Berry Punch woke the next morning from a deep sleep. Yawning, she reached over to the clock on the nightstand so she could tell what time it was. Instead of touching the round, smooth surface of the clock, her hoof made contact with something soft. She sat up immediately and turned towards the nightstand. Just in front of the clock was a pink saddlebag. Covering the clasp was a picture of a strawberry with a bunch of grapes behind it. Her cutie mark pattern.

Berry picked it up carefully so as not to drop it with her sleep-clumsy hooves. There was a cool, minty smell wafting from the cloth of the bag, which she recognized as the brand of cologne Sky Star wore on their date, “Star-Struck Breeze”. Berry closed her eyes and hugged it tightly, a smile spreading across her face. Feeling lighter than air, she leapt out of bed and onto the floor. A gift from Sky Star! He must have cared about her very much to go through the trouble of obtaining a custom saddlebag for her.

Berry turned towards the door but stopped short. She wanted Sky Star to know she appreciated the gesture. She turned back to the bed and grabbed the saddlebag in her mouth, tilting her head to fling it over her back. It fit perfectly, Berry observed before walking out into the hall and down the stairs. She trotted through the doorway and into the kitchen. Nopony was there. Puzzled, she walked back upstairs, down the hall, and stopped at the base of the staircase heading to the observatory tower. She looked up at the top of the stairs, which were shrouded in darkness.

Berry shivered, but stepped onto the first step, trying to look confident. The metal of the step creaked as she put her hoof on it, but though she flinched, she did not turn back. Slowly, she made her way up the stairs, climbing higher and higher until she could barely see her hooves in front of her. Finally, she reached the top. A small lantern hung from the ceiling, and in it’s light she saw a dark blue stallion, fast asleep on the floor surrounded by pencils and pictures of constellations. Berry smiled but decided not to wake him, he must have been up so late with his work that he fell asleep.

If Sky Star was asleep, that meant he hadn’t had breakfast… Berry’s eyes brightened as an idea hit her. She would repay his kindness by making him breakfast! Quietly so as not to disturb him, she turned and headed down the stairs. Reaching the bottom, she trotted through the hallway and down the second flight of stairs, leading to the kitchen. Opening the pantry, she found a box of pancake mix, dry and powdery. She knew pancakes were his favorite. She found a bowl in a nearby cabinet and poured some pancake mix into it, then added water and stirred it.

Berry knew exactly what do, since, after her father died and she was alone in the house, she had had to make her own meals. Pancakes were just fine, but Berry thought Sky Star deserved better. She put the spoon down and walked over to the fridge. She was in luck! There were strawberries in a clear plastic box in the front of the shelf. She picked out the biggest berries and cut them into small chunks on the wooden surface of a cutting board. Looking up, she spotted the skillet Sky Star used to make pancakes hanging on a peg by a hole in its handle.

Berry Punch reached up and retrieved it, placing it on the countertop. After some searching, she found some butter, which her father had told her was the best, most natural material for greasing up the skillet. She turned the stove on to the appropriate setting and placed the skillet on one of the red-hot burners. She waited until it was hot enough before she poured the mix, carefully so as to ensure four perfectly circular pancakes.
After a moment she sprinkled the strawberry bits into the still-moist pancakes, which slowly sunk in until they were only half visible among the pale, bubbling mix. After a few minutes she picked up a nearby spatula and flipped them, then after more waiting, flipped them again. Soon they were colored an appetizing golden-brown. She gazed down at her work with pride on her face and turned off the stove. She opened the cabinet again and retrieved two plates, white with blue rims, and two forks and two knives from the drawer.

She placed the plates and utensils on opposite sides of the table and turned to pick up the skillet and spatula, which she used to scrape two pancakes onto each plate. Berry hung her saddlebag on the back of her chair and sat for many moments, gazing at the stairs and leaving her breakfast untouched. Finally, after a very long time, Berry Punch heard slow hoof steps on the staircase and a yawn. After a moment, Sky Star came into view, head down and hair a mess as if he had just woken up.

“I hope I didn’t oversleep,” He murmured, head drooping. “I still need to make break-” He looked up to see Berry Punch in the kitchen, eyes wide. “-fast?” He came through the doorway, observing, in surprise, that breakfast had already been made. “You made breakfast?” He asked.

“Well, you were asleep, and I wanted to repay you for your gift.” Berry informed him, smiling warmly, indicating the bag hanging on the chair behind her.

“You did this for me?” He asked, smiling. “Thanks, Berry. You really are great.” He walked towards her and leaned his head close, but then pulled away quickly, blushing with uncertainty. Berry understood, and leaned in to give him a kiss on the cheek. His mouth gaped open and let out a small sputter, his blush deepening.

“Why don’t you sit down.” Berry offered with a smile when Sky Star had stood, unblinking, for a few seconds. He shook his head, as if he had just pulled himself out of a dream.

“S-sure.” He finally responded happily, sitting down across from her. They both ate together, talking about this and that, but mostly talking about their feelings.

Their feelings for each other.