About a half hour into our picnic, Dirk and I were nearly finished with our food, with only the sweets left in the basket. Dirk turned to me, reaching his arms out for a hug, looking over to me, seeming a little hesitant. I reassured him with a gentle smile as I leaned over to hug him. Nuzzling into his neck, I felt a strong feeling of safety. After a few seconds, the two of us naturally pulled away, looking each other straight in the eye. The way Dirk appeared, and the way he was acting, clearly showed he was happy, which made me feel absolutely elated. Without really thinking, I pulled him into another hug, mumbling into his neck, "You give really nice hugs."
"Really?" He asked softly, looking down at me with his bright orange eyes, and a soft, comforting expression.
"Yes, truly." The warmth of his chest made me smile uncontrollably, which I couldn't tell if he was the one radiating the heat, or if it was from the sunlight. Either way it made me pull him closer, making me want to hold him longer, just to feel his warmth. I didn't really care if he hugged back or not, just as long I could be near him, although I was happy he returned the embrace. I felt my cheeks feel hot, which I swore they were a deep red, the reason why I found myself embarrassed was because I had just realized I was practically cuddling into Dirk.
Dirk's fingers started threading through my hair, and he chuckled. "You normally this cuddly?" He asked with a teasing tone, which I noticed, causing me to feel absolutely embarrassed.
"No," I answered simply, "not usually." I pulled myself away from him a little, just enough so I could look at his face. He gave me a soft smile as soon as our eyes met, and he took a gentle hold of my hands, tugging at them eagerly towards him. "Huh," I asked, clearly confused of what he wanted, "what is it, Dirk?"
"Come on, Jake!" He answered as he stood up from his spot on the blanket, and walked himself onto the grass, picking up the picnic basket. "I wanted to bring you somewhere, remember?"
"Oh." I laughed nervously, and mentally cursed myself to not forget things so easily next time, especially if it was about the date I was on with Dirk right now… I couldn't help it though, just seeing his smile warmed me up inside, and made me feel that fluttering sensation in my stomach once again. While I had been cuddling up to him, I hadn't realized how cold I felt from the slight breeze that would pass by. "Right, I'm just a little forgetful sometimes." I admitted, not wanting to tell all of my thoughts, because gosh, that'd just get me to blush on the spot.
"All ready to go now?" Dirk asked, once I had finished folding up the blanket, and held it in my arms, looking up at him.
"Yeah, of course I am. But I do have one question for you."
He looked over at me, seeming to be in a state of confusion, "Yeah, and what would that be?" Dirk started to lead the both of us away from his backyard, and to the front house, and to his car.
"Where exactly will we be going?" I asked, catching up to Dirk as he made his way to his car, and looked up at him. "I am very curious why you would be keeping it a secret from your date, especially since today is Valentine's Day." I giggled, and opened the passenger side door, placing the blanket in the back seats.
Dirk paused what he was doing for a second, looking up at the sky as he thought for a few seconds, and he chuckled. "Nope, not telling you."
"What?" I drawled out the word childishly, starting to pout as well. I had really wanted to know where we would be going to finish our date! I had been wondering the whole time we were eating our lunch, and now he wouldn't even tell me. "Why won't you tell me? I really want to know! Come on, please, Dirk? Please?"
He only laughed at my small attempt to try to get him to admit it, and shook his head as he sat in the driver's seat, starting the car. "Jake, you can wait at least 15 more minutes. There's a reason I told you it's a secret, because I want it to be a surprise for you. That's all I'm asking, just that you wait."
I slumped into my seat, crossing my arms across my chest, the pout once again returning to my face. "All right, fine, I'll wait." I gave in, although unhappily. Just the fact that he was keeping a secret, only increased my curiosity, but obviously, I wasn't going to get an answer out him. I buckled myself into my seat, and looked over at him. "I'm ready to go."
"Fantastic!" Dirk grinned cheerfully, and pulled the car out of the driveway.
"Dirk, I am terribly sorry to interrupt what you are doing, but where exactly are we going?" I asked when I felt the car come to a sudden stop, and he took the keys out. "Where are we?" I repeat, turning to the left a little, and reaching out my arms aimlessly, unable to see with the blindfold covering my eyes. He had told me that he honestly wanted this to be a surprise, although he had some doubt in his voice. I wonder why.
"Jake, once that little blindfold is off your pretty little face, and then you can see where we are." Dirk told me as soon as the door for my side opened. He reached over my lap, unbuckling the seat belt, and carefully helped me outside of the car. "All right, you have to trust me, English. I'll lead you slowly, and carefully, and I will absolutely, positively make sure you don't bump into anybody." He stopped talking for a few seconds to take ahold of my hands, gently squeezing them.
I tilted my head up a little in his general direction as he spoke, nodding along as he spoke just to assure him that I was paying attention. As he was speaking though, I had a feeling that he was slowly leaning towards me, and that thought was confirmed by the time he was done speaking. I could feel the warm breaths he let out on my skin, and our lips felt like they were just millimeters apart. With him so close to me, I couldn't help the blood rushing to my face, because I was completely embarrassed, which caused me to look down at the ground, shuffling my feet.
Dirk must have leaned down a little, because I felt soft lips press against the corner of my mouth, and a quiet giggle, as if he was embarrassed. Before I could even react to what had just happened, I felt him pull back from me. "So then, Jake, when you were little, did you ever have a stuffed animal?" Dirk asked, as he started to lead me away from the car carefully. I followed him slowly and cautiously, taking small steps, while trying to get used to the fact that I was walking without seeing. It was too strange.
"Hmm, actually, no." I said aloud, concentrating on my steps, making sure to keep walking, even though I really wanted to stop and just cling to Dirk. "The closest thing I had to a stuffed animal was my mother's childhood teddy bear."
"Hmm, is that so?" Dirk asked as he let go of my hands, and heard footsteps until they were behind me.
I nodded, reaching my hands behind myself, wanting reassurance that Dirk was still here. I relaxed once I felt his jacket, and tugged it a little toward myself, laughing. "When I was little, I had always wanted one myself, because my mother's was very adorable, although I never got one." I could feel Dirk's hands reach to the front of my face, which confused me slightly. "At some point I think it would be jolly to buy one for myself!"
"Well, Jake English, how would you feel about making your own teddy bear with me?" Dirk asked softly, sliding the blindfold from my eyes, so I could finally see once again. I looked in front of myself, to see a sign that said Build-A-Bear Workshop and I gasped, covering my mouth with my hands in complete shock.
"Dirk… I…" I was in complete surprise, turning around to stare back at him. He only laughed a little, and looked down at the ground sheepishly. "Dirk, oh my gosh, you're so thoughtful!" I exclaimed, pulling him into a sudden hug, holding him close to me, as I giggled with pure joy. Dirk wrapped his arms around my torso, returning the embrace gently, laughing softly.
"Well come on, let's go make you a teddy bear!" Dirk yelled out excitedly, pulling away from our hug, and immediately took hold of my left hand. "I just knew you'd love to come here! I knew you would!" He was obviously proud of himself for making the choice to take me here, because he had an ear to ear grin on his face. He seemed so cute when he was excited.
And with that, a worker walked over to us, and gave the both of us a smile. "Good afternoon, gentlemen, and welcome to Build-A-Bear Workshop! My name is Gwen, and I will be helping you to make your very own lovable furry friend! Do you two have any animal in particular that you would like to start with?"
Dirk looked over to me, giving me a small nudge, a sign that I should respond to her. "O-oh, right," I stuttered out, and I gave her a smile. "I would like to get a teddy bear today." I answered back cheerfully, giving Dirk's hand a gentle squeeze, which he returned back only seconds later.
Gwen gestured us to follow her, as she lead us to the selection of teddy bears they had. "And here is our selection of teddy bears you can choose from, sir. You can take as much time as you need to choose which bear you would like, and you can meet me over at the Stuff Me department when you're ready." She gave us another warm smile, and walked over to the stuffing machine, and stood there, waiting patiently.
It took me a few minutes to choose from the different kinds of teddy bears they had, until I finally chose the one that I just found endearing, and brought it over to Gwen, handing the bear to her carefully. She took the bear from my hands, and started to stuff the teddy bear thoroughly. As she was doing so, Dirk hugged me from behind, his arms wrapped around me, hands over my stomach, his head resting on my shoulder. He started to sway back and forth a little, seeming playful as he chuckled. It was very nice to be in Dirk's arms as we waited, and just overall, very comforting.
After Gwen had finished stuffing my teddy bear, she handed me it. I felt a little saddened when Dirk pulled away from the embrace, but I couldn't have expected him to stay there forever. As soon as Gwen had handed me my teddy bear, she showed us over to the Stitch Me department, where I pulled the last seam of my teddy bear, so that the openings would close. After that had been done, we were brought over to the Fluff Me department, and I let Dirk fluff up the teddy bear, because he seemed like he really wanted to.
"Dirk," I started slowly, while he was fluffing up my teddy bear, he glanced over at me as if saying to continue, "What exactly got you into singing when you were younger?"
He stood up from his knees, and fluffed up the bear one last time, before handing it to me. "I, uh…actually, Jake." After hearing my question, he seemed to suddenly get embarrassed, and looked down at the floor. "I started out as one of those artists who are barely even known, and then…I was noticed. I got popular with teenage girls everywhere, even if all my songs were silly."
I smiled, and hugged the bear close to me, feeling giggly all over. It was so soft and fluffy. "Even if you think your songs were cheesy and silly, I'm sure a lot of girls loved hearing your songs. Or even," I laughed nervously, "a young boy who every time heard your voice, couldn't help but squeal." That was enough to make Dirk smile, and he started to blush slightly. "You were a complete heartthrob, Dirk, and you still are now."
"No, really, Jake. How did you, listen to those songs, they're just so…embarrassing. I can't believe I wrote those sometimes." He laughs softly, shaking his head.
"Dirk, those songs were pretty much the reason why I fell in love with you." I watched as his eyes widened, and he looked down at the floor, his feet shuffling, with a small smile lighting up his face. I was starting to feel a little shy myself, because I never thought I'd be sharing this with anyone, especially with Dirk. "And the fact that you're so sweet is just the greatest, because you're my childhood crush, and knowing you're still that lovely guy you were so many years ago is kind of heartwarming."
After that, Dirk and I wandered around the store, hand in hand as we looked at the cute little clothes they had for the stuffed animals. They were quite cute to look at, but I didn't think I'd be getting any for my teddy bear. After a while, I could hear someone humming a familiar tune, which I couldn't help but wonder what the song was. Once the humming stop, I could hear a soft singing voice next to me, and I looked over at Dirk, completely surprised. I recognized the song immediately, it was one of Dirk's songs from when he was first starting out, a song about him describing the beautiful person he fell in love with.
I covered my face with my hands as I could feel myself start to blush, and the soft fluttering sensation filling my stomach. Dirk Strider is singing to me right now, oh my gosh, it's Dirk, oh my gosh, oh my gosh, oh my gosh. Dirk gently took my hands away from my face, giving a soft smile when he saw my face. He continued to sing to me quietly, placing his hands on my waist, pulling me closer to him.
When he had finished singing, I was pretty darn sure my face was cherry red, because he laughed quietly, and pulled me into an embrace. He kissed the top of my head, and rubbed my back soothingly. "Come on, Jake; let's go pay for your teddy bear." He spoke softly, and led me over to the front to pay for my teddy bear.
When Dirk had handed the money to Gwen, he excused himself quickly, and said he'd be back as soon as possible. I nodded, and waited to receive my teddy bear back from Gwen. I got it back in one of the small toy houses for the stuffed animal, and I waited just outside of the Build-A-Bear Workshop for Dirk to return.
"Jake, over here!" I heard him call out, and I turned my head to see him running over to me, hiding one of his hands behind his back. "Jake, I got one more thing for you before our date is over." He exclaimed, grinning proudly once again. He moved his arm from behind his back, revealing that he had a single rose in his hand, and he held it out to me. "One red rose for my adorable Valentine to show how much I love you."
I covered my mouth with my hand, looking up at Dirk. Is he saying that he loves me? I felt tears start to form in my eyes, and I laughed a little, taking the rose gently from him. I placed the teddy bear house down, got up on my tiptoes, and threw my arms around his neck, kissing him gently. Dirk was evidently surprised at first, because he squeaked, but he returned the kiss, smiling a little.
I pulled away from him after a few seconds smiling like an idiot, giggling as well. I got back on my feet, and looked up at Dirk, whose face was bright pink. "Okay, Dirk, I better get going now, this date was wonderful, thank you, and I loved it." I picked up the teddy bear house again, starting to walk away from Dirk slowly. Before I could though, Dirk leaned down a little, kissing me once again.
"All right, Jake. I'm glad you had a great day. I loved being with you." He grinned happily, and waved goodbye to me. "I'd love to see you again sometime, Jake." He told me quietly, looking at me hopefully. I nodded and smiled to him. "Really? Great!" He exclaimed happily, and pulled me into a tight hug before he waved goodbye again, and he turned around walking off into the crowd. Once he disappeared, I shifted my attention to the rose.
"Huh, what's this?" I took a small piece of paper out that was next to the rose, and turned it over. I read it what the note said, feeling myself get shy again. In neat handwriting, said:
Jake,
If you ever want to go on another date, you can call me. I'd absolutely love to be with you again.
And in the corner of the piece of paper, a number was scribbled down, and I smiled. I was excited that there was a chance that Dirk and I could go on another date. And possibly even start dating each other.
AN: I am so sorry it took so long to finish up this last chapter, but I am really proud of how it turned out! I really hope you enjoyed reading this silly little story of mine~ I loved writing it, and reviews are always, always appreciated~ Thank you for reading!