Chapter Text
"Miss Himeko, Mr. Yang's been cheating on you." Caelus said.
"He cheated on your diet journey, he has a cheat day while you don't." Caelus revealed.
Himeko froze mid-sip of her coffee, her eyes narrowing like a laser scope. “...Excuse me?” she said slowly, setting the mug down with a sharp clink.
Welt, across the table, nearly choked on his tea. “Caelus wait, that’s not what-”
Caelus leaned in, deadly serious. “I saw him, Miss Himeko. 0200 hours. Kitchen. Chocolate cake. Frosting. Fork. No remorse.”
March gasped theatrically. “Mr. Yang! You said we were in this diet together!”
Dan Heng, not even looking up from his datapad, muttered, “Told you to hide the evidence better.”
Welt sighed, rubbing his temple. “It was one slice-”
“One slice today, one slice tomorrow!” Caelus interrupted, dramatically pointing like he’d just solved a murder case. “That’s how it starts, sir. The slope… it’s slippery.”
Himeko stood up, arms crossed. “Welt. Care to explain yourself before I audit the snack drawer?”
Caelus whispered to March, “Ten credits says he pleads the fifth.”
March whispered back, “Twenty says she finds the crumbs under the coffee machine.”
Welt just sighed in defeat. “You two have far too much free time.”
"Mr. Yang, she's not innocent either. She ate 10 stacks of pancakes every Friday." Caelus revealed, much to the shock of everyone around them.
Welt froze mid-defense, turning his head slowly toward Caelus. “…What?”
Himeko’s eyes widened. “Caelus!” she barked, but it was too late.
“Oh, don’t ‘Caelus’ me, Miss Himeko,” he said, crossing his arms like a betrayed detective. “You think I didn’t notice the missing syrup bottles? The sudden disappearance of whipped cream? Every Friday, 0700 sharp, the kitchen smells like maple sin!”
March gasped dramatically. “Ten stacks?! That’s, like… thirty pancakes!”
Dan Heng finally looked up from his datapad. “You counted?”
Caelus turned to him, completely serious. “I weigh the syrup levels every morning.”
Welt raised a brow, a slow, vindicated smile forming. “So… my ‘cheat slice’ doesn’t sound so bad now, does it?”
Himeko scoffed, flicking her hair. “At least mine involves breakfast, not midnight guilt and frosting.”
March was now holding up her phone, recording. “This is better than a space opera. Keep going, keep going!”
Caelus leaned on the table. “You two should be ashamed! Leaders of the Astral Express, preaching discipline, while secretly living a double life of carbs and sugar!”
Dan Heng sighed. “...And this is why I eat in my room.”
"This is not fair, Mr. Yang. We deserve justice!" March demanded. "We want to eat deserts!"
"Yeah, even Dan Heng is getting tired of of his boring bland oatmeal!" Caelus protested.
"I never said that!" Dan Heng retorted as he pressed on his data pad without looking at Caelus.
Himeko folded her arms, arching a brow with that all-too-familiar “mom of the Express” look. “Justice? You two act like I’ve been starving you. We just had dinner.”
March stomped her foot, pointing accusingly. “Dinner is dinner, dessert is life! We demand cake, pudding, ice cream, something sweet!”
Caelus crossed his arms in solidarity. “Yeah! Even Dan Heng agrees deep down. Look at him, he’s eating mush that tastes like printer paper!”
Dan Heng sighed without looking up from his datapad. “It’s oatmeal. It’s healthy. And I like it.”
March gasped. “Lies! You don’t like it, you tolerate it! Look at his face, Caelus! That’s the face of a man suffering!”
Welt looked over his newspaper with a faint smirk. “You two could always just make your own dessert, you know.”
“Yeah, but we’d burn the kitchen down again,” Caelus admitted sheepishly.
“Again?!” Himeko snapped.
March immediately pointed at Caelus. “He started it!”
“Liar! You said we needed more dramatic flair while mixing the batter!” Caelus countered.
Himeko pinched the bridge of her nose, inhaling through her teeth. “Fine. You two can have dessert, but under strict supervision. And if I see even one spark from the oven, I’m revoking sugar privileges for a month.”
March and Caelus high-fived triumphantly.
“Justice is served!”
Dan Heng muttered under his breath, “And so is chaos…”