To My Sweet Cupcake

This is going to be a very short Valentine's story. This story is dedicated to our dear friend and sis Stefy! Happy Birthday and Happy Valentine's =)

This story is somewhat AU: It is set around the time DJ found Daniel, however DJ is 8 years old instead, and rather than Betty going on her cross country journey she stayed and helped Daniel with DJ and MODE.

Chapter 1 – Red Rimmed Frames

It was a rather chilly, yet pleasant Friday morning as Betty put on the red and black lace dress over her body. She was starting to like that more fitted look on her, especially when she caught the attention of a particular guy that she liked.

She smiled as she looked in the mirror sliding on her new glasses. She decided to go with red again, but this pair had a cute gold lady bug on the frame. She really loved them.

She clipped her B necklace around her neck wondering what her mother would think of her now. She was now a Junior Features Editor for MODE; sure she didn't want to write for MODE, but for now this was a step in the right direction. She hoped that if her mother were here she would be supportive of her aspirations and decisions.

As she looked at her reflection in the mirror, she ran her fingers through her short hair as she smiled her now brace-less smile. It had only been a few weeks since she got her braces removed and had her sister cut and style her hair. She was pleasantly surprised by the reactions from her co-workers, frenemies, and family of her new look.

Particularly, Daniel

When he had seen her brace-free smile for the first time it almost seemed like he saw stars. It made her blush and she couldn't help the brighter smile that spread across her face. Not to mention Daniel's sweet 8-year-old son DJ had told her she looked so pretty and that he liked her smile and thought it was as bright as the sun.

She felt pretty today, especially as her thoughts went to the two sweet boys in her life that made her smile every day.

She felt like DJ was the best thing that ever happened to Daniel. Having a son like DJ made Daniel a better person. She loved how much Daniel loved DJ and was always happy around him.

She felt like she made the right decision when she chose to stay at MODE to help Daniel rather than go on her cross-country trip.

If she'd gone, she wouldn't have gotten so close to them. She couldn't imagine not having those lunches when she and Daniel surprised DJ at his school and had lunch with him, or whenever they had to work late and DJ would sleep on the chaise as they worked on a project together or just bounce ideas off one another, or went to Coney Island or the park together.

And she took an immense joy in those times she could be with Daniel. Any opportunity she could have with him, she took full advantage of.

It seemed that their relationship as friends was becoming stronger, and she felt very happy about it.

She tried her best to hide her growing feelings for said friend, but it was becoming more and more difficult, especially the more he did sweet things for her. Just the way he looked at her or smiled at her made her feel butterflies.

She had felt so embarrassed when Claire had noticed her watching Daniel at a meeting. She could tell by the look in Claire's eyes and the smile that crossed her face she recognized that Betty wasn't looking at Daniel in the normal coworker-boss way or even the friend way. Claire never approached her after the meeting or asked her about her feelings, but Betty could tell by the smile she gave her that she knew all she needed to know.

She let out a breath as she slipped on her coat and walked out the door. Today was going to be a good day. She was sure of it. She usually didn't like Valentine's Day, and could care less about such silly holidays, but she felt an overall sense of happiness lately. And the fact that it was Valentine's day didn't change her general happy mood.

"Hey kiddo, you have your card for Betty?" Daniel asked as he took his son's hand as they exited a gift shop.

"Oui papa. Do you think she will like it?" DJ asked looking up at Daniel. Daniel grinned "You're a lady killer like your old man, so yes, I think she'll love it. Especially from you"

DJ smiled brightly, his face reddening slightly. Daniel shook his head. He wasn't sure what to think about his son's 'crush' on Betty. He was always talking about how nice Betty was to him and how he liked when she got him candy or cookies or played with him.

Daniel knew it was crazy, but he was a little jealous that his son was getting all the kisses and hugs from Betty.

Several months ago he would have shunned a thought like that, but now-a-days it seemed like second nature. He realized he'd been developing feelings for Betty, but if he really thought about it, they had started a lot sooner in their friendship than he would have liked to admit.

When Betty had decided not to go on the trip she had planned, he had felt a little guilty in the beginning; he didn't want to hold her back from experiencing things. Like life. She was young and had dreams of her own. But when she chose to stay and 'helped' him with DJ and with work at MODE he was more than grateful and happy to have her around.

He found that he enjoyed coming to work early just to see her before everyone else.

And loved how sweet and considerate she was to DJ, and how she always tried to make him feel better as an inexperienced parent.

And how much he looked forward to their surprise lunches with DJ at his school,

And they time they worked late in the office with DJ or just the two of them.

And not only that, she had been blooming into a stunning rose right before his eyes. She had gotten her braces removed, cut her hair short, got new glasses and was dressing oh so much hotter. She was showing off those curves she seemed to be hiding for so long. She looked so gorgeous.

He loved whenever she smiled. Especially since she'd gotten the braces removed.

Oh God, and whenever she bent down he would check out her hot ass.

He seemed to be dropping pens more frequently whenever she was in the room. He had done it so much that she got him a pen that clipped to his belt.

He broke it.

The woman was intoxicatingly mesmerizing. She had completely stolen his...he didn't want to admit that she stole his heart, but settled for, his thoughts. He always thought about her.

As soon as he woke up, he imagined her luminous smile. Or whenever he went to sleep at night he thought about how much he wanted to be lying next to her.

And thought about how much DJ loved her. As Daniel looked at his son, who had this cute little smile on his face, Daniel smiled patting his jacket pocket. He had gotten his own card for Betty. He couldn't help it. He wasn't really the kind of guy that liked Valentine's Day. But for Betty he would make an exception.

Hope you enjoy that! :D I'll get the next chapter up Thursday! and the same goes for Sprinkles and Confetti! Am I making you crave a cupcake right about now? lol :P