A/N: Once again, it appears as though I've got some explaining to do. See, this story was originally submitted as "Chapter 1" of what was going to wind up being a two-shot. Now, some of my followers probably didn't know about this because once again, we're being hit with another bug. This time, it's affecting the alert system. That meant that some of you probably weren't alerted to "Chapter 1". So, I decided to delete it and resubmit it at a later date, with 2/14 being the absolute deadline (bugs be darned because, heck, this is a Valentine's Day fic I'm talking about).
So again, sorry about any confusion that this might've caused anyone. I'm making sure that from now on, I'm checking the "Help Desk" forum to be absolutely sure that there aren't any issues that get in the story's way, just like the "Error 1" bug did back when I was trying to submit "The Letter of the Day" the first (and second) time around.
Another humdrum Sunday afternoon provided the perfect opportunity for countless Royal Woods residents to scuttle about in the Royal Woods Mall, hoping that the scenic splendor and seemingly countless shopping opportunities would prove an effective remedy to boredom. Stores and kiosks swelled with activity, the different itineraries making for quite the hectic, bustling scene.
Though, among the happy faces of blissful shoppers, an anomaly to the mall's bright atmosphere sat alone in the food court, the only company of his solitude being the misery that swirled around in his head. Ordinarily, the young man would've sat here with two meals to mollify his insatiable appetite (nothing soothed the drudgery of a sales clerk's job better than the spiciness of Thai food and the familiar but welcome taste of American cuisine, he would tell anyone who'd listen), but his spirits felt even emptier than his gut—the pain that cramped in his blistered soles and weary back was nothing compared to the throbbing ache that weighed down his heart, forcing him to reflect on his failures of the past two days.
Valentine's Day was a few days away, and Chaz still hadn't found the perfect gift for Leni.
Though they had only been dating for about a week, he still felt that Leni was the type of girl who deserved the world, mostly because of how she could always evoke contentment like nothing else—his best days were when he could be in the presence of her smile and the angelic radiance that reflected off her very soul. He wasn't anywhere close to being able to give her the world (at least, not yet), but he figured that something simple as a good Valentine's Day gift would be a manageable start. And, to be fair, that would've been easy, but it took all but a few minutes for Chaz to realize something that should've inspired his actions before his gift-hunting mission began:
'Leni deserves better than good.'
Sure, he could've gone with something commercialized and generic, just some ordinary, run-of-the-mill gimmick that spoke of unremarkable devotion on his end, but what would that say about him? That he thought of Leni as unexceptional, unworthy of a symbol that came the closest to exemplifying her dazzling wonder? He'd never live it down, even if Leni found it in her heart to forgive him.
But even though he was sure his priorities were in the right place, the past few days of searching made Chaz realize that the mall was apparently not stocked with anything that suited his little cinnamon roll. Hours were spent in abject frustration, popping in and out of different stores after scanning miles of shelves and clothes racks and coming across nothing that had that…je na sais quoi that he was looking for. That was the only fault he could find with Leni's immaculate glory—it was too perfect to put into words, let alone match with a Valentine's Day gift that was worth her time.
He let out a sigh of unmatched woe, knowing that caving in and presenting her with some cheap, garden-variety trinket was all he could go for at this rate. He supposed that this where the "monkey's paw effect" of his recent fortune came into play—he managed to hook up with someone galaxies out of his league but at the cost of proving that he was unfit to make her happy within a paltry week of their relationship.
...
...
No…no, that was wrong. Chaz had a feeling that Leni would've been happy with a throwaway box of chocolates or a teddy bear of undistinguished luster, but that would've only twisted the knife deeper into his conscience. After all, her smile would've been much brighter—a reflection of pure, unbridled elation—if he was equipped with the gumption to get her what was proper, and all his squalid presentation had a hope of producing was a mere parody of that.
In that moment, right when he was at his lowest and most vulnerable, his selfish sense of pragmatism spoke desperate lies, telling him that it wasn't fair to bear such a burden without thinking that Leni had to do the same for his sake. Chaz quickly took the reins back and cast the deception aside to shrivel and die painfully in the deepest recesses of his mind. He didn't think it was possible for sadness to scrounge up such pathetic nonsense as that. As far as he was concerned, Leni had already given him so much just for being who she was. Her empathy was even more beautiful than her outward appearance, and her sense of a good time put her attention to fashion to shame—call him crazy or someone simply high off the "honeymoon phase" of what had been the best seven days of his life, but Chaz thought that he was only scratching the surface of what made Leni one of the most wonderful human beings he'd ever met.
How dare he have the audacity to believe, even for a split second, that Leni had to go beyond what she was already providing him? How could he even think about entertaining such poisonous drivel while he lived up to his inadequacy?
'What…what does Leni even see in me?'
It wasn't the first time he asked himself that question (it was one of the million of thoughts that ensnared his brain as she asked him out), but it was the first time where he posed such an inquiry in dejectedness. Apparently, his uneventful personality, flabby body, and dopey voice were cute to her, enough to earn him the pet name, "Chaz-berry". Chaz-berry, huh? Yeah, maybe if that berry was a measly little thing that wasn't fit to…to…
Chaz's cheeks swelled, the corner of a tiny smile lifting each of them up while an idea brewed in his head that swatted away all the bleak funk in an instant. Once again, his thoughts were sidetracked, this time by something that he could only describe as an epiphany rather than delusion. His new plan—something that admittedly looked desperate and foolish from a logical angle—might've been a long shot, but he could only count on his intuition if he wanted a chance at making the upcoming Valentine's Day one for the both of them to remember with fondness.
After all, he was her "Chaz-berry", wasn't he?
"Thank you! Keep the change!"
After saying that, Leni waved goodbye to cashier before strolling out of "Kindred Soles", her latest purchase tucked away in the white, plastic bag strapped around her shoulder. She grinned at the thought of her older sister receiving her newest pair of shoes with joy, especially since she had made sure to pick a pair that were free of any defects.
'Don't worry, Lori,' she thought as she spotted an empty bench by the water fountain, 'I made sure that these shoes don't stink and make weird fart noises.'
She took a seat, holding her gift up her chest—however, it's closeness had no chance of rivaling that of the elation that was nestled close to her heart. She let out a dreamy sigh, the thoughts of her Chaz-berry setting her in the perfect mood to be whisked away on cloud nine. Of course, all it took was his company to do that, but she couldn't wait to see what he had in store for her Valentine's Day, the day that Chaz promised her that she'd get a gift to remember.
Seeing as how it was today, all she had to do was wait for Chaz to leave his shift and meet up with her. It was a good thing that she made sure to text him to let him know where she was, otherwise he'd be wandering aimlessly about and…wait a second.
Leni's eyes widened. 'Did I text him where I am?'
After pulling out her phone from her purse, a quick inspection of her text history indicated that she had failed to do so. Chuckling sheepishly at her blunder, Leni remedied her error before slipping her phone back in its place. Ah, much better. Now, what she thinking about again?
…
…
Oh, that's right! Her Chaz-berry was gonna get her a Valentine's Day gift to remember!
She beamed brightly and would've kicked her legs about excitedly, not a care given to any possible judgmental stares from onlookers, but one thought kept her giddiness grounded a bit. Though she was certain that this was totes gonna be the best Valentine's Day ever, it was a shame that Chaz insisted that she didn't have to get him anything—though, it was sweet of him to say that she was already a gift in and of itself (that remark earned him a peck on the cheek).
Still, she decided to take him up on the sentiment and not get him anything. It felt wrong to not give back, but she'd learn to live with it if Chaz was happy.
Happy.
Leni frowned, the word being somewhat of a source of insecurity in context to the situation; Chaz often used that word to describe what he felt when he was with her, but his feelings still mystified her. She learned to trust his word (or at least be content with enough of it to not question him to his face), that she made him happier than anything in the whole wide world, but she still couldn't help but wonder…
'What does Chaz even see in me?'
It took a giant leap of faith to ask him out, and it took an even bigger feat of resolve to hold herself together and not combust into a bajillion pieces when he agreed. Still, his agreement couldn't answer just what it was about her that made her stand out. Surely, such a funny, witty, friendly, wonderfully adorable guy like Chaz could've gone out with just about anyone, someone way smarter and prettier than her. It felt great to be lavished by his attention, especially when it came in the form of those stomach-flopping, fuzzy-wuzzy hugs.
But in those moments, sometimes she couldn't help but feel—as her heart sailed across the stars and graced the cosmos—that…she just wasn't remarkable enough to deserve them. Sure, she knew that he could appreciate her fashion sense, but what about everything else that mattered? Lori, for instance, had the grace and maturity that she strived to have but failed to measure up to. That, along with everything else great about her, garnered the attention of a wonderful catch in Bobby Santiago. How did she, on the other hand, manage to hold Chaz's attention for even a minute without him getting bored or fed up with her, at least with anything that wasn't about helping her pick out a dress that went well with her eyes?
Suddenly, a stray droplet of icy water from the water fountain flew out and splashed the back of Leni's neck, successfully making her jump a little and startle her out of her train of thought. At first, she was a little annoyed that she was taken out of the moment, finding her unflattering self-reflection comfortable out of familiarity, but that all changed when she remembered who she was dealing with.
This was Chaz she was thinking about—he wouldn't lie to her just to spare her feelings. If he was upfront enough to critique her fashion choices that he found questionable, then he could be trusted to handle matters far less flippant. All that meant was that until Leni could see what Chaz saw in her, that she'd have to trust that there was enough worth in her to not doubt herself.
After all, she was his cinnamon roll, wasn't she?
7:12 PM.
Leni's brow scrunched in worry as she glared at her wrist, her watch failing to give her a comforting account of how much time had passed. Given how Chaz was supposed to leave his shift at around six o'clock, and she had gotten out of "Kindred Soles" nearly a half hour before six, that meant that she had been waiting for him for over an hour at this point. She didn't like to think of herself as the impatient type, but was it too much to ask that Chaz, like, at least let her know what the holdup was all about?
Oh yeah, that was the worst part—there was nothing but radio silence on his end. No texts, no calls, no…anything to let her know what was going on—her own texts, unfortunately, had no success in prompting a response. She knew how to better guard her mind from malignant thinking at this point, her refined mental clarity reminding her of what she came to realize just a short while ago; Chaz genuinely liked her, and he wouldn't just ditch her out of the blue, seemingly or otherwise.
But if anything, all that reasoning did was make her predicament worse. If Chaz wasn't deliberately ignoring her, that could only mean that he was in some kind of trouble. And what was even worse was that it was trouble that he apparently wasn't capable of doing anything about, like getting in contact with her ASAP.
And just as a sickly chill raced through her neurons and blasted her gut with a wave of nausea, she heard snickering to her right. She looked in that direction and was met with the sight of two teenaged girls, standing a few feet away from her as they muffled their chortles behind their hands. Leni was close to regarding the intrusion on her thoughts as a distraction that held no real value…
Until she caught where their eyes were looking towards.
Curiosity bound her gaze to move towards that direction, and the first thing she noticed were that some bystanders—who shared similar body language to that of those girls—were looking on at someone who was headed straight for her
Leni sucked in a breath in a sharp gasp, her eyes expanding to remarkable proportions.
"Is that…Chaz?" she asked, her widened eyes doing nothing to give her better clarity in the heat of her shock.
But after the figure took a few more feet closer, two things became crystal clear to Leni.
One, yes, that was Chaz—she couldn't mistake his cute face for anything.
Two, his face was the only feature she could use to discern his identity because, for whatever reason, Chaz was approaching her…
In a bulky raspberry costume.
It cost him sixty dollars plus tax to buy the raspberry costume, but he felt that his pride took an even bigger dent than his wallet to not only put it on but to trot around in it in public. "This is for Leni" was his mantra from the start, and it was enough to carry him all the way to the Royal Woods Mall's costume shop after his shift and buy the raspberry costume.
The outfit felt heavy enough as it was, but the bewildered stares and chiding laughter he got weighed him down even further, almost to the point where time slowed to a tortoise's crawl as mocking filled his eyes and blared into his ears. But what made him feel even more uneasy was how much he'd have to explain to Leni about why he had taken so long. Surely, she was worried sick about him. Or worse, maybe she was angry about being kept for so long (all those texts he got couldn't have conveyed a sense of urgency better if it were possible).
He pushed that in the back of his mind for now, realizing that fretting about the hole he dug himself into wasn't going to get him anywhere. He'd ride out this walk of shame every step if it meant that Leni would not only be where she promised she'd be but that she'd receive him as he was.
At last, after the escalator whisked him down to the fifth floor, he walked (or rather waddled, given the costume) towards where he knew his darling awaited him. He waded past the sea of judgmental glares and mouths twisted in gleeful amusement with more pep in his step this time around, the thoughts of Leni's happy first impression tuning him out to anything and everyone that didn't concern that endgame. The only thing to snap him of it, to regard his surroundings with astute attention, finally arrived in his field of vision as the water fountain stood proudly in the center of the fifth floor, jets of water spewing outward.
And then, his heart skipped a beat when his eyes fell upon Leni; he was too stricken with captivation to be disappointed that upon seeing him, she gazed at him in mild fascination rather than an expression of enormous elation like he wanted.
No, that happened once he met her about halfway—that shopping bag (whatever it housed) slipped out of her grasp as she hopped out of her seat and sprinted towards him, arms outstretched.
By the time Leni closed the gap on Chaz, he already had his arms out wide for her—even if the costume was making it a tad bit difficult to raise his arms all the way up. Nonetheless, he managed to wrap his arms around her waist, hugging her as tightly as his restrictions allowed. Her bubbly giggling and cheery grin were all that mattered to him, even as he felt stares locked onto them because of the scene they were making.
Nothing could separate him from such a beautiful moment as this.
Well, except for his girlfriend pulling away and lightly flicking him on the forehead. Leni didn't invest enough force to make it hurt, though her soft glare both confounded and startled him.
"What was that for?" Chaz asked, rubbing his forehead.
Leni folded her arms, her glare recast into an expression of concern. "For worrying me so much. Why didn't you tell me what was taking you so long?" she asked, believing that Chaz's approach meant that he hadn't been in any danger, after all.
Chaz blinked. Right, that was a good reason to be miffed with him. He had just been so happy to see Leni that he had forgotten that he had to answer for his negligence.
"Sorry," he said, "I was just...a little embarrassed, and I lost track of time because of it."
"Embarrassed?" Leni asked, an eyebrow arched up as her arms dropped to her sides. "About what?"
"About meeting you with this costume on. I was so wound up that by the time I finally had the guts to put it on, you had already texted me, like, eight times, wondering why I was making you wait."
His answer wasn't enough for Leni's inquisitiveness to be satisfied. "But, like, why would you be embarrassed?" she asked.
Chaz pointed at himself. "Look at me. I'm walking around inside a fruit suit. You don't think that's strange?"
In spite of himself, Chaz couldn't help but crack a smile when Leni chuckled.
"Well, a little," she said, but added, with a finger bop to his nose, "but you still look cute. And if you wanna wear it, that's all that matters to me."
Although Chaz was thrilled that Leni didn't think he looked like a total loser, it dawned on him that she seemed to think of this as an act of irreverence, just some random act of bizarre behavior that didn't hold any meaning. Conveying his true motives would fix that, but that meant that he'd have to risk letting her down.
Oh well, too late to turn back now.
"This isn't supposed to be a new fashion statement," he said, "I'm wearing this because...well, it's your present."
When Leni didn't immediately question him what he meant by that, Chaz explained, anxiety beginning to bubble to the surface, "I mean, I told you not to get me anything for Valentine's Day because I think you're already a gift. And well, I thought that since I felt that way about you, maybe you felt the same way about me. So that's why I wanna show you just how much being your 'Chaz-berry' means to me. Maybe..."
It was then that Chaz really started to pay attention, and he gulped when all Leni felt like doing was staring at him, little trace of emotion etched on her face.
"Y'know, maybe you'd...I dunno, accept it because I-I'm, um, supposed to be your gift, too, and this would be enough and...uh...yeah. Sorry."
By the time he was finished, Chaz felt like it was a burden to keep his head high, his shame giving him no way out of thinking that he was the worst boyfriend in the history of boyfriends. The folly of his plan was so transparent to him—like a creative poem's rough draft, the concept looked witty and groundbreaking in his head. Under proper inspection, however, the gleam sloughed off, revealing a pile of amateurish drivel that had too many holes to be presentable. The biggest fallacy of them all smacked him over the head, the blow as harsh as an angry, disappointed parent's scolding of their child—just because Leni was a gift to him didn't mean that her fondness for him ran as deep, to the point where he was allowed to rely on such a foolish stunt. She could pull off something like this and rightfully get away with it. It was evident, by the blank stare she was giving him, that he was expected to pony up something a little more impressive than cheesy symbolism that hinged on him being worthwhile enough to make it work.
And after all the hyping up he had done, could he really say that he had the right to think that she was wrong to believe that?
"That...is..." Leni said, her tone even and clipped.
Chaz closed his eyes, sighing mournfully. It was only a matter of time before Leni told him, without any reasonable doubt, that his so-called gift was—
"Totes sweet of you!"
Yeah, that figured. So much for going down the sentimental route. Ah well. There was still enough time in the day to make up for—
Suddenly, Chaz's eyes snapped open, his mouth agape as Leni's words finally registered. "Say...what?" he asked, his tone in disbelief as he looked at his reflection through Leni's toothy, pearly grin.
"I love it, Chaz!" she cried, throwing her arms around him in another hug that pressed her face up to his. "I love it so much!"
As if he needed to be absolutely certain that he wasn't dreaming, he asked, "Really?"
"Uh-huh." Leni nodded, stray locks of her hair brushing against Chaz's skin and tickling him. "You're so right, Chaz. You've been a gift to me ever since we've been going out—heck, since we've been friends. I can't ask for more than you being my 'Chaz-berry', even if the costume is a really neat touch."
The good news, the assurance that he hadn't struck out, lifted Chaz's mood significantly. With high spirits spurring him, he brought up his lips up to Leni's, his chaste kiss eliciting a rosy blush across her cheeks. "Chaz can do that," he said with a grin.
The flock of bystanders, who had been watching the couple from afar the whole time, collectively let out an "Awwwwww!" at the lovey-dovey display. The full blunt of their attention made them wave sheepishly at their audience, which started to slowly disperse when they sensed that the two would rather not be put on the spot.
After the last busybody left, Leni looked to Chaz and said, "Wait for me for just a second. I need to get Lori's new shoes real quick."
True to her word, Leni left Chaz's side, grabbed her shopping bag, and returned in the blink of an eye. Without a word, Leni slipped her hand into Chaz's before they walked away from the fountain, strolling along in the bliss of their amity. Chaz didn't make any comment on where she was leading him, thinking that she wanted to leave the mall and head home.
That is, until about a minute later—he realized that not only was she not heading towards the exit but that she was going back the way that he had come en route to greet her.
"Where are we going?" Chaz asked.
"To the costume store," Leni replied. "I wanna see if they have a cinnamon roll costume. Like, it's only fair that I get to show you how much being your cinnamon roll means to me."
Her words left no for a disagreement, not that Chaz would've wanted that, anyway—truth be told, her idea sounded cute on paper and would undoubtedly look even cuter in execution. And, thankfully, it turned out that the costume store did have a cinnamon roll costume available. After purchasing it and slipping into it, Leni asked what he thought about her look, just like she always did with her new clothes.
His simple, characteristic reply was all that it took to send her over the moon: "Chaz like."