ChojiSaku
Every day, without fail, he visited her. They've known each other for two whole years, and she was always the first person he went to when his mood needed lifting. She was the most beautiful thing he had ever laid eyes upon; it was true love.
Café Mingnon. The only patisserie in all of Konoha, an otherwise culture-less suburb outside of Chicago.
From the chocolate-crème éclairs she was most famous for, to the sinfully thick hot chocolate, it was all sugary and perfect. His favorite, the _, practically made life worth living. (not like he was an emotional eater….)
The owner, a nervous girl named Hinata, had been his friend for years. She was as sweet as the foods she baked, and always gave him little treats for being the most loyal customer you could find.
In short, it was the thing he loved most in the world, more than working with his dad in the family business, more than hanging out with Shikamaru on the weekends, more than his old college professor Asuma.
Until she started working.
Since he came at least once a day, he knew the workers by first name: Ino, Konohamaru, Ten-Ten, so he noticed when someone new started. And when she did, he definitely took notice. Her name was Sakura, and she worked part-time to help pay through med school. (Smart and pretty) She had waist-length strawberry-blonde hair that in a certain light, looked a pale pink. Her eyes were a pale green, surrounded by a light complexion. To make her even more perfect, she was 5'6" and tiny, except for (not like he noticed or anything..) ample breasts and a generous rear.
It was quite tragic, actually. There she was, some potential swimsuit model, and he was nowhere close. Ever since childhood, he had been quite large. Overweight. Big. Fat. (The labels killed him) After so many kids teasing him, he built up quite the shell, but still never lost the weight. Food was just too good, eh? But in short, he had never told a girl his feelings.
Never had a girlfriend.
Ever.
He stayed home from school dances in high school, and in college, studied in his dorm instead of having one-night stands and going to keggers every night. Girls were just something he could never have, and he thought that way for his whole life.
But he liked her so much, it was almost worth admitting it. (and the shame that would come afterwards. The rejection.)
But his bleak glimpse of opportunity had just arrived; a few days ago, Hinata mentioned in passing how Sakura had just broken up with her boyfriend of 2 years, a Sasu-something or another. If he had any chance, the time was now.
That brings him to the present, strutting with all the confidence he could muster into the shop, a small box secured in his sweaty palms.
The soft melodies of Mariah Carey welcomed him, mixing with the smells of gingerbread and nutmeg.
All I want for Christmas is you, youuu baby~
A head of pink caught his eye, ringing up a customer's order at the front, a streak of flour dusting her rosy cheeks.
"Will that be all?" her lofty soprano chimed, bright eyes scanning the cakes the customer was purchasing.
"Well, what I truly want isn't for sale….," the blonde male grinned toothily. "Unless you're free after your shift.."
"Oh shut up, Naruto. No wonder you can't get a girlfriend," she scolded, hitting him lightly over the head. "You need to focus more on school, anyway."
"Whatever you say, Sakura," he whined, paying for his food smoothly before leaving with an energetic wave.
Sakura sighed to herself, getting back to her work of cutting out shapes of stars and bells from a long sheet of white dough. He watched her for a bit, engrossed in her task. She was going to school to be a general surgeon, so her talents sure paid off when she had delicate and precise handiwork to do.
Eventually he stepped up to the counter. Hearing someone approach, she straightened up.
"Oh hey, Choji! Didn't see you there!" she beamed, a bit sheepish. "How are you enjoying your holidays?"
"They're okay. The office is a lot less crowded, so I can get more work done," he muttered, a light blush to his cheeks. She looked at him for a moment, seemingly puzzled.
"Are you still going to work? It's two days before Christmas!" she gaped, utterly scandalized. "Even my university practically closes down around this time, and you know how we get. –wink-"
"Yeah," he admitted, his cheeks still rosy. "I wouldn't really have any other way to spend my time."
"Family? Friends? Someone special?" she suggested. He squirmed nervously.
"A-actually, Sakura, I was wondering-"
Ding!
She jumped a bit.
"Oh, excuse me, that's the oven. Ino would kill me if I burned the gingerbread right before her shift. The smell would last for at least a few hours," she hastily explained, throwing on the large mittens on the counter next to one of the giant industrial ovens. As she took out each sheet, she continued talking lightly.
"I don't have the heart to tell Hinata that gingerbread is considered Swedish….Oh well. Hopefully people won't care if a French pastry shop sells other things. Funny story, actually. Gingerbread actually originated in Armenia, and was brought over to Europe by the monk Grégoire de Nicopolis when he-"
"Sakura, I got a gift for you," Choji blurted right in the middle of her historical monologue. Her features softened to one of surprised delight.
"Aah, if I knew that, I would have baked you something special!" she lamented. "Before you give anything to me…hold on a sec…"
She disappeared into the back. His heart was pounding frantically, trying to pull together all the courage he had within him. He glanced down at the small package he had hidden in his pocket, a tiny silver box with two green and red ribbons intertwined to secure the gift within. He had spent hours looking for something that would do her justice, and finally he came upon something not gaudy or too cheesy. While that may sound relatively easy to find, around Christmas time it's nearly impossible.
Her reentrance snapped him out of his thoughts, a large red box in her little arms.
"Here," she grinned, obviously proud of herself. She set the box on the counter right in front of him. "I originally made this for a friend, but he doesn't like sweets, so it would've been a waste."
He opened the box carefully, mind more focused on the "friend" subject, but the cake within nearly took his breath away. The overall shape was a large wreath, dark green with various lighter colors showing the leaves' complexity. Shiny gold and silver baubles created out of frosting littered the surface, as well as tiny red candies to represent berries. A large crimson ribbon design sat on top, with the script "Merry Christmas~!" braided along it in sleek cursive.
"Wow, Sakura, I sometimes forget just how talented you are…"
"The inside is vanilla with a red-peppermint swirl. Only one layer so it doesn't fall apart so easily," she grinned. "It's only fair this goes to someone who deserves it."
"Well, the same goes for my present to you," he spoke carefully. "Well, the "deserving" part, anyways.."
He closed the lid the cake box, placing the small package of his own on top. She looked at it quizzically.
"You always work so hard at everything: school, this job, making people happy..you deserve to know how special you are to some people. I know you have practically no free time between the shop and your studies, but I'd really, really like to get to know you better, Sakura."
She opened it to reveal a tiny charm of a cherry blossom on a delicate silver chain. Instantly her eyes opened wide, and her head shot up to look at Choji.
"C-choji, this is…"
"I asked Hinata what your name meant awhile ago. She said your mom was half-Japanese, so she named you after one of the most beautiful things in Japan: a cherry blossom. It fits you."
Her cheeks were a deep red, and she had to bite her lip to suppress girlish giggles of happiness.
He interpreted her nervousness as sardonic amusement. At least I tried…He waited for the rejection sure to come.
"I can honestly say this is the nicest thing I've ever gotten for Christmas," she answered sweetly, her genuine smile melting his insides instantly. She scribbled something on the top of the cake box with a nearby pen, then handed it to him to hold onto. He glanced down to see a phone number written down, next to a flourish of her signature and a big heart.
"I don't know how often I can get time off from my crazy schedule, but you would…definitely be worth it," she sheepishly admitted.
"Whenever you can, I'll make sure I can be there," he smiled warmly.
A ring of the front door signaled another customer walking in, marking the end of their conversation. Before he could process, she had leaned over the counter nimbly, placing a quick kiss on his cheek before pocketing her new gift to attend to the next patron.
"Merry Christmas, Choji," she beamed, giving him a wave goodbye.
"You too, Sakura," he replied, walking out into the cold air outside, that spot on his cheek pleasantly warm.