AN: Okay, first of all, I have no clue what I was thinking... writing this story. I know that I already have tons of stories that are in progress and believe me, I will update them ASAP. Hopefully I will be able to update a few tomorrow, but I'm just getting over being very sick and I wanted to write a Valentine's Day story... and I've wanted to write an Enchanted story for a long time. So I did both. It's a day late, but I hope you guys won't mind. Also, please go easy on me... it's very early and this is the most random, cheesy thing that I've ever written. Okay, maybe not the most random... or the most cheesy, but pretty close. Also, many thanks go out to Rachel and Meagan who helped me with this and listened to my crazy thoughts about this story so late at night. You guys rock!
Disclaimer: I do not own Enchanted, any of its characters, or any of the songs used in this story. I also don't own Valentine's Day.
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Giselle looked up from the pink dress that she was working on for Morgan with a confused look on her face.
"But I don't understand," she said to the little girl who was sitting on the bed with her. "What is the point of this Valentine's Day?"
Morgan's eyes widened and her mouth dropped open.
"You don't know what Valentine's Day is?" Morgan asked incredulously.
"Uh uh," Giselle shook her head and dropped the needle and thread. "I've been hearing about it on the television, though. And now you're talking about your cards. Is it a big holiday? Like Christmas?"
"Pretty big. Daddy says that it's a holiday that was created by the greeting card companies so that they could make more money, but I think it's a really nice holiday. Everyone buys everyone cards or you can make your own. And people give each other candy. Like chocolate or these little hearts that say things on them. It's all about love and stuff and is just pretty."
"Wow," Giselle uttered after Morgan's explanation. "It sounds nice. So you're making all of those cards for your class? And you will give them to all of the children?"
"Yup. And my teacher too. And we're having a party tomorrow too, that's why I need your help making cookies."
Giselle smiled and rubbed her hands together.
"I love making cookies! This will be so fun. I think I love Valentine's Day! Let me just put away your dress, Morgan. And then I'll join you in the kitchen to help you with the cookies."
Morgan dumped her art supplies into a pink and purple plastic pencil case and gathered the box and construction paper together before shoving them under her bed and running out of the room.
Giselle smiled and tied off the piece of thread so her stitching would not come undone before she put her supplies in a similar, albeit larger, box.
The two girls worked hard on the goodies for Morgan's class for close to an hour before Robert arrived home to a messy kitchen and two equally messy girls covered in flour and brown sugar.
"Whoa."
He stopped short in the entryway to the kitchen and stared at the mess in front of him.
"Robert, you're home!" Giselle exclaimed.
She wiped her hands on the skirt of her dress and Morgan ran over to her father to give him a hug.
"Giselle was helping me make cookies for my class, Daddy. For Valentine's Day. I'm sorry about the mess. But Giselle and I can clean it up really fast if you want."
He looked hesitantly toward Giselle and shook his head.
"Uh, no. That's okay. We can all clean this up later. Why don't we order in tonight?"
"Okay! I vote for Chinese."
Robert pulled out his cell phone.
"How does Chinese sound, Giselle?"
"It sounds delightful. Can you ask them to bring those little chopstick things? I love eating with those."
He searched the numbers in his phone before he finally came across the number for the Chinese restaurant that they normally ordered from. When someone answered, he placed their usual order and shut the phone. As soon as he was finished placing the order, he looked up and found that Morgan was no longer in the room. It was only him and Giselle.
"Hi," he greeted as he crossed the room to stand directly in front of her.
He leaned down and gave her a chaste kiss on the lips.
"Hello. Did you have a nice day at work?"
Robert nodded, "I suppose you could call it that. It's really surprising how many people get divorced around Valentine's Day."
"Really?" Giselle questioned. "I would think more people get married around Valentine's Day."
"Oh… they do. Then they just file for an annulment a few weeks later." He paused as he realized something. "Wait… did Morgan explain Valentine's Day to you?"
Giselle smiled widely, "Yes. She did. I think it sounds like the most wonderful holiday there is. But… I understand that there can be those people who may believe it to be an awful holiday thought up by the greeting card companies to earn more money."
Robert blushed slightly, "Er, yes… well."
But Giselle continued and paid no mind to Robert's discomfort.
"But I suppose I can see where some people may get the idea with so many people spending money on the holiday. And, well, other people may become accustomed to the idea. If they have to. Even if it does seem like a truly lovely holiday."
"Well, you see. About that…"
Giselle removed her apron and hung it on its small hook.
"No matter, I promised to help Morgan finish the cards for her class after we were finished making her cookies."
She turned and left the room to join Morgan in her room and left a dumbfounded Robert standing in the dust.
"I actually made reservations for tomorrow for the two of us."
He raised his eyebrows and looked around the deserted room.
"And apparently no one cares."
Robert looked at the slightly burnt cookies on the cookie sheet that Giselle had placed on the counter. They were misshapen, but obviously meant to be little hearts. He picked up one of the still hot cookies and took a bite out of it.
"And, I'm talking to myself. That's one step away from breaking into song."
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"Are you ready?" Robert asked when he entered the apartment the next evening after work.
He had called Giselle earlier that day to inform her of their plans and had been pleased by her reaction. An older woman who lived just down the hallway would be staying with Morgan while they were gone.
"Almost!" Giselle called and he heard the pitter patter of Morgan running down the hallway barefoot.
"She's finishing her hair," the girl expertly informed her father. "You won't be disappointed."
Robert smiled and ran a hand through his daughter's hair. "I'm sure that I won't be," he agreed.
Just moments later the two heard a light clearing of the throat before the door to the bathroom opened and Giselle stepped out. She was dressed in a flowing pink dress with red and white roses along the hem and her hair was up with small tendrils hanging down and Robert thought that she looked beautiful. Not that he ever thought otherwise. He shared his thoughts and she smiled bashfully.
"Thank you," Giselle answered and grabbed her white coat from the closet that they had purchased for her as soon as they knew she was going to stay.
"Morgan. Be good."
Morgan grinned at her father, "I will." Then she turned to Giselle. "Remember; don't eat all of the dessert. I want some too."
Giselle laughed and Robert joined her.
"Do you want us to bring you back something, Morgan?"
Morgan shook her head, "No. Just leftovers. Mrs. Jensen's cooking stinks and she's going to make me eat rabbit food."
"Morgan."
"Okay, well, it's just salad. But I want spaghetti and meatballs."
"I'll bring you a piece of cake," Giselle promised.
She laced her arm through Robert's just as the doorbell rang.
"And there's Mrs. Jensen. Morgan."
"I know," she whined. "I'll be good."
The two let the older woman in and said their goodbyes before leaving the building.
"I'm so excited about this Valentine's thing! It will be my first Valentine's Day ever and it just sounds like the most magical holiday ever. I don't know much about it, but Morgan said that it's all about love and everyone gives everyone things."
"You've already said that," Robert pointed out.
"Oh, I know. It's just so beautiful and it reminds me so much of how Andalasia was every day."
Robert looked over at her, "Do you miss Andalasia?" he asked.
Giselle's eyebrows furrowed and she frowned.
"I miss it sometimes, I suppose. Of course I miss all of my friends. Pip and all of my other woodland friends, but I have my store here. And I have you and Morgan. So I think I have something more here than I would have ever had in Andalasia."
They reached a crosswalk and stopped until they were given the signal to continue their trek. Robert realized that they were approaching the restaurant that he had booked the reservation for and was about to ask Giselle to elaborate on her last statement, but decided against it. That could wait until dinner.
"Oh Robert! Look!" Giselle cried excitedly as she tugged at the sleeve of his suit jacket. "Majestic Melodies. Doesn't that sound simply magical? Can we go there instead?"
Robert looked at the small hole-in-the-wall establishment that had captured Giselle's attention. A bright neon pink sign glowed atop the building that was called 'Majestic Melodies'. Robert thought it sounded shady and was quite possibly a jazz club for drag queens. He was firmly reminded of the first time he saw Giselle from his taxi-her relentless knocking at the door of a pink, fake castle with an unwavering determination to get home for her wedding.
"Well, I have reservations for another restaurant Giselle. If we don't show up we'll lose those reservations."
Giselle had already started toward the entrance of the building, but turned around to face Robert as he spoke.
"But we can go there anytime. This is Valentine's Day. It's about love and I think this place seems like there is a lot of love inside. Please, Robert?"
Finally, Robert relented.
"Alright, I will cancel our reservations and we will go in together. Just wait a moment."
He pulled out his cell phone and glanced up to once again advise Giselle that it would just take a moment, but she was gone.
He groaned and hesitantly headed inside Majestic Melodies to find Giselle.
Once inside Majestic Melodies, Robert quickly realized that it was not a jazz club for drag queens like he had once believed. It was actually a karaoke bar and for some reason that seemed to be even worse in Robert's mind.
"Oh, Robert!" a familiar voice called.
His attention was drawn to the bar and he saw Giselle sitting on a stool across from a burly blonde man with a bright red beard.
Robert walked over to join Giselle, "Giselle, we have reservations and I have not cancelled them yet."
"Why not? Aren't we going to stay here? Oh, by the way, this is Ernie. Ernie, this is Robert. The man that I was telling you about."
The bartender now known as Ernie nodded in acknowledgement and Robert raised an eyebrow. It never ceased to amaze him how trusting and open Giselle was with strangers. She could not have even known the man in front of them for any more than five minutes and she already knew his name and had been telling Ernie about him.
"This is a place where people come to sing about their feelings, Robert," Giselle informed him. "That's what Ernie said. I think it's the most wonderful place in the world. It's the perfect place for our Valentine's Day. A beautiful place for an even more beautiful day."
Ernie raised an eyebrow at Giselle's antics and looked at the couple in amazement.
"I take it that you don't need any drinks?" Ernie asked and nodded his head toward Giselle.
Robert eyed the man onstage who was wearing full makeup and belting out "All By Myself", while thinking that maybe he hadn't been so far off base when it came to the place after all.
"No, we won't need any drinks. Do you serve any meals here, though? Burgers or hot dogs maybe? Steak?"
Ernie nodded and pulled two menus from behind the counter and slid them down to the pair. The menu consisted of sandwiches and burgers and Robert and Giselle made their choices and moved down to a table that was closer to the stage.
"That poor man is so sad," Giselle noted. "He's all by himself."
"Giselle, it's a song," Robert tried to tell her, but she would not listen.
"I know it's a song. That's why it means something. You only sing about how you are feeling. And that man is sad and all alone. He can sit with us."
"No… he can't."
The large man ended his song and went back to sit at his table with two other men and a young woman.
"See? He isn't alone. He's with three other people."
"But I thought…" Giselle trailed off. "Maybe he's just sad. Maybe I should sing a happy song for him and all of the sad people here!"
She stood up and began to walk toward the stage when Robert stopped her.
"No Giselle, look. That girl is going to sing."
A petite girl with long brown hair who looked like she may have been in college stood up and slowly walked toward the stage. Her table full of friends continued to laugh uncontrollably and did not stop even when the music began and she nervously clutched the microphone with both of her hands before she began to sing the first few bars of a drunken rendition of Kelly Clarkson's "Never Again".
The girl's friends continued to laugh and cheer her on, apparently they were all drunk and more than likely trying to escape Valentine's Day-at least that was Robert's take on the situation. However, unlike the girl's friends, that look had once again began to cross Giselle's face.
"I am so sad for that girl," she said. "She is so angry. And her song is so full of… hate."
"Giselle," Robert tried again to explain the situation, "the song was written by someone. A singer. It is not that girl's song. She is just singing someone else's song. It doesn't necessarily mean that she is feeling what the lyrics of the song say."
Although Robert would not admit to Giselle that he was fairly sure that was in fact the way this girl felt. She reminded him of quite a few of his clients. She seemed very angry and bitter, but he did not have the patience or ultimately the same friendly nature that Giselle had.
It was also their first Valentine's Day together and even though before he had never cared much for the holiday he seemed to care about the fact that it was Giselle's first Valentine's Day and he did not want any other people to take away from it or make it any less amazing than it could possibly be. The only thing was that they would not be going to the restaurant that he had made reservations for weeks in advance and instead were dining in a dirty, third-rate karaoke bar.
"But I don't understand. They sing the songs with such feeling. They must be their songs."
Robert shook his head and could not help but feel that he was obviously not going to get through to Giselle. He stood up and walked over to the large binder and found a song in it and its corresponding number. Robert gave the number to the man who was operating the teleprompters.
The previous song ended and Robert climbed the stairs to the stage with a sense of dread and grabbed the microphone out of its stand. He looked down at Giselle in the audience and suppressed a laugh when he saw the surprised look on her face. The first strains of his song came through and he clutched the microphone tighter and held it closer to his mouth while switching his gaze up between the words on the teleprompter and Giselle's face in the audience.
My wish came true There's just one thing
When I met you
I've searched and searched
My whole life through
Dear before we start
Don't say you care
Then break my heart
When you speak of love
Please be sincere
For if you play with love
It can bring tears my dear
His voice shook, but he forced himself to be a little louder and to stand as still as he could even though his knees were also shaking. Robert once again looked out into the audience at Giselle and locked eyes with her. It had been a long time since he had last heard the song, but he still remembered the words that came next and did not need to look at the teleprompter for it.
My wish came true And when my heart
To my surprise
When you stood there before my eyes
Started beating fast
T'was then I knew
I found true love at last
He once again remembered the first night the met. Her, knocking on the castle door of that billboard and him, standing in the rain down below. He remembered the day in the park and the first time that she had ever experienced anger. He remembered their first kiss and their first date. And he remembered why he had wanted everything to be perfect for that night even though things clearly were not going as planned.
Robert replaced the microphone and stepped down off of the stage. There was applause, he knew, but he drowned it out and walked purposely over to Giselle.
"Can we leave now?" he asked her.
Giselle nodded, she did not know what else to do, and stood up. Robert quickened his pace, determined to get out of the small bar and walked outside into the cold only to find that it had began to rain.
"That was lovely, Robert," Giselle spoke softly, so softly that he wasn't sure he had heard her. "But your speech before was so strange I still don't understand. So that was not your song? Those were not your feelings?"
Robert shook his head and ran his fingers through his hair in frustration.
"No, they were my feelings. Maybe I should have chosen a different song. I really don't know what I was trying to prove. Maybe I was just trying to draw your attention away from our horrible dinner."
Giselle blinked as confusion marred her pretty features, "But it was not horrible. I told you that everything was perfect, Robert. I loved our Valentine's Day date. I love Valentine's Day."
Giselle could not help but think that Robert was not acting like himself and he stalked away from the bar leaving her behind. She began to walk quickly to catch up with him, but before she could, he turned around and sighed in frustration.
"This was not supposed to go like this at all and I don't even know why I am so upset by this. I never worried about things like this before. I never even did things like this before. We were supposed to go to dinner at the restaurant that I had booked us reservations for, then we were supposed to go for a carriage ride. No karaoke bars. No singing. No… karaoke at all."
"Are you angry with me?" Giselle questioned. She was afraid that she had done something wrong. "Did I ruin your Valentine's Day? Is this not how Valentine's Day is supposed to be? I thought it was about love."
"No, it is… but. But this isn't how things were supposed to go. I had everything planned out. Maybe I shouldn't have done that. Things have never been about plans with you, have they?"
Robert reached into the pocket of his suit and pulled out the small box that he had had for almost a month.
"What is that?" Giselle asked in wonder. "Is that my Valentine's Day present?"
Robert laughed nervously, "Sort of. But not exactly. I've been carrying this around for awhile now and I had everything planned, but obviously it didn't work out at all. This is an engagement ring, Giselle. For you. I would like for you to marry me."
He paused for several moments and Giselle looked at the small box that he had held out to her before taking it from him and opening the small box.
"Oh Robert, it's lovely!" she exclaimed in surprise.
"Will you marry me?" Robert asked hesitantly.
Even though he was already pretty sure of her answer, he was still afraid.
"Yes," she answered softly and handed the box back to him.
He found himself laughing again, but this time the nervous feeling was gone as he took the ring from its box and slipped it on her finger.
"I just love Valentine's Day!" Giselle announced for what seemed to Robert to be the one-hundredth time in the two day span.
They kissed and when they parted, Robert couldn't help but agree.
"I think love Valentine's Day, too."