A/N: For Punkrockbigmouth, who said if she ever illustrated one of my stories, she would replace all the sex with ice cream. I did that for her with this story, and she kindly illustrated it. The illustration is the icon for this story, and you can see a bigger version on my tumblr or on the ao3 version of this story. Check Punkrockbigmouth's other awesome art on her tumblr - username is, of course, punkrockbigmouth.
I wrote this to a playlist of songs with "ice cream" somewhere in the title, most notably the awesome "Ice Cream" by New Young Pony Club, to which the title is a nod.
Enjoy!
Okada felt his eyes blink open, but still saw only darkness. He blinked a few more times. Slowly, the outline of his bedroom came into view, illuminated only by the faint red glow of his digital alarm clock, blaring 4:02 a.m. Why was he up this early? He sighed, turned over, and closed his eyes. His stomach growled.
That was when it all hit him – the phantom taste of ice cream filled his mouth, and he felt its overwhelming absence. He'd had it. It had been so close. Creamy and cold and rich. There was nothing else like it – so fulfilling, so satisfying. But now here he lay, alone in his bed, awake at this hour, so hungry, so empty. But he shouldn't. He knew he shouldn't.
He flipped over to his other side and closed his eyes tightly. But when he closed his eyes, ice cream was all he saw. The phantom taste in his mouth grew stronger – a stinging reminder of what wasn't there. The craving churned harder in his belly. His mouth watered. He started to sweat. He was weak. He had no choice.
Okada stood up unsteadily and walked as softly as he could to the door, not even bothering to put any clothes on over his underwear. The sound of Gedo's loud snoring filled the hallway, and Okada's heart started to race. He looked back at his bedroom door, but even the threat of Gedo's disapproval wasn't enough to make him go back now. He tiptoed down the hallway to the kitchen, thoughts of cold, delicious ice cream driving him on toward the forbidden freezer. Once he reached the kitchen, he grabbed a spoon out of the drawer and then stood in front of the freezer, his heart pounding. He was so close.
Okada opened the freezer and shivered a bit as the frigid air hit his bare chest, quickly tightening his skin into goosebumps. Then, he saw it – that pint of mint chocolate chip ice cream, frost covering the sides, almost obscuring Gedo's name, which was written on it in permanent marker. For a moment, he considered that maybe, this time, he shouldn't eat Gedo's ice cream, but any thoughts of Gedo admonishing him were quickly pushed aside. He started to drool thinking about just how good the ice cream would taste, just how cold and refreshing and filling it would be.
There was no time for a bowl, no time to close the freezer. Before he knew it, the pint was in his hand, the lid tossed aside, and the spoon shoved deep into the ice cream. He scooped up as much ice cream as he could, then finally brought it to his waiting mouth. Somehow, it was even better than he remembered. It cooled him all over, stifled the longing fire inside him, replaced it with mint and chocolate and creamy satisfaction. But, as soon as he swallowed that bite, the desire rose hot inside him again. He needed more, so much more.
Okada eyed the rest of the ice cream in the pint. Certainly, Gedo would be mad if he found all of his ice cream gone. But Gedo didn't understand. Gedo could leave a pint of ice cream in the freezer for a week and not touch it. Maybe more. Gedo just didn't know how to appreciate ice cream like Okada did. He didn't need it the way Okada did.
Okada ate another big spoonful of ice cream. Then another. Then another. In the moment he tasted each bite, he was satisfied, so satisfied, beyond belief. But none of them were enough. He couldn't leave any for Gedo. He needed all of it. Every bit of ice cream in that pint. Okada furiously shoveled bite after bite of ice cream into his mouth, his mind bubbling and blurred with heady bliss. He started to get a headache, but he didn't care. All he wanted was more ice cream. He had to eat every last bite.
Once he finally reached the bottom of the pint, Okada's stomach started to churn with something different. He shivered – the cold air from the open freezer now felt unbearably cold, and he closed the door. He felt full now. So full. Too full. He fretted around the kitchen, trying to figure out a way to quietly wash the spoon and get rid of the empty pint of ice cream, without anything obvious that Gedo would immediately notice. Finally, he decided to just take them with him, and slunk back to his room.
Gedo's snoring continued – the same rhythm as before. Okada breathed a quiet sigh of relief at not having disturbed him. Okada slid quietly into his room and flopped, exhausted, onto his bed. His stomach gurgled ominously. It was going to be a long morning.