, what if Dr. Bones' hospital was closed by the time we got there?" Lime Cookie exclaimed in a panic. "Do you know how long it would take for your dough to heal? You wouldn't be able to hang out or play tennis if you're stuck in bed for the rest of the summer."
"Well, summers come and go, but memories with my friends are fleeting," Orange Cookie said. "I can go through anything as long as I'm with all of you."
"Hmph, you're way too humble," Grapefruit Cookie noted, having removed her roller skates to allow her dough to rest against the sand. "Why don't you let one of us take care of you instead? Why do you always have to be so self-sacrificing?"
Lime Cookie gasped. "Grapefruit Cookie, do you not understand how much Orange Cookie does for us? She's the one who patched my beach ball together, she's the one who helped buy you those spare kneepads during the holidays and, as much as I hate to say this, she's always looking up new games for Lemon Cookie's console."
"You have any idea how hard it is to find good visual novels that aren't based on romance?" Lemon Cookie snarked. Before Lime Cookie could make another snarky remark, Lemon Cookie sighed. "Stop trying to deny it, Grapefruit Cookie and I know how you feel about Orange Cookie."
"What?" Lime Cookie's face turned red.
"It's kinda obvious," Grapefruit Cookie replied nonchalantly. "The way you were hugging Orange Cookie and how freaked out you were at Lemon Cookie's SOS signal firing about. I mean...I get what you feel about Orange Cookie."
"...Huh?" Lime Cookie asked in confusion.
Grapefruit Cookie sighed. "You wanna know why I hang out with you despite not being into ball games? It's because of Orange Cookie. She's...she's everything I'd like to be as a cookie. Active in sports, active in taking the lead in our activities, always taking care of us and knows us better than we know ourselves. She's not afraid to take risks, she's not afraid to step in to resolve conflicts, and even though I personally don't find ball games fun...I like being with someone who just accepts me as I am."
Lemon Cookie and Lime Cookie stare at Grapefruit Cookie in silence. Grapefruit Cookie continued.
"Before she came along, I thought I didn't need friends. All I needed was my skates and some place to roam free. But that all changed when I sat down on the same bench as Orange Cookie and we accidentally swapped energy drinks cause our bottles looked similar. Embarrassing, I know. But then we started talking about all the types of drinks we liked and she said that she loves lemon-lime energy drinks because of how they remind her of the two most important cookies in her life. That's when I asked if she thought limes and lemons were the same."
"And I said that it was ridiculous. Limes and Lemons can be sweet and sour, and they have their own unique properties!" Orange Cookie said with a smile. "And that's when I invited her to come visit again so I could introduce you to Lemon Cookie and Lime Cookie and Grapefruit Cookie took the risk and here we are!"
"So that's why you made that comparison..." Lemon Cookie mused.
Lime Cookie frowned, but then she looked up at the sky. "Hey Grapefruit Cookie...I'm sorry for what I said. I didn't seem to understand what it felt like for you to be ostracized from all the fun activities we do. When Lemon Cookie fired his SOS signal, I thought it was all of you having fun setting off the fireworks without me. And when Marshmallow Bunny Cookie started striking up the crystal coal, I realized that in the end, both of us aren't so different. We're acerbic on the outside with hints of sweetness on the inside. We just...want someone who cares for us."
"...I'm sorry, but I might have some soda water in my ears." Grapefruit Cookie said. "Did you just apologize to me?"
That made Lemon Cookie and Orange Cookie blink in surprise. It was rare for Lime Cookie to offer an apology.
"Well, yeah..." Lime Cookie said. Then she pouted. "What, so it's weird for someone to start apologizing to you?"
"I mean, you kinda made a good point," Grapefruit Cookie admitted. "I push others away because I'm just...afraid of being close. And yeah, I don't have fun with all of your ball games even though Orange Cookie willingly gives me an invitation to do so. But in truth, I'm scared. I'm scared of opening up to others and making a big fool out of myself."
"..."
Grapefruit Cookie continued. "But it's thanks to Marshmallow Bunny Cookie that I figured out what I really want. I...I just really want to be like Orange Cookie and have you guys like me for who I am! Both of you have known Orange Cookie for a long time and there's just this...divide between us due to me being seen as a kid. I thought if I was able to take on all the traits you liked about Orange Cookie, I'd be more likable."
"Oh, Grapefruit Cookie!" Orange Cookie said, hugging the roller skater. "That's really sweet that you look up to me like that, but in reality I really like seeing you be so confident in your skating and dance moves under a disco ball. You're so wild and free, capable of zipping through obstacle courses with your eyes closed! In truth, I don't want to force you to do anything you don't like. But if you ever want to have a chance at ball games, do you think you can teach me how to roller skate as well?"
"Huh? You want to learn roller skating from me?"
"Mm-hmm! I play sport games with Lemon Cookie, I've learned how to perform a Zesty Spike with Lime Cookie, but I'm willing to try how to roller skate to see what it feels like."
Grapefruit Cookie looked quite flustered. "You don't need to do this for me, Orange Cookie."
"But I'm not doing this for you, I'm doing this for myself. To try new things, regardless if I'm an expert at it. Sometimes, all you gotta do is try. That's how I managed to break through the crunchy exteriors of Lemon and Lime Cookie."
Lemon Cookie and Lime Cookie blushed and looked away, but Orange Cookie still beamed wide.
"Friends can have different hobbies but still be close." Orange Cookie continued. "And if you truly want to indulge in your dancing, Lemon Cookie mixes his own music from time-to-time. Maybe you can dance under them and give him some feedback?"
"Huh? I didn't know you did that!" Grapefruit Cookie exclaimed.
"Well, you don't ask and I don't tell," Lemon Cookie stated flatly. "Truthfully, I'm a bit shy in sharing my music with others. Though I do admit that I put a lot of respect towards Parfait Cookie. She went out there and performed her heart out even when it started raining. I wouldn't be able to do that; I'd short circuit everything before the first beat dropped."
"Wow, ya learn something knew every day!"
"There's so much that you don't know about us and a lot that we want to learn about you!" Orange Cookie concluded. "So, what do you say?"
"Hmmm...I say...sure, I guess." Grapefruit Cookie said.
"Oh come on, show Orange Cookie a little more gratitude!" Lime Cookie said, tossing her beach ball at Grapefruit Cookie's head.
"I mean...thanks a lot, Orange Cookie." Grapefruit Cookie said, tossing the beach ball back to its owner.
"That's the spirit!" Orange Cookie cheered. "Our hearts are burning with so much passion!"
"...and so is our food." Lemon Cookie said, turning to see the sweet potatoes still roast on the campfire.
"Oh crumbs," Lime Cookie groaned. "Quick, we did bring graham crackers, and chocolate right?"
Thankfully, the sweet potatoes were roasted to perfection, and as always, Orange Cookie came up with a great idea for everyone to share.
"How about we top the sweet potatoes with the marshmallows, crush the graham crackers, and let the residual heat melt the chocolate?" she suggested. "That'd definitely be a fun way to eat s'mores!"
There was a unanimous agreement amongst the four as Lemon Cookie snapped the chocolate pieces in half, Grapefruit Cookie handled crushing the graham crackers, Orange Cookie sliced the sweet potatoes in half, and Lime Cookie plopped the marshmallows on top. The four of them immediately started devouring their dessert with wide grins on their faces.
"That was totally yummy!" Grapefruit Cookie said. "Can't wait to tell S'more Cookie about this."
"Oh yeah," Lemon Cookie said with a smile. "They and Cannoli Cookie helped us with our camping trip last time."
"I remembered it well!" Orange Cookie smiled. "But I think this camping trip was much better than that one, because we were all able to just....find ourselves. We certainly didn't have a moment of self-reflection around like a campfire. Guess that's another thing to scratch off my bucket list!"
"Oh Orange Cookie, you always come up with the best ideas!" Lime Cookie exclaimed. "That's what I love about you!"
"You're exaggerating," Orange Cookie said humbly.
"No, it's true!" Lime Cookie said. "Ever since we met, you've shown nothing but kindness towards me. I've wanted nothing more than to become a cookie who you'd love back. You're so kind, and considerate, and self-sacrificing, and energetic, and even though you have a thing for outdoor activities, you took the time to make Halloween costumes for all of us without any of us asking! You were cheering me on at the beach volleyball tournament, you keep listening to many of Lemon Cookie's songs -- many of them I begrudgingly find to be catchy in spire of myself -- and you even gifted Grapefruit Cookie some new wrist guards for Christmas! You're an amazing cookie and I love you because of that!"
Orange Cookie blinked, same with Grapefruit Cookie and Lemon Cookie. Then, one of Marshmallow Bunny Cookie's burrows poofed itno appearance, and the blue and pink eared bunny hopped out with a large bag of meat jellies.
"Sooooooo, what did I miss?" she asked.
Orange Cookie looked at Lime Cookie bashfully looking away, then she smiled. "Lime Cookie, I love you too!" Orange Cookie professed.
Lime Cookie nearly dropped her s'more stuffed sweet potato in surprise. She couldn't believe it. She was going to hear Orange Cookie confirm her love for her?! Her heart would explode like the fireworks! "You...You do?"
"I love you, and all you guys!" Orange Cookie said, hugging Lime, Lemon, and Grapefruit Cookie. "And I'm never going to forget this summer for as long as I live!"
Lime Cookie was silent, unable to say anything. She confessed her love and Orange Cookie said she loved her back...but not in the soulmate way! Not in the way that Lime Cookie wanted!
But then she smiled. Of course; this was how Orange Cookie was. She loved everyone differently. And ultimately, that's what Lime Cookie loved about Orange Cookie. She had enough heart to share with everyone. Besides, one day there will be a chance for Lime Cookie to pop the question. She heard that Grand Mariage was accepting of couples of all types after all!
Orange Cookie laughed as Marshmallow Bunny Cookie decided to roast the meat jellies. She picked up a cup of leftover Four Citrus Punch. "Come on then, Citrus Squad! Let's celebrate to our friendship!"
"Yeah, our friendship!" Grapefruit Cookie said, raising her glass to the air.
"Agreed," Lemon Cookie's response was straight to the point but his smile was sincere. "And a toast to our fearless leader, Orange Cookie. To whom I have found no better friend to drag me out of my comfort zone. Thank you for everything."
"No, thank you for taking a step forward to doing something brand new!" Orange Cookie replied. "I'm glad you've been able to welcome Lime Cookie and Grapefruit Cookie with other arms; the old you would never done such a thing."
"It's because I had someone at my corner," Lemon Cookie admitted. "When I look at you, I see the sunset. It is beautiful and romantic, and I do adore it...but I like it when that beauty is shared with others."
"Wow, didn't know you were a poet!" Orange Cookie laughed. "What about you, Lime Cookie? You have anything to say?"
"T-totally! Citrus Squad Forever!" Lime Cookie cheered.
"CITRUS SQUAD FOREVER!"
And thus, it was said that on the day the bonds of the Citrus Squad grew closer than ever, the stars seemed to twinkle in a quartet of colors: vibrant orange, lively green, crackling yellow, and sparkling pink.
"Hehehe!" Marshmallow Bunny Cookie cheered as she too joined in on the sharing of punch. "Love comes in all sorts of flavors, so it's important to share them with others. And who knows? Maybe you will find a love that you've never thought possible. The possibilities are endless. Oh, by the way, can I have one of those s'more sweet potatoes as well!"
"Of course!" Orange Cookie smiled. "And may the adventures of the Citrus Squad never end!"