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Waking up early on a Saturday morning was NOT something Cylindria wanted to do, as her senses registered her bed, and the quiet sunrise was bringing the sounds of nature through her window, her mind (and her heart) was racing.
She had one of those dreams again.
Her eyes blinked open, and sucked in a breath.
A wish fulfillment, a romantic evening, leading up to the perfect confession.
She mentally cursed herself for thinking about it again. But just as quickly as she shut herself down, the feelings came crawling in and settled in her heart. Heartbeat steadily picking up the pace she absentmindedly gazed across her dorm room.
'Even when I try to fight it, it never goes away.'
She sighed; a while ago she had come to terms with it. Turning back to stare at the ceiling, her thoughts drifted.
He's been more exhausted as of late, the ghost attacks against the city have gotten a lot more frequent. Luckily, the ghost gang had informed them that the next attack wasn't going to be until a week from now. Still she knew that Pac was tired.
Well, as tired as he allowed himself to show.
Yawning, she stretched in bed, slowly sitting up.
He has a lot more weighing on his mind than he lets on. If it wasn't Spiral picking up on his best friend's feelings, it was her. And she was a lot more poingiant in that regard. If he felt upset, she did as well, and she would want Pac to open up about it if he could. Although, there was one feeling she could never read correctly from him. She didn't like to dwell on it for too long.
Yesterday was particularly a tiring one for them all, up all night fighting ghosts till midnight. It left the three friends exhausted. Pac most likely the one most burnt out by ghost gobbling. Cyil began to worry.
Swinging her legs to the side of her bed, she realized she didn't have anything planned to do today.
And suddenly she had an idea to cheer Pac up. It might be a long shot, but if it's from the heart he'll surely appreciate it at least.
Walking down the hallway with a white pastry box in her hands, Cylindria was having second thoughts about this.
Pac would undoubtedly be greatful for any type of food that's offered to him. But would he recognize this was made from scratch? By her? Would he recognize the many hours she spent that morning mixing, baking and decorating? Did she do a good job at communicating that through this baked good?
Now she was doubting herself too.
Sighing, she brushed it off. She knew him. Even if he just did scarf it down without looking, he would thank her immensely. And his thanks was always genuine. Especially to her and Spiral.
Ahead of her she took note of Pacster and Spiral's dorm room doors.
Maybe she had put too much importance on this. It was just a gift for a friend. An important friend. ...not just a friend.
No. He wasn't just a friend to her.
A breath got caught in her throat, and her heart fluttered.
'Come on Cylindria, get it together. You don't want to be a Pinky right now.'
It was pretty obvious how much Pinky crushed on Pac. And Pac seemed to respond fairly well to her, but never to an extent that made her certain. Still, the thought was always bittersweet. On one hand, she wanted Pac to be happy and would always support his decision no matter what. On the other, her own heart heaved with pain whenever the possibility floated by her conscious. She only knew for sure that what she was feeling now was the real deal. And it sucked sometimes.
Clearing her head, she came up to the door and briefly knocked on said door. It was mid afternoon by now and she was told by Spiral that the afrementioned Pac-Man had went to take a cat nap.
After a minute she heard his voice shout.
"Come on in!"
The door slid open, and Cylindria walked in. She came to find Pacster watering his special berry plant gifted to him from his lost parents, making tidy of the window sill. She smiled a little. It looked like he was feeling better.
"Finally getting some cleaning done?"
Pac recognized her voice immediately, turning around to greet her with a chortle. "Just the window sill for right now. Still haven't gotten around to everything else."
His dorm room wasn't too messy, however empty cardboard boxes of cereal, snacks and one or two pizza boxes were still scattered about, mostly on other furniture. As Cylindria was glancing around the room, Pac noticed the box in her hands. He put down the small watering can and walked over to her pointing to said box. "What's that?"
"I was up earlier than I wanted to be this morning, and I was thinking about you." She glanced away briefly at that before continuing, a hint of bashfulness glimmering against her glasses. "I wanted to make you something as a way of saying thanks. For everything you've done for Pac World.... and for everything you've done for me." She gestured the box out to him with a kind grin. "Whether it had been big or small."
Pac took the box from her, curiously opening it.
His eyes met the most beautifully decorated cake he'd ever seen. It was frosted with white, piped with yellow ribbons from a large star tip from the side up to the top edge of the round cake. The top of the cake was iced with intricate flowers of yellow, soft blue, vibrant periwinkle pink and black.
Pac was seemingly taken aback. Glancing up to Cylindria. "You made me a cake?"
She nodded with a smile and a bit more pep to her voice. "Yep. Vanilla with Lemon-pellet filling layered cake. All from scratch. I know it's one of your favorites."
He stared in awe at the baked good. He didn't know what to say.
'Wow.'
He had to ask again. "You made this by yourself? Just for me?"
Cylindria just nodded this time, slightly confused and a little anxious at why he was taking so long to start scarfing it down.
No, instead his gaze was locked on this gift, nay, this.. piece of art made for him.
And suddenly, just that single thought alone had stopped him dead in his tracks. Pac knew good food when he saw it, but this, this was not just a quick swallow down and call it a day. That would be... inconsiderate! A realization that shocked him quite a bit.
After a long moment of silence, Cylindria was holding her tounge, concern and anxiety fighting to be her most weighted emotion in the moment. Finally Pac gazed up to her, a open mouthed smile stretching across his face.
".. Something this beautiful deserves to be shared!"
Cylindria blinked, not exactly expecting that response. Pac shuffled across the room, pushing aside an empty pizza box on an end table and setting the cake down.
As Cylindria watched him, she wasn't too surprised. He'd probably go get Spiral and the three friends would share this cake together. Which defeated the purpose of this being such a personal gift from her, but hey, she wouldn't judge him for it. But then, curiously, the Pac-Man didn't leave the room. Instead he was going through his drawers, then to the closet, searching for something. Cyli tilted her head slightly, curiously puzzled.
Just as she inhaled to speak, Pacster turned around holding two plates & forks, and a cake/icing spatula. He came back over to her, handing her a plate. "Don't worry, it's clean." He winked to her playfully as she grabbed the plate with a hand. Her face was twisting into one of disgust so he chuckled a smidge and reassured her. "Really, I promise."
Cylindria silently scoffed, taking the plate with an equally playful remark. "Says the guy who took these out of his closet."
Pac laughed, the two of them going over to where the cake now stood. "Ha, you should see Spiral's half of the closet. He's messier than me!"
He began to cut the cake as Cylindria raised a brow, gesturing around his room with the hand holding the fork. "Really? Cause the both of you I'd say make an equal amount of mess."
Pacster rolled his eyes this time, lifting up a piece of cake he cut. "Okay, okay. I suppose that's true."
He gestured the piece of cake to the pinkish Pac-worlder, to which she was lightly surprised but happily held out her plate to. She then quizzically watched him take a piece of cake for himself, placing it on his plate.
Shuffling over to his bed, he sat down criss cross, setting the plate on his legs. Cyli glanced at the chairs across the room, then to him. Pac noticed her thinking and kindly gestured to her with a hand, patting the empty space beside him. "You can sit with me if you want."
She stood a little straighter, being hit with a dash of flutters. "Oh, okay." Cyli took his offer and came to sit beside him, the two beginning to eat their slices.
Thoughts were racing through her head, trying to decipher Pac's odd behavior at this time. For anyone else how he was acting was normal. Which wasn't normal for him. He kept glancing between her, the cake slice, and away as he cut his piece with his fork- he was using a fork- carefully, slowly, watching the fluffy-moist confection compress against the weight of the pressure of the fork, bouncing back slowly as he picked up the piece.
He was savoring it! Eating he hummed, his eyes lighting up and a grin pulling the curves of his mouth. "mm- This is amazing!"
Cylindria smiled slightly, glancing away. "Yeah? Thanks.."
Pac was intentionally holding himself back. He knew Cyli had put her all into this cake, and eating it the way he does would be disrespectful. He didn't want to hurt her feelings in any way. He never wanted to hurt her when she was being true.
True.
He sat up a little better and glanced to Cylindria, who was slowly eating her slice. And- wait, was she stealing a glance at him? Well, he was acting strange to her. He smirked a little, hatching a cheeky idea.
While she wasn't looking, he used his pointer and middle fingers to scoop up a small amount of cake & frosting, and abruptly smeared some on her cheek, catching her by surprise and she gasped.
"Pac!" Her sight immediately snapped to him as Pacster started to snicker at her peeved demeanor. He playfully flinched for a tap that never came.
"Heh, heh- Sorry." He apologized genuinely, but didn't make much of an effort to hide his mirth. It was too easy.
Cylindria huffed, but was smirking a little as she rolled her eyes and glanced away. "Ugh, you're so immature." Though, she always found him strangely endearing. Taking out a napkin from somewhere and raising it to her cheek to wipe it off, she was going to ask if something was bothering him, because of how he was. But suddenly Pac felt overcome with strange courage.
The moment Cylindria had finished wiping the frosting off, Pacster leaned over and planted a peck on her cheek. Cyli's face bloomed with a deep shade of pinkish-red, eyes widening, glasses shimmering and lips parting just a little. She had been stopped dead in her tracks by the unexpected act.
Pulling away, Pac abruptly realized what he had just done, flushing a bright red and covering his mouth with his hands. He gasped internally. Cylindria slowly raised a hand to said cheek, still feeling the fleeting warmth of his lips against it. She turned to him, awed eyes meeting anxious ones.
There was a shocked moment of silence, before Pac began to panic, still blushing madly, his hands fumbling around as he tried to say anything. "I-I'm sorry! I don't know what came over me! I didn't mean to- well, I kinda did mean to but- Ah!- I- I mean- I'm not trying to be weird, I, I just- " The truth made it out of him eventually, a cocked smile sheepishly squirming its way onto his face pressing his pointer fingers together. "I just really like you."
Cyli blinked in surprise, hand still settled on her face. "You do?"
He relaxed a tad, speaking truthfully. "Of course I do. You're one of my best friends. Though truth be told, I like you a lot more than just a friend."
Cylindria was astounded. She couldn't believe it. It made her want to shout out and fawn over the fact. But, before she could celebrate, instead she grew self conscious. She glanced down at the half eaten piece of cake in her lap, an eye being hidden by her staple stray piece of hair. A frown drew down her lips. "...Why?"
"Huh?" Pac was confused.
Cylindria glanced up to him, her hand falling to her side. "Why me?"
Pacster simply just smiled, like the answer was obvious. He set his plate & utensil aside before speaking. "Why not? You're smart, witty, honest, and super cool! Not to mention pretty."
At that she shyly glanced away, grinning meekly, deeply flattered at his complements. Pac went on honestly, scooting forward a little bit closer to her. "And, you're always looking out for us. For me. You always know when I need a talk. When I need a talking to. When I'm feeling down. Heck, you hand-crafted a cake for me because you knew I needed it! And honestly, I did need a pick me up like this."
He glanced at her hand, deciding to gently lay a hand over hers, attention all on her. She felt herself blush lightly at his kind gaze. He was grinning sheepishly, cutely nervous just a tad. "You can read me like a card. You do things because you know it is what's right. You are perfect to me because you are simply you."
She had to glance down at his bedsheets, it was almost too much.
Sitting up straighter, Pacster found confidence in his voice. "And for the record, Skeebo was a fool for ever dumping you."
Cylindria gave a chuckle at that, nodding with a humourous "mn-hm". In hindsight she was glad he dumped her when he did, it was like a weight off her shoulders.
Speaking of weight on her shoulders...
She looked back up to Pac, asking a question she was admittedly unsure to ask. "But, what about Pinky?"
It was silly but she felt it just had to be clarified. Pacster seemed surprised Cyli asked, however, he was more than willing to answer, scratching the back of his head with a nervous demeanor glancing to the side. "Pinky? Well, she's cute, and I like her, but," His sight came back to Cylindria, as his hands went to hold both of hers. A dreamy & affirming look seeping into his expression, staring into her eyes. "She's not the girl I fell in love with way back when."
Pac immediately realized what had slipped out, eyes widening a bit as his cheeks grew warm. "Uh, did I say that out loud?"
Meanwhile Cylindria was filling to the brim with happiness, eyes shining and a beam brightening up her face. She was absolutely giddy, launching a hug onto Pacster. "I'm so happy you feel the same!"
Pacster felt himself smile, and he reciprocated the hug warmly. "Sorry it took me so long to say something."
She glanced to the side at him, audibly exhaling. "That's okay. It took me a little while myself."
Pac departed from the hug first, scooting back a smidge, and picking up his plate beside him, bringing his attention back to it. "Oh, And thank you for making this cake! It's scrumptious!"
Cylindria smiled small, waving it off while briefly glancing away. "It was nothing."
Attentively she noticed Pac stop himself from picking the slice up from the plate, glancing to the fork beside him, his shoulders slightly tense.
Taking a sigh, she rolled her eyes with a head tilt. "Yes Pac, you can eat the whole piece, it won't hurt my feelings."
Pacster relaxed immediately, and flashed a brighter grin. "Just wanted to make sure." And with that he gulped down the piece of cake effortlessly, humming with satisfaction and rubbing his stomach.
Cyli then suddenly had a mischievous idea of her own. Playfully nudging him with an elbow, she commented on his surprise kiss. "You know, that was very bold of you. Didn't know you had the guts."
Pac flustered, bashfully chuckling while shyly glancing away, rubbing a finger under his nose. "Ah, uh, it was sort of an instinct thing Cyli. Kinda by accident, heh."
Cylindria let a fond upturn raise the corners of her mouth, crossing her arms. "...You're a such a lovable dork."
"And you're silly Cyli." Pac teasingly retorted.
Her grin morphed into a smirk, emboldening her next move. "Well, what I'm about to do next isn't just an accident."
Blinking, Pac began to speak. "What's that supposed to- Mm!"
He was silenced rather quickly- with a bold kiss against his lips.
Cylindria had her hands on his cheeks, pulling him into her brazen kiss. At first Pac's eyes widened, absolutely caught off guard. But quickly, his eyelids closed, and his hands went to hold her shoulders.
They melted into the kiss, it becoming sweeter and gentle. Pac felt lighter than air.
As they were lost in the blissful euphoria, who else would begin to walk in to the dorm but Spiral, about to cheerily greet his best friend. Though, immediately noting the scene, froze in his tracks and backed out of the room the way he came. Needless to say the two had failed to notice their red friend.
Finally the two departed, both blushing with reddened cheeks. Pacster found a chuckle, staring into her eyes. "That wasn't fair."
Cylindria winked, giggling a little too. "Had to get you back somehow."
Pac's laughter got a little louder, planting a sincere peck on her forehead. "Okay, you got me there."
He glanced behind her shoulder to the cake still standing on the end table, getting an idea. "What do ya say I pack this cake away and we go out somewhere? Just the two of us?"
"Really? You wouldn't invite Spiral?" Cylindria tilted her head.
Pacster waved a hand, hopping off his bed. "Eh, it wouldn't kill him to be left out of this one." Cylindria smiled a little, doing the same as Pac stored the cake away.
Walking up to the door, Pac held out a hand to Cyli. "Let's get going before Spiral gets back from practice." Cylindria smiled sweetly, taking his hand graciously.
They walked out of the dorms hand in hand, a brand new happiness in their hearts. Though, from behind, Pacster would have sworn he heard someone whisper his name.
Glancing behind him, he saw his best friend Spiral standing just behind their dorm entrance, grinning like an idiot at him, giving Pac a thumbs up. Pacster had to hold back a laugh, blushing a bit, smiling and giving a thumbs up back. Then doing a zipping motion over his mouth.
Spiral did the same, and smirked as he watched them walk away. When the newly found couple was out of view, he spoke out loud, talking to himself. "Man, took them long enough."
The couple decided to keep themselves a secret for now, and Spiral held his tongue against them, Pac and Spiral now having a silent agreement between each other. And Cylindria? She was just relieved and overjoyed for what this new adventure would bring.