[Gift] Sweet or Savory?

Mindless scribbles filled the air with light sound, chipping at the quiet and asking not for acknowledgement. The tablet pen Led held poised weapon-like stilled at an intruding rumble, hunger ceasing any further movements of their wrist. The drawing they'd been working on was left forgotten, the tab left open but minimized for the more pressing task.

A minor setback posed itself in the question of what to eat, the answer difficult to find amidst the plethora of places only a short walk away. Uninspired, Led scrolled through a multitude of restaurant menus until their eyes caught an all-too familiar one. They'd eaten there plenty of times, so much so that they could practically taste the food by name alone. Without a doubt, though, Led's favorite was the flatbread pizza. Just the thought alone practically filled the room with the smell - the tomatoes and olives on a bed of delightfully melted cheese, the crust thin, chewy, and still hot to the touch.

It was hardly something Led had to put thought into; almost as soon as they had started imagining, their hand and stomach took the lead and added the pizza to their digital cart. With a quick scan of their information to make sure it had all loaded correctly, they approved the purchase and gazed longingly at the estimated delivery time. The place was only a minute away from their house, but the cooking time meant fifteen minutes of painful, hungry waiting.

Their hand twitched back to their tablet pen, deciding that drawing might have been their only distraction from the torturous wait. Still, their eyes couldn't keep themselves from venturing back and forth between the time and their art, their stomach doing little to help the cause with its persistent growling. Each minute that ticked by was slow and strenuous, waiting proving to be a terrible task Led hardly wanted to face. Each time their eyes dared to check the time, it seemed like the minutes had slowed just for the occasion. One minute passed in the same time it felt an hour would, and ten felt like days worth of agonizing. Their fingers continued to draw out lines and think up new ideas, though their hunger made each movement sluggish and slow with unenthusiasm. 

They were almost inclined to nap away the leftover time, though they knew that they didn’t have enough remaining time to waste. The most they could do was draw away the last five minutes of estimated time, their ears listening out for even a single sound implying that their patience was to be rewarded.

It was their imp, Candybert, that alerted them first. Formerly sleeping next to them on their bed mere feet away, the odd instincts that imps seemed to have sent them scurrying up and away, slipping past the slightly ajar door to the entrance. Led jumped from their chair, rushing after her and grabbing for their wallet. Fumbling for an appropriate tip amount, Led scampered through the different rooms with a fistful of carats and a free hand reaching for the doorknob. Twisting it clockwise, Led pulled the knob until the door itself slit away from the frame and allowed light to slip through the crack.

The doll outside, albeit a bit tired, eagerly took their tip and left Led with their pizza. They could smell it without even opening the box, the hearty fragrance filling each room they passed on the way to the dining room. Once it was on the table and pried open, the wood smoke wafted through the air and filled Led’s nostrils invitingly. The first slice, pulled quickly and painstakingly as it was hot to the touch, left melted cheese hanging from either side until it was eagerly bitten into with the rest of the pizza. Hot oil oozed out of Led’s mouth, wiped away with a satisfied sigh as it merged with the flavors awaiting them. The olives, tomatoes, the cheese - the crust, as little as there was… Led eagerly took a few more bites, mopping at the grease escaping their mouth each time. The slice disappeared too quickly, replaced in an instant with another. It was no time at all before the box was filled with only crumbs, the last slice disappearing just where the others had. Leaning back in their chair, Led rubbed their stomach and closed their eyes with a satisfied groan. They didn’t usually eat the whole box, but, well… They had been hungry. And it was their favorite…

Barely pulling themselves up, Led threw the empty box away, washed their hands, and examined their mouth with a napkin for any remaining crumbs that had soldiered through their previous attempts. Once it came out empty, Led’s hooves thudded back to the bedroom in a much more sluggish fashion than before. Maybe they had gone just a little overboard… Or maybe, next time, they’d order two to have a week’s worth of lunch. Maybe they would even allow themselves to order a side or two… The place did have delightful cheesybread… And their sinnabon dessert pizza was to-die-for. All of this would just have to be something Led considered on their own time… Perhaps a nap would bring them a little clarity. Or maybe a drawing or two… They did have pieces to get done. There was plenty of time to think before their next meal - they had the whole day to do so. There was no rush at all.