A/N: I can't believe I got four reviews in one day! Many thanks! Enjoy chapter three!

Chapter 3 Confusion and Panic

"What would Tatsumi want?" Watari asked his shopping companions.

"A tie?" Wakaba offered, being just as baffled as to what the secretary would want.

"No," Watari sighed. "That's too much of a Father's Day gift… he's not my 'daddy' yet!" The two burst into giggles at the comment, but soon noticed that one giggle was missing. "Tsuzuki?"

"Huh?" Tsuzuki whined.

"What's wrong? Don't tell me you're still upset about the whole free doughnuts thing. I already told you that I couldn't say we were going out shopping in front of the kid!"

"I know, but…. but… I don't know what to get Hisoka!" This, of course, was followed by Tsuzuki bawling his eyes out and going into whiney puppy mode, which is always adorable!

"Don't worry, Tsuzuki!" Watari shouted over the crocodile tears. "I don't know what to get Tatsumi either! That's why Wakaba's here!"

"Yep!" Wakaba said. "I'll make sure you two get the perfect gift for your valentines!"

"But how?" Tsuzuki asked, his tears mysteriously gone. "We've gone to five stores and haven't found a single thing!"

"Well, that's partly due to us doing this on Valentines Day. It's not the best day to shop for your gift and I would have told Watari this had he mentioned his plan a couple days earlier."

"What!" Watari exclaimed while faking hurt feelings. "I thought that everybody else would have already done their shopping so the stores wouldn't be so crowded!"

It was quite the opposite. Every single store the trio had been to that day was jammed pack with late shoppers. Even the Hallmark, which normally had barely any people, was now busting at the seams with people scrambling to get some sort of Valentines Day present for their special someone.

"Maybe we should split up to see if one of us can find a good store that is not swarming with people?" Watari asked.

"Are you insane!" Wakaba cried, her mind's shopping section taking over. "In a situation such as this, we need to stick to the buddy system and stay together… Where's Tsuzuki?"

"Huh? Wasn't he just here?"

The two were quick to start searching, but considering how small the store was, after about the third time around (in less than five minutes) they were starting to worry.

"Where could he have gone?" Watari pondered. "There isn't a candy store nearby, is there Wakaba?"

"I don't think there is," Wakaba answered. "But the Publix down the road has a bakery!"

"You're right! I bet that's where he went! Come on!"

In a situation like that, one doesn't seem to listen to the obvious. Not ten seconds after Watari and Wakaba left for the Publix, Tsuzuki walked out of the bathroom muttering about it not being big enough.

After looking around for his shopping chums, Tsuzuki came to the conclusion that he had been ditched. This was followed by about two minutes of panic, confusion, and cute little puppy antics, before Tsuzuki thought, Who cares! I can find Hisoka a present by myself!

So without wasting any time, Tsuzuki proudly proceeded with his mission for the perfect gift for his "little 'Soka-chan" by himself. He wanted to give him something special, something that would show Hisoka how much he cared. The only problem was that Hisoka seemed very picky to Tsuzuki and the fact that partially every store was half empty wasn't helping the situation.

While sniffing a candle made to smell like sugar cookies, Tsuzuki thought, Maybe a scented candle? But what if he's allergic? I wouldn't be surprised, he's so sensitive:gasp: And what if he thinks that I have something 'planned' for the night! Scented candles are sometimes used to set the mood, aren't they? That's probably why there are so few left. I highly doubt he's going to put out on the first date. AH! And if I give him this and he thinks what I just thought, we'll never have a first date because he'll think I'm a PERVERT! I can't give him this! It'll ruin our relationship! Quickly putting the candle back as if it were poison, Tsuzuki made his way to look at cards.

How about a card? was Tsuzuki's next thought. Well, maybe not a funny card. I don't think he's the type to appreciate a little doggy telling a joke. That and he wouldn't take it seriously. Wait, some cards have love poems in them! What's this one say…? 'The lilac's scent over a cotton mist show my undying affection for thee'………… What? Who wrote that? Emily Dickinson. Wow, she sounds familiar. But her poetry isn't that good. Must be one of Hallmark's workers. Maybe I can write a poem! Let's see, roses are red, violets are blue… on second thought, forget the card.

At this point, Tsuzuki wished Hisoka was normal and like sweets. There was a small display of fancy chocolates at the check-out counter that would be perfect if he did. Tsuzuki had always thought that it would be quite romantic to be able to feed each other chocolates, even though he was fully aware that in order for that fantasy to come true, Hisoka would have to be on something pretty strong or at least incredibly drunk. The same would be needed for his other fantasies that consisted of Hisoka in a school girl uniform, French cat-maid costume, you get the idea. Tsuzuki quickly forced the images out of his mind to avoid a public boner.

He soon came to the display of stuffed animals. That is, the display of the three stuffed animals left. They're adorable! he thought. Just like Hisoka! How cute would it be to see him cuddling with one of the teddy bears?... What the hell am I thinking? He'd kill me! That's a bad, bad, BAD idea:sigh: There's really nothing wrong with liking stuffed animals, it doesn't mean you're a little kid. I mean, who doesn't like something soft and fuzzy to hug? But I guess I can see Hisoka not wanting to be made fun of. Oh well.

"Why does this have to be so hard!" Tsuzuki whined, while attracting a few stares, practically the stare of a certain doctor.

A/N: Does Meifu have a Hallmark or Publix? I DON'T KNOW! But let's just say it does!

The part with Tsuzuki shopping alone was originally supposed to be in a different chapter but this one was so short that I figured I should put it in. Did it seem to jump? Hope not.

Oh, and I did have a mistake in the last chapter. I'm pretty sure I spelled " 'cause" wrong in my Author's Note.

Review if you enjoyed! Yay for criticism!