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Story by Frootie-sama

The bell above the shop door twinkled almost merrily as Flora stepped inside the store, glancing around briefly and then wrinkling her nose. It appeared as if all the shelves were stocked to the top with teddy bears and heart boxes, filled with an assortment of chocolates and other candies to drive any sugar fanatic to heaven and back.

"Umm, excuse me" Flora reached out to touch the cashier's shoulder, frowning when the woman turned around with a fake smile on her face.

"Yes, how many I help you?" she grinned widely, her white teeth reflecting the light and briefly blinding Flora as she struggled to think up a good way to ask an all-too common question.

"Do you have any well, original and out-of-the-ordinary Valentine's gifts?" she asked softly, smiling while she spoke, her eyes once more flitting to the various amounts of roses and candies decorating the shelves.

"Why, we have various original gifts for this holiday, from chocolates to roses, teddy bears to sweet cards for your beloved." The woman smiled, starting to walk around the counter to go about the meticulous task of showing her everything that they had in store. Flora smiled politely and started backing away, she had lived through miles of shelves of teddy bears and everything like that for some time, she hated the fact that she would have to search to the ends of the earth for a gift that she felt was worth something.

"Thank you very much, your store is wonderful, thank you again." She smiled and backed up quickly, turning to walk out the shop door a moment later. She huffed a sigh and rested her chin in her hand, wondering what she was going to do. Flora turned, squeaking in surprise when she ran into a burly chest, stepping back and muttering an apology immediately, her face turning bright red from embarrassment. Flora's head tilted upwards and she found the surprised face of Daniel staring back, his eyebrows shooting upward when he saw who he had run into.

"Ne! Daniel, what are you doing?" Flora's inquisitiveness immediately took over whatever traces of embarrassment she had left as she leaned closer to him, curiously peering at the bag that he held clutched in his hands.

"Nothing!" he shot back defensively, "What are you doing?" his voice softened when he saw the hurt look on her face. Daniel managed a small smile, his hands tightening on the bag.

"Oh, shopping and stuff, the usual" Flora murmured, looking to the ground and twisting one of her feet back and forth out of boredom. She looked back up at him a moment later.

"That's cool what are you shopping for?" he returned, trying to start small talk with her. She smiled, shaking her head and shrugging.

"You know, Valentine's stuff for my coworkers and all that" she shrugged again. Daniel nodded in reply, raising an eyebrow slightly before turning back toward the store she had just come out of. He wiped a few strands of hair from his eyes before looking back at her, smiling faintly.

"You wouldn't need any help with finding presents or anything, would you?" he asked softly, subtly offering a date for the evening. She smiled when she looked back up at him, her gaze having previously wandered toward the ground.

"I think that would be just what I need." She smiled again, her bright eyes locking onto his as she nodded, laughing quietly when Daniel offered her his arm.

"All right, where to?" he asked her, holding the bag in his other arm and waiting politely for Flora to answer. The two started moving, walking off toward the market plaza not too far away, to continue to search for Valentine's Day gifts.

"I'd really like something unique you know, something that my coworkers would appreciate." Flora explained, her hands moving as she spoke. Daniel nodded, smiling faintly as they walked toward the shops, aiming to find decent gifts during the holiday season.

"Man there is such little selection" Flora murmured, sighing as she walked out of another store. Daniel smiled faintly, hooking arms with her again and shrugging.

"Most people just settle for ordinary gifts." He replied, smiling faintly. Flora sighed again, shaking her head.

"Why should they? I mean, if you really like someone you should show it to them through something special and out of the ordinary, not some random box of chocolates or something." Flora huffed another sigh, using her free hand to comb through her hair, completely exasperated with the fact that she couldn't find a single original gift in the stores surrounding her.

"Why do you honestly care so much? I mean, it's just gifts for your coworkers, right?" he asked softy, smiling down at her. Flora blushed immediately and nodded quickly, before shrugging again. Well if Daniel hadn't guessed what she was actually trying to do, than he was a little bit denser than she thought him to be.

"Still, I mean. I'd like an original gift if I got something for Valentine's Day." She replied with another nervous look, "I mean, something meaningful" She smiled as Daniel nodded in return, understanding exactly what she meant. He didn't want to admit the fact that he had spent the majority of his morning searching for gifts also, and finally had landed something that was unique and decently sentimental for the male half of the population.

The two had met up and gone off for a meal and a few drinks, disappearing from the shopping centers and the meticulous task of Valentine's Day shopping to simply bask in each other's company. It was an interesting day to say the least, the two had store hopped for a while before settling down for a nice lunch at some cute restaurant situated in the middle of the shopping center.

"Oh!" A sudden exclamation from Daniel caused Flora to glance up from the stuffed toy she was looking at, "I'm sorry, but I have to get going. I have a quick errand that I have to run for a friend" he murmured, shrugging a bit and rubbing the back of his head sheepishly. He hated leaving Flora's side, and in a predicament where she had purposely asked for his help, that was almost cruel. She looked up at him, nodding quickly and politely.

"It's all right, I understand. Thank you so much for helping me though, the company was nice." She smiled back at him, her fingers once again combing through her hair. Daniel nodded silently, feeling almost guilty that he had to run off and leave her alone in a shopping center without any company. It was true that both of them enjoyed each other's company, but especially on Valentine's Day, Daniel wanted to present her with something more meaningful than a walk in a park, literally.
Daniel nodded again, smiling faintly as he started to turn and walk away, waving a small goodbye. Flora looked after him, watching as he shifted the bag in his arms and kept walking, his steps almost slow and hesitant, as if he didn't really want to leave. Her courage got the best of her and Flora stepped forward, reaching out after him.

"Wait! Daniel." Her words stopped him in his tracks and she stepped closer, until she was up against his side once more,

"What are you doing tonight? On Valentine's Day?" she asked nervously, her face reddening slightly as she spoke, her eyes diverted to the ground. She was silently hoping that he didn't have any plans that night and that he wasn't completely against spending a day with Flora.

"Why?" he returned curiously, smiling at her, even though her head was still tilted downward.

"Well I was thinking if you weren't too busy" Flora trailed off, shuffling her feet nervously, "You might be able to join me for dinner, or something" she murmured softly, it seemed as if her face was drooping even lower. Daniel couldn't contain his grin.

"Well I was planning to sit at home all by myself tonight." Daniel smirked as Flora's eyes met his, "But I think I would gladly set that aside to have a nice dinner with you." His smirk spread into a smile as Flora's _expression turned into one of suppressed giddiness, her eyes shining brightly and a small smile planted on her lips, the flush of her cheeks slowly diminishing.

"Oh, that would be wonderful!" She exclaimed, smiling brightly, "Would you like to make an appearance well, I guess around six?" she asked softly, glancing at her watch and then glancing to him once more.

"I think that could be arranged." Daniel replied with a grin, attempting at a suave personality. Flora suppressed another giggle, nodding in return and allowing Daniel to finally get on his way, watching as he waved a goodbye before jogging off to the direction of his car, aiming to get home to run that previously mentioned errand.

Flora smiled as she set the table, her fingers delicately arranging everything to perfection, from the smooth tablecloth itself to the flowers in the vase at the center of the table. She sighed as she worked, making sure everything was perfect. She had already measured out the dishes and made them exact, placing them on top of the oven to keep them warm for the time being. She jumped when the doorbell rang, her eyes flitting to the mirror across the hall to briefly check her appearance. She smoothed down her dress and took a deep breath, biting her lower lip as she walked to answer the door.
Flora opened the door and smiled brightly as Daniel bowed slightly, presenting her with a bouquet of flowers and a fine box of chocolates. She invited him in and the two awkwardly walked to the living room, both nervous and quiet as they sat down on the couch and attempted at a small conversation.

"So how are you?" Daniel asked softly, smiling faintly as she blushed, shrugging her delicate shoulders as she smiled shyly up at him.

"I've been okay you?" she was looking at her fingers, fidgeting softly and smiling at nothing in particular.

"I've been okay too" Daniel replied, not quite sure what to say, "You have a lovely apartment." He smiled, his chin tilting upwards as he looked around, examining the room, from the books on the shelves to the throw pillows that he was leaning against. Flora blushed once more, wondering idly why she was acting so ridiculous around someone that she had known for years. Perhaps it was the influence of silly Valentine's Day.

"Umm listen, I bought something for you" Daniel smiled as he produced a small parcel from his pocket. Flora looked at it for a moment, staring at in bewilderment before she smiled faintly and received the gift. She tugged at the string for a while and unwrapped it a moment later, her eyes shining with excitement as she dug through her present. Inside the slightly crumpled piece of paper was a simple heart locket. It was almost an exact replica of the one that she had lost a couple months ago on a priceless yacht party.

"There's a poem too" Daniel noted softly, watching as Flora's eyes welled with tears. She nodded silently, uncrumpling the wrapping of the package and reading the poem inscribed for her, barely being to read the words from the tears that blurred her vision. She didn't even wait to finish the poem, the last few words of confessed love leaving her lips in a small whisper. She looked up to Daniel, smiling gratefully as she moved forward suddenly, leaning forward and flanking the sides of his cheeks with her small hands, drawing him forward for a kiss. Their lips met before Daniel could even register what was happening, and he found himself melting into her touch as he lifted a hand, running it through her hair gently.

"Thank you" Flora sighed, laughing slightly as she pulled away, sniffling slightly. She looked down to the locket again, loving how Daniel had picked out the perfect gift. Flora leaned over to the coffee table and brought her own present to being, holding up a small bag for Daniel to see. He raised an eyebrow in curiosity, but looked through it anyway. To his delight he found a grinning teddy bear waiting for him, holding a CD he had been eyeing for the past couple of weeks.

"It isn't nearly as special as your gift" Flora murmured, smiling faintly when she saw Daniel's face light up like a child's at Christmas.

"It's wonderful!" He returned, taking his turn to lean forward and gently kiss Flora on the lips. She blushed when he pulled back an instant later, "Thank you."

"Say, why don't we go eat?" Flora offered, smiling as she stood, her locket still clutched in her hand. Daniel nodded in agreement, standing also and pausing before grasping Flora's hand in his own. He pulled the locket and chain from her fingers and instructed her to turn around. The locket appeared before her eyes and it was around her neck a moment later, clinging to the delicate curve of her collarbone. Daniel smiled as he brushed back her hair and allowed her to turn around in his arms.

"Thank you so much" Flora smiled again, leaning forward and rising up on her toes slightly to kiss Daniel once more, their breath mingling for a moment before they pulled apart, content to simply hug each other.

"Mmm what were you saying about eating?" Daniel asked humorously, getting a grin in return as Flora led him to the table, to the warm meal that awaited them on a nice, unexpectedly romantic Valentine's Day evening.

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Story © Copyright 2007 Frootie-sama. Characters © Farah. All rights reserved. Distribution of any kind is prohibited without the written consent of Farah.