Chapter Text
Pizzapants desperately needed a break. His entire love life had been shattered in only a day, due to the discovery that his online girlfriend was, in fact, not real at all, a character played by 2 of his... Well... Definitely not friends. Not only that, but he JUST had to find out in front of the ENTIRE TOWN during the festival. He couldn't have been more embarrassed.
In simple terms, he was cooked.
Pizzapants decided to put himself first for once and took the day off from his job the next day. Screw Ice-EE! His manager had tried to guilt-trip and even threaten him into working, but hell if he cared anymore. Pizzapants debated staying in his apartment the entire day, but with the internet outage across Hometown, he'd be waaay too bored. So, he decided to go to the local diner, QC's, and grab a cup of coffee. He sat in a booth in the corner alone, nursing the cup as he thought about the events that took place the day before.
The memories stung like lemons squeezed directly into his eyes, if not worse. The person behind the text messages and character itself, Nice Cream Guy, was an… alright coworker. He wasn’t unbearable like others, but not exactly a friend. Pizzapants always felt something was off about his coworker, that behind the facade of punch cards and smiles, was a cruel and mean person, and boy did he find that out.
Finding out that his girlfriend, Pizzarina, wasn’t real hit Pizzapants in the gut, and every time he thought of it was like adding salt to an open wound. Painful. Tear jerking. Good on fries. Pizzapants took a sip of his coffee, staring into the dark brown liquid topped with a design of a heart. It made him clench the handle with white knuckles.
As Pizzapants started debating walking into the lake east of Hometown, the sound of the door opening jolted him out of his thoughts. He looked up to see who came in, and then immediately regretted it.
There entered the Nice Cream Guy, though he was anything but “nice.” He wore a gray jacket, a stark comparison to the usual bright yellow shirt he sported to work. His ears drooped, showing maybe… sadness? Guilt? Maybe even pure joy at Pizzapants’s losses. Nice Cream Guy walked straight to the counter, probably ordering a drink. Probably the Pizza Drinker 3000™. Though it wasn’t like Pizzapants just knew that! He, well, saw that Nice Cream Guy liked it.
After being handed a drink in a blue mug, Nice Cream Guy glanced around QC’s for a seat. His eyes locked with Pizzapants’s for just a moment. Just a moment… Turning his head to break the gaze, Pizzapants felt a hot blush creep up his neck. What was this feeling?! It was just the same old Nice Cream Guy! He brushed the strange, yet pleasant, feeling, but his appearance showed he was flustered. His cheeks were red, his eyes were wide, and his hands shook, the coffee in the mug he held sloshing around inside.
Nice Cream Guy seemed to hesitate on looking away, his gaze lingering just a moment too long on Pizzapants’s face. He walked to a seat, just a few longs strides with the help of his long legs. He shoved his face in his hands for a moment, as if going though choices that got him in this moment. Presumably the start of the “Pizzarina” prank, the escalation, the festival… the rest was too painful to try and relive.
Pizzapants dared to peek through his fingers to see where Nice Cream Guy would sit. Hopefully far away. In a perfect world, maybe even leave. But this wasn't a perfect world. His heart sank deeper and deeper with each step Nice Cream Guy took towards him. It couldn't have gotten any worse, until...
"...is this seat taken?"
Pizzapants froze, pausing an uncomfortable amount of time before responding. It was a stuttering, stammering jumble of words. “Uh-I-You-Oh-I-Y-Yeah! Er, uhm, n-no, it’s not!” Pizzapants tried to smile, but it was awkward and forced. “Nice,” responded the Nice Cream Guy, sliding into the seat in front of Pizzapants.
Nice Cream Guy fidgeted with the sleeve of his gray jacket, unsure of what to say. Both trying to speak up at the same time, they both stutter out, “U-Uh-“ before shutting up, both men feeling like complete idiots.
“So, uh. Good weather today…” said Nice Cream Guy, looking up at Pizzapants with a forced “Can We Just Make Up” face. He was caught off guard for a split second when he noticed how fluster his coworker looked. “O-Oh yeah, v-very good!” Pizzapants stuttered out, attempting to respond. He had no idea what was happening to him. His palms were sweaty, his cheeks flushed with red, if he had a sweater there would be vomit on it already, and a strange feeling, one similar to humiliation and fear, pooled in the bottom of his stomach. With a brave breath, Pizzapants met Nice Cream Guy’s eyes, seeing the sincerity in his gaze. It made his face slowly go back to its normal color, his nervousness seep out.
Both monsters sat at the booth, neither sure what to say. The almost peaceful silence lasted about a minute, until Nice Cream Guy spoke up again.
"I'm... Um... Sorry, about everything."
The pissed-off feeling came straight back to Pizzapants with the reminder of what he was referring to. So that's why Nice Cream guy was here. He was going to humiliate him, to get his forgiveness just to laugh at him again for being naïve. Well he was NOT falling for that again! He stared at Nice Cream Guy with dead eyes.
"Uh huh."
He kept his face stone-cold, waiting to see how Nice Cream Guy would react. He knew how he was. Nice Cream Guy was ever so charismatic, always able to convince anyone to do anything. It sure was useful for customers and sales, but Pizzapants refused to let him have his way with him this time. This was an unstoppable force meeting an immovable object. But he also noticed how Nice Cream Guy acted in this moment. Rubbing his fingers on his mug, leg bouncing, eyes darting anywhere that wasn't Pizzapants's face. He was so uncharacteristically nervous. But why? It was clear he didn't care about him, going through with that stupid prank for so long.
...but what if he did? What if the apology really was sincere? A billion what-ifs ran through Pizzapants's head, intrusive thoughts plaguing his mind. What if he'd meant what he said in those messages? What if it was never a prank?
What if Nice Cream Guy actually liked him?
NOPE! ABSOLUTELY NOT! NO! NADA! STOP IT! Pizzapants struggled to come back to reality from that last thought, his entire body getting warmer. Thank God mind readers didn't exist. He realized there was still someone right in front of him, and turned his attention to Nice Cream Guy. But the fantasies stayed in the back of his head, running a mile a minute.
Nice Cream Guy shifted in his seat, the anxiousness and nervousness radiating off his blue fur. Needing to do something with his hands, Nice Cream Guy picked up a menu, a few in a stand for people to just grab. He looked over it, not really caring about what he read. His mind was somewhere else, thinking, trying at least, of what else he could say.
‘I didn’t mean to hurt you,’ Nice Cream Guy could say, but didn’t. He meant to try to get Pizzapants’s trust back. He didn’t know why he felt so… guilty. It was Bratty’s idea it in the first place, he just helped text because Bratty isn’t the best writer in Hometown. Or even the most literate. It wasn’t his fault that Pizzapants got so..! Maybe it was Nice Cream Guy’s fault.
Nice Cream Guy opened his mouth to further apologize, attempting to meet Pizzapants’s gaze to show how truly sorry he was, but he was gone.
When Pizzapants saw Nice Cream Guy finally look away from him, he knew it would be his only chance at escaping the incredibly awkward situation. He bolted out of the diner, praying Nice Cream Guy hadn't seen him move. He ran towards the lake, the only place of solace Hometown offered to him. Maybe running wasn't the best idea, he thought in the back of his mind, but this was one of the few moments he felt he had control over anything and he was sick and tired of just taking it.
By the time he made it to the shoreline, he was sweaty and panting from the nonstop running. Pizzapants wasn't exactly the most athletic person- hell, he barely took care of his own body as is- and flopped down onto the grass, staring up at the sky.
The clouds covered the setting sun, the sky painted shades of pink and orange, clouds accenting the mural in the sky. “Didn’t realize it was so late…” Pizzapants murmured to himself, his left hand resting on his stomach and the other covering his eyes from the rays the sun shone.
Pizzapants never really got time to himself like… this. He’s usually just sitting in his apartment, talking to… Pizzarina. Looking at her bikini pics. His world was turned upside down. He was done with her. He was done with sitting around, with not doing anything with his life. He was going to make a change, to do something important. He could go to college like his buddy, Asriel, or get a real job at QC’s like Catty’s sister. Yeah! From this point on he would be a better person! He would quit cigarettes, quit being a slob, exercise, be a better…
The thud of someone sitting next to Pizzapants made him flinch.
Pizzapants didn't need to move his arm to know who was there. At this point, he wasn't angry anymore, just... Tired.
"Why are you here." More of a statement than a question.
"I need to talk to you."
"What is there to talk about? Are you here to humiliate me again? Do you like seeing me suffer? Turning my friends against me!?" His pitch rose as he became more feverish.
"No, it's not like that, I-"
"THEN WHAT!? I HAVE NOTHING! FOR ONCE I THOUGHT I HAD SOMETHING REAL! BUT NO, IT WAS ALL FAKE, ALL A STUPID PRANK YOU PLAYED ON ME!"
Nice Cream Guy was in tears.
"I didn't mean it like that."
"WHAT COULD IT HAVE POSSIBLY MEANT THEN!?"
Nice Cream Guy took a deep breath before he spoke, anxiety coursing through his entire body. But he had to say it.
"...it was supposed to be a harmless prank. At first. I wasn't the one who started everything, but... Well then, I started being the one to message you, to play "Pizzarina." I thought it was funny. But then..."
Nice Cream Guy braced himself.
"I think somewhere along the way, it wasn't a prank anymore. The messages- they stopped being lines from a script I was supposed to say, and started... Just me being honest about my feelings for you. It became... Real."
"...Oh."
Pizzapants didn’t expect that. Not at all. He suddenly felt a rush of… Empathy? Sympathy? Some sort of pathy. Either way, Nice Cream Guy’s tears felt oddly familiar.
Pizzapants lifted his hand, hesitating for a moment before setting it on Nice Cream Guy’s back, trying to give some sort of comfort.
“Do you need like… a hug, or something?”
"Um..." Nice Cream Guy sniffled, "Y-yeah..."
Pizzapants sat up from his spot on the grass and wrapped his arms around Nice Cream Guy in an awkward side hug. Nice Cream Guy reciprocated, angling himself so they were fully in each other's arms, burrowing his face into Pizzapants's shoulder.
Pizzapants, who wasn’t much for physical contact, let alone experience in hugging, wasn’t sure what to do. He awkwardly held Nice Cream Guy, feeling his body shake with sobs. He slowly relaxed, pulling Nice Cream Guy close. “I didn’t mean to yell…” Pizzapants tried to apologize, but it was weak at best. Nice Cream Guy laughed, pulling away and wiping his leftover tears.
"It's fine, I... I think I'm the one making everything worse, anyway... Confessing my stupid feelings to you, gosh..."
What Pizzapants said next was not at all what Nice Cream Guy expected.
"What makes you think I don't feel the same way?"
"I- what?"
Pizzapants, for once in his life, waited patiently for the gears to turn in Nice Cream Guy's head.
"Wait, I thought you were- But I'm a- You never- Hsshvuh??" Was all Nice Cream Guy could stammer.
"I liked Pizzarina. I liked the person behind the messages. If that was you, and you just told me those were your honest feelings, too, well..."
Nice Cream Guy could only stare dumbfoundedly at Pizzapants.
Nice Cream Guy laughed, more forced than usual. “You… you’re joking?” he asked, his voice a high pitch. “I, uh, guess not.” Pizzapants and Nice Cream Guy just sat together, the confession hanging in the air like… like nothing they’ve ever felt before.
Nice Cream Guy looked around, seeing the sky fading to a dark purple, a few stars visible. “I think, I uh, need to go home,” said Pizzapants softly, an unreadable expression on his face. He seemed confused, pleased, and almost frightened. Maybe it was readable.
Pizzapants walked away, the crunch of grass under his feet.
"Um, w-wait!" Nice Cream Guy called behind him. He ran to Pizzapants, intertwining their hands with an almost pleading look on his face.
"Can I- Can I kiss you..?"
Pizzapants paused. Was this really happening? Well, he wasn’t gonna ignore the opportunity.
He responded not with words, but by taking initiative. He leaned forward and pressed their lips together, both men melting into the kiss. They stayed like that for a while, the sky getting darker and the sound of calm waves against the shoreline behind them.
Nice Cream Guy was the first to pull away, looking into the other's eyes with a feeling that could only be described as pure love. They let go of each other's hands as Pizzapants stepped away.
"See ya tomorrow, Nice Cream Guy."