Disclaimer: I don't own Build A Bear, but man would that be awesome.
A/N: This story was written for the USUK anthology over on livejournal which you should check out since it features stories from other lovely writers and artists.
Titles: Have Heart
Warnings: None
Summary: Arthur takes his little brother Peter to Build A Bear where they meet a rather exuberant employee.
"Arthur, Arthur! Can we go in there? Please, Arthur?"
Peter pulled eagerly at my sleeve and I couldn't help but smile as he guided me toward one of the many shops in the mall.
"Are you sure that's what you want?"
"Yes!"
And so with that I let my little brother lead me into one of the "make it yourself" stuffed animal shops. I'll admit, I thought Peter's choice of gift was a bit childish, but I guess that was to be expected from a nine year old. I hadn't seen my brother in a whole two years. I'd been doing some graduate studies overseas in the United States, and it was the first time my parents had agreed to let Peter fly over by himself. Seeing as he was only going to be with me for the remainder of the week, I wanted to treat him well, and if that involved buying him a silly stuffed animal, then so be it.
"Which one do you like?" I asked curiously as Peter looked up and down the row of possible furry friends. Halfway down the aisle he let go of my sleeve and reached into one of the baskets to pull out a plush Dalmatian.
"This one!" he turned to me with a decisive smile and I nodded.
"Well, let's fill her up then."
"Him, Arthur," Peter corrected, and I raised a brow. "His name is Spots and he's going to be a doctor!"
I shook my head, but did wind up smiling as we made our way over to the filling station. There were a few other children in the shop, but there was no queue to fill up Peter's stuffed dog. The two of us walked up to a young man with blonde hair and a bright smile sitting on a stool.
"Hey there!" the man greeted enthusiastically as we stopped in front of him. He waved to Peter and then looked up to grin brilliantly at me. To this day, I refuse to acknowledge any sudden impure thoughts I may have had.
"Hey, buddy, I see you have a friend there!" the man commented, a bit overexcited. He was practically another jubilant child in the shop.
"His name is going to be Spots," Peter replied with a smile as he took a step forward. "He's going to be a doctor!" Peter repeated again, and as I rolled my eyes, the other man laughed.
"A doctor? No way! I wish I could be as cool as Spots here is gonna be," he responded with yet another blinding grin. "And what's Spot's owner's name?"
"Peter!" my brother told the man eagerly and I just smiled fondly at the whole scene.
"Well, Peter, my name's Alfred. Can I help you bring Spots to life?" he asked, holding out his hands. Peter nodded eagerly and handed the stuffed animal over to Alfred.
"All right! I'll just fill him right up and then you're gonna have to help me give Spots a heart, ok?"
Alfred smiled and Peter beamed right back at him. It only took Alfred about 45 seconds to fill the toy with stuffing, and then he was handing it back to Peter for what he called a "cuddle test."
"Now squeeze him tight," Alfred instructed and my brother did as told. "Does he feel real soft and squishy?"
"Yes!" Peter replied with a small laugh. At hearing it, Alfred mimicked his laugh but it was much more boisterous, and quite a bit annoying. Peter handed the toy back and Alfred and the man pointed to a small container that was overflowing with a multitude of fabric hearts.
"Go ahead and pick out a heart for Spots!"
Peter reached into the bin and pulled out a soft red heart. He turned and held it up to me.
"Do you think this is a good one, Arthur?" he asked in such an innocent tone that I had to smile again.
"I think it's a lovely choice."
I glanced back at the employee and noticed he was staring at me. However, when I caught his gaze, his eyes went right back to my brother. I did discern a slight pinking to his cheeks, though, even after he'd stopped looking at me.
"All right, so are you ready to put some love in that heart?"
"Yes!"
Alfred put Spots in his lap and sent Peter a thumbs up.
"Okay, so the first thing you have to do with that heart you got there is cup it in your hands and rub it to make it real warm and full of love," Alfred said, miming the action. When Peter completed that the employee grinned and gave him the next directions.
"Now jump up and down three times to show Spots how happy you are!" Peter did. "Spin around three times so he knows how excited you are to have a new friend!" Peter did that as well. Alfred instructed Peter to do a few more silly tasks while I watched in amusement before they came to the last one.
"Great, we're almost done! The last thing you gotta do is hold Spots' heart tight in your hands and make a big wish! When you're done, give the heart a kiss and stick it inside Spots to bring him to life!"
Peter clutched the heart in his hands and as he closed his eyes, a very thoughtful expression crossed his face. He blinked open his eyes, and kissed the heart, but before he placed the heart inside he turned to me.
"Will you give it a kiss too, Arthur? Please?"
How could I say no? I gave the fabric a swift touch of the lips and handed it back to Peter who impatiently stuffed it inside the toy. A second later I realized Alfred was staring at me again, though this time with a soft smile on his face. He tied the plush up and handed it back to Peter who hugged Spots close to his chest.
"Congrats on your new friend! I know he'll be a great doctor!" Alfred chuckled as he grinned at my brother for the last time. Peter nodded his thanks and then headed over to pick out an outfit for Spots. I was about to follow him when Alfred's voice caught me off guard.
"You're from northern England," Alfred said simply, and I won't lie, I was impressed.
"Yes, about twenty minutes outside of York. How'd you know?"
Alfred sent me one of the smiles he'd been giving Peter for the last 10 minutes.
"I took a semester abroad in England just last year and stayed with a host family. They taught me real quick how to pick out Londoners, Northerners, everyone." He grinned. "Northern accents were always my favorite though."
I smirked at Alfred, and he smiled back.
"What a coincidence. I've always thought American accents to be my favorite of the English-speaking world."
Alfred let out another one of his earsplitting laughs, but it didn't bother me nearly as much the second time.
"No way! Should we trade?"
"I'm going to have to pass on that offer," I replied and Alfred almost frowned.
"Aw, why?"
I snickered before I could answer him.
"Don't you know these American women are drooling at my every word?"
Alfred grinned as he got up and stuck his hand into the container of plush hearts. He took one out and handed it to me.
"They're not the only ones."
The two of us exchanged numbers and then Peter was running back to me with Spots all done up in his doctor attire. We both said goodbye to Alfred, but that would not be the last time I'd see him. At our first date, he again presented me with a fabric heart, and he continued to do so at every date thereafter. By the time we'd dated for a full 3 years, I had so many plush hearts I didn't know what to do with myself. But it all worked out in the end, because when Alfred dropped to one knee and offered me a ring, I had a plethora of little fake hearts, but I was finally able to give him my own.
