Choux Cream Cake

Chompoo's Discovery

Considering my few week's worth of desperate flirting I'd have thought he'd have gotten the hint, or maybe he had and just decided to reject me in the most blatant way possible. 

I thought this was gonna be a date between me and Perth, but their weak attempts to include me in their few exchanges convinced me that this was their date- I was just tagging along. 

Soon enough, I faded into the background, and I let myself stay that way, the residue of agitation from the offense left simmering down in my stomach. 

My figure trailed behind them as they chatted away, sounds muted slightly against the buzzing crowd surrounding us. The sun shone brightly above us, cascading their faces in a beautiful highlight of glowing yellow. It was when their heads turned in tandem to face each other that the rays of light hit just right- making their eyes twinkle and smiles blinding- that time seemed to slow down as their eyes met. 

I was convinced that if I had slipped away right there and then that they'd have never noticed. 

The sun was beating down on us and the baker whipped out his sunscreen lotion, he proceeded to then wipe said lotion onto Perth's nose, which startled him, a laughable squint fell upon his face as he wrinkled his nose. This led to a petty bickering about my boss's indignant desire to forget about the lotion and the baker's insistence that he wanted to put it on for him or else he'd "be oily enough to cook with"-his words, not mine.

It was the type of playful behaviour similar to what he had with P'Plan but with only a slight hint of something more...endearing. Given, their interaction in front of me was minimal as the baker was cooped up in his metal, sweet-smelling sanctuary and the boss was preoccupied with me, of course, so this was all new to me. I couldn't help but smile at the banter, I'd begun to feel like maybe being the witness to such affections wasn't torture as a warm feeling spread across my chest when I saw them, as if the joy they felt was contagious.

Up on the ferris wheel overlooking the vibrant colours painting the ground far below us, there was a slight quiet as the cabin creaked ever so slowly along its metal circumference. I looked ahead, laying my eyes on the two men perfectly framed by the blue sky, both looking out to face the window, sides plastered to each other. 

The fairer of the two seemed exhausted, and his eyes flickered between open and closed until they eventually stayed down, his body following until it went slack and his body leaned towards the man beside him. His weight shifted until he eventually rested his head onto Perth's shoulder, face devoid of troubles, plump lips slacked and his muscles lax. The man he was leaning on made no moves to wake him up, and instead tapped his forehead up so as to not let him fall lest he dropped his head and jolted awake.

I was a ghost, perhaps even less of one, at that moment- I did not exist where they did. 

Seeing this now, I understood. With this understanding came the guilt as I recalled my stubborn attempts to get at Perth and what that would have felt like to see in place of the baker. It felt even worse when I knew that I wasn't even doing it out of genuine desire to have him has my lover. 

"I'm sorry." His head turned quickly to face me, eyebrows shooting up, as if suddenly made aware of my presence. The fairer one made no signs of waking, continuing to nap as I continued before he could answer, "I know you probably think I'm some kind of cheap flirt," I huffed a dry laugh as I continued in a low tone, careful not to wake the sleeping one.

"Your parents… when they talked to me, they mentioned Peach," his eyebrows furrowed in confusion, but nonetheless stayed quiet as his chest showed subtle signs of his breaths quickening, "They said they just wanted to make you happy somehow, and I felt sorry for you… so I told them I could try and distract you for a bit, give you something new and maybe have fun with," I gave him a sorry smile as his expression softened.

"I probably didn't have to though, I wouldn't have come in for another day of work if I…" I eyed the figure on his shoulder, "...knew."

Then, he looked back up to me, eyes gentle, "Thanks for your concern," he, too, looked down at the pink-lipped snow white beside him, his eyes carrying so much tenderness and pure adoration that I found myself waiting for him to lay upon his lips a 'true love's kiss' like they do in the fairy tales, "but I think I'm doing alright for now."  

After a beat, I started again, "There's something you need to know," he looked at me as I hesitated to say the next few words, "I know Peach probably hid something from you-"

His eyebrows furrowed and he leaned in slightly, "How did you-"

"I can't say it now, but I'll text you what I know."

"Why can't you tell me now?" He said with an eager tone, almost accusatory. As he said that, the baker started shifting in his shoulder, and I looked at him with my eyebrows up, emphasising my point. 

He relaxed back down into his seat, albeit reluctantly. 

"Do you love him?" He paused, his head now preoccupied with the question instead of my sudden mention of his late lover's secret, alleviating the tension just a little.

He looked at me, then he looked at the sleeping one on his shoulder, and gradually, his expression softened, and with a dry laugh and a barely audible voice, "Probably."

He sighed to himself, smile fading, "What happens if I lose him too?" 

"How do you know you will?" I asked him. 

He said nothing. To his silence, I replied, "It's worse to regret not ever trying- the ghost of what could have been would forever haunt you, don't you think?"

He looked at me, then at the floor, then finally out the window, a silent agreement. 

With this newfound discovery of mine, my determination to tell him the secret slightly wilted. He was struggling to overcome the obstacle of his past in order to find the strength to love, I wasn't sure I wanted to add on to that stress with the information I'd had. 

As I looked upon the two of them, I saw something profound- something that I didn't want to break. I'd considered not telling him at all- let him live his life with his new love. But then the thought occurred to me that he could never truly live without knowing the truth, and that it would linger in his mind forever, and I was the only one who could help him. 

He had to know about her secret.

He had to know about Peach's daughter.