Holiday Projects

I hope you enjoy, your gift is under the cut

You only recently woke up, but a nap sounds like the best decision. You have plenty of time. There’s no reason to stress or try to rush about. The rest of the day will still be there when you wake up again. Your blankets are just too comfy to leave, and you feel so warm, like a toasty marshmallow. With that last thought, you drift back off to sleep, and slip into dreams filled with roses and chocolates.

It’s the early afternoon when you wake again. You spare a thought about the cliches present in your dreams. Roses and chocolates can be overrated. Daisies and gummy bears would be just as good. Or both. You shrug and stumble out of bed. Yeah. Both would be good.

Once you’re finished getting ready, you’re struck with indecision. Where to go, and what to do. You have plans to keep, but you’ll still have plenty of time.

Now would be a good time for Coffee

A trip to the Gym wouldn’t hurt

The Beach

Coffee. You definitely need caffeine. It has low key become an addiction. You’ll take it any way you can get it, coffee, tea, and energy drinks. All of the above are wreaking havoc on your bank account. But it’s a holiday, might as well treat yourself. You get dressed quickly, already debating what to get, and which of your favorite cafes to go to.

The Bookshop cafe

Bakery

Head to the Mall

You head to the mall. It has several good coffee places, and you could grab a few things while you’re there. You had some plans already made to meet a friend there anyways. Your best friend, Poseidon, had invited you out today with the promise of a surprise.

After getting your coffee, you walked around, sipping it casually while you window shopped. You bought a couple bags of candy and a book by the time your friend texted you. His directions lead you to an open area in the mall where the local animal rescue has set up an adoption event. You find Po sitting in a small pen being mauled by puppies.

"Need some backup?"

"I'm fine," he says, looking up at you. "I've got everything under control."

You watch s the puppies continue their attack, chewing on his shoe laces and his jacket sleeves. They were going after just about anything they could get ahold of.

"Are you gonna adopt one?" You ask. You glance over at a separate pen. There were a couple older dogs, all a lot more calm than the puppies.

"Oh no, these things are way too crazy for me." Po laughed. He escaped the puppies, stepping out of the pen. "I actually have a surprise for you."

He takes your hand, leading you over to the adoption table. Sitting calmly beside the table is a golden retriever with a red bow on her collar.

"This is Daisy," he says, picking up one of the adoption forms. "I overheard you talking about wanting to get a golden retriever, and I'd like to buy her for you. She's your Valentine."

You're a little too shocked for words as you kneel down in front of the dog. Daisy licks at your face, watching her tail vigorously. You laugh and hug her. She really is perfect.

"I love her," you tell him, still hugging Daisy. After you finally let go of her, and fill out the necessary paperwork, Poseidon pays the adoption fee. He also buys the collar and leash you pick out.

Now that you're holding Daisy's leash, you hug him tightly "thank you."

"I have a card for you too." He tells you, looking a little nervous. You open it up and read the poem inside.

'Roses are Red, Violets are Blue. You're my best Friend, I'd love to date You.'

The beach is one of your favorite places to go. The sound of the waves is very calming. The sand is less nice,always getting everywhere. So you brought a blanket to sit on, and a packed picnic box from your favorite deli market.

You find a nice spot to lay out your blanket, only a couple of feet away from the wet sand. The sky was mostly cloudy, so you aren't too worried about the sun. You relax on the blanket, listening to the waves and the wind. 

After awhile, you sit up, getting a little hungry. You check the time on your phone before glancing over at your picnic box. Suddenly, a German Shepherd runs up, stopping just in time to avoid barreling into you.

The dog barks at you, sitting on the edge of your blanket. You're still a little shocked by it's sudden appearance.

"Hello there," you say, holding your hand out for the dog to sniff. "You startled me. What are you doing out here by yourself? Where's your owner?"

The dog whines a little and runs off. You hesitate before deciding to go after it. After snatching up your blanket and picnic box, you awkwardly run after the dog. 

By the time you catch up to the dog, it’s licking some guy’s face. He’s laughing, playing with the dog.

“Come on,” He says. “knock it off, Alpha. I have no idea where your tongue has been.”

It takes the guy a second to notice you. He seems as startled by your appearance as you had been by the dog's appearance earlier.

“Hi.” You manage, feeling very awkward. “I, uh, followed your dog, sorry.”

“She didn’t bother you, did she?” He asked. 

“Oh, not at all!” you say quickly. “I just wanted to make sure she wasn’t lost or something.”

He eyed your picnic box. “She probably smelled your food.”

You laugh. “Dogs do have a great sense of smell.” 

You were feeling very awkward, not sure what you should do next. The guy is cute, the dog is cute. You weren’t sure if it would be weird if you set your picnic up next to him. You could share with him, there was enough, but that could also be considered weird.

“You can hang out here if you want.” He told you, cutting into your train of thought. He gestured to his dog. “Alpha likes you. On top of that, you’re cute.”

You hesitate before laying out your blanket again. You can’t hide the blush, and he grins at you. He’s more than cute, he’s hot. And the grin implies that he knows he’s hot.

“What are you doing all alone at the beach on valentine’s day?” You ask him.

“I’m not alone, I’m with my dog.” He replies. “Why are you at the beach, alone, on Valentine’s Day?”

“I’m not alone,” You grin, opening your picnic box “I’m with my picnic.”

He laughs. “Single then?”

“Yep.” You say, taking a bite of your sandwich. 

“I’ll be your Valentine.” He said,” or Alpha. She’s a great Valentine.”

You head to your favorite bakery. They have pretty great lattes and the best pastries in the city. You send a quick text to your boyfriend, Leo, telling him that you're on your way. You know he has plans for the two of you, and you both agreed to start at the bakery. He’s already there when you arrive, looking at the pastry display. You sneak up and surprise him with a hug.

“Hey, good morning, Hermosa.” He greeted, wrapping his arms around you. He gives you a quick kiss, still not completely comfortable with kissing in public. “I haven’t ordered anything yet. Go ahead and pick anything you like.”

You smile as he continues his internal debate over pastries. While he picks those out, you order two lattes. By the time the coffee is ready, Leo has a small box filled with assorted pastries and two fruit cups. 

After leaving the bakery, Leo takes you to a park, pulling a blanket from his bag. He sets it up for you, also setting out the box of pastries. You had mentioned several weeks ago that you’d never really had a picnic before.

“Tada!” He says, grinning. “A Valentine's picnic, just for you. Well, for us, but mostly for you.”

You laugh and hug him. He really is the sweetest, and dorkiest, guy.

All the pastries are your favorite, and a couple are even heart shaped, or have heart shaped sprinkles.

“You’re such a dork.” you tell him.

“I am, but you love me.”

“Yes, I do.” You agree. “I love you, Leo.”

You decided to head to the gym. After lounging for most of the day, it was probably a good idea. You have the comfiest new gym outfit to wear, and you also heard that your gym was giving out heart shaped cookies today. You were kind of surprised to see that the gym wasn’t crowded. You were mostly there for the free cookie. You had imagined the gym would be packed with cookie addicts. You definitely did not mind. You hate crowded gyms.

After locking up your bag in the locker room, you make your way over to an empty area to stretch. Stretching is always a good idea. You take a couple minutes to stretch everything, only being bothered once by a guy. Tony, a gym regular like yourself, always liked to flirt with you. You’ve seen him flirt with several other regulars, so you completely ignore him.

After finishing your stretches, you hit the treadmill. No one dares to break your intense focus. Anyone would think you're working towards a goal, and well, you are. A ridiculous goal. The cookie at the end of the workout. So it startles you to hear a voice to the right of you.

“Hey stranger,” You see Neron when you glance over. He’s grinning at you and you know exactly what he’s thinking.

“Don’t you dare say it.”

“What?” He asks, looking innocent. But you know he’s gonna say it. Neron was the only decent guy to talk to you at this gym. He never hit on you with cheesy, or cringy, pick up lines. Sure he flirted, but it never grossed you out.

“You know what.”

He shrugged, before starting up the treadmill next to you. The two of you were quiet for a minute and then he said ,“So, long time no see.”

You glare over at him. He’s got a grin that says he knew it was exactly what you knew he would say.

“Oh yeah, sure. Rub it in.” You roll your eyes, but you can’t be mad when he’s grinning like that. His dimples your strangle you and you wouldn’t care. 

“I’m sorry,” he says. “I’m only teasing. I promise I'll be quiet for the rest of my workout.”

You laugh. You really don’t think he could be quiet for more than five minutes. And sure enough, after fives minutes passed, he spoke again

“You’re here for the cookie, aren’t you?”

“What happened to being quiet for the rest of the workout?” You ask.

“Hey don’t worry. I’m here for the cookie too.” He told you.

“Seriously, be quiet.”

“I will, I promise,” He replied. “If you agree to go get drinks with me tonight.”

You stop your treadmill and stare at him. He copies you.

“Are you asking me out? On Valentine’s Day?” You narrow your eyes at him.

“Yes I am.” He responded. “The Krispy Kraken, best bar on the boardwalk. We could go around six, maybe seven. It’s usually not too crowded around that time. I noticed you don’t like crowds.”

He seemed to realize he was rambling, and stopped. "Sorry, just think it over. This time, I promise, I really will shut up.”

He started his treadmill back up, and true to his word, he didn’t say anything else for the next half hour. You had started back up a few seconds after him, and headed back to the locker rooms several minutes before him. 

When you went to leave, he was anxiously waiting by the basket of cookies. You glanced at him suspiciously when he handed you a cookie. It was a red heart that said ‘Be my Valentine’ You stare at it for a second, still exhausted from your first workout in weeks.

“Okay.” you said.

“Really?!”

“Yeah,” You reply. “I’ll see you at seven.”

You arrived at the bar around six-fifty, not wanting to be late. You also wanted to scout out the best place to sit. There was a nice table for two near a wall that was close enough to the bar, but also far enough away from the other tables. A little bit of privacy would be nice. 

Neron arrived several minutes later, scanning the small crowd of patrons to find you. 

“I hope you don’t mind, I already ordered a couple things.” You tell him when he sits across from you. He accepted the bar menu when you offered it to him. “I got us their krispy fries, and the kraken tater tots.”

“Those are always a good choice.” Neron smiled. Once he finished glancing over the menu, He ordered a round of Seashell Shots, and the Mermaid’s Tail. You ordered a Seafoam Sangria. The two of you chatted until your drinks came, enjoying the live band that was playing on the small stage across the bar.

“How did you know I’m not fond of crowds?” You ask after a while

“I just noticed that when the gym is packed, you’ll do a shorter workout.” He replied. “I suppose you could say it’s an educated guess.”

You smile. “People can get a bit too noisy for me. Smaller groups are a lot better than big crowds.”

Neron glanced around. “Let me know whenever you want to leave. Until then, Do you want to dance a little?”

“Yeah, why not.” You stand up and hold out your hand to him.

You dance together for awhile  before finishing your drinks and catching a cab. All the way home, Neron holds your hand. He asks about your favorite colors, foods, and your favorite season. He walks you to your door and kisses your cheek.

“Happy Valentine’s day.” He tells you. 

Kraken Coffee, a cozy coffee shop that you have gotten addicted too. The coffee is great and the staff is always friendly. After picking out a cute outfit, and after making sure to put on your favorite jacket, you grab your bag and head out. The best thing about Kraken Coffee? It’s within walking distance of your home. 

You were almost there when your text notification went off. It startled you from your train of thought. You slip it out of your jacket pocket and smile. Your fiancé had texted you to let you know he was already at the coffee shop. Truth be told, it’s possible that he has more of a caffeine addiction than you do. You send a quick reply that you’re almost there.

When You arrive, you see Valdimar waiting at the end of the line. He had already let several people go ahead of him in the line to the register. The second you are within reach, he puts an arm around you. You  take advantage and press a kiss to his cheek. Some people stare but neither of you notice. Vald has always loved having you close,and you love being close to him.

“Good morning, min kære.” He smiled. You smile practically beamed back at him. You love when he speaks Danish to you.

The line moves quickly and Vald orders coffee for you both, all the while you are tucked against him, with his arms securely around you. You hear a couple of the baristas remark how cute the two of you are. You are sitting together, drinking your coffee when he speaks up again.

“I am sorry,” He sighs, “I have to go to work today.”

“But...it’s Valentine’s day!” You say, a bit upset. “..you never work on Valentine’s day.”

“I am sorry, min kære.” He looks a little pained as he says it. You take hold of his free hand, squeezing gently. You know he hates it when you’re sad. Vald gives your hand a kiss, and apologies again. 

He has to leave you there. So you sit and finish your coffee, very bummed out. You are about to get up and leave, when a courier enters the coffee shop. He makes his way to you, and hands you a card. You look at the man, a little confused. He just smiles and leaves. It was definitely a little strange. You open the card to see Vald’s handwriting.

‘You Bake me crazy,

Can you blame me?’

You smile, and roll your eyes at the pun. Underneath the words is the logo of your favorite bakery. You gather up your bag and head out. The bakery wasn’t very far, and when you arrive, the owner is there, handing you your kind favorite pastry, and another card from Vald. You sit to eat your pastry, wishing Vald was there to share it with you. You smile at the next card. It was just like him, to create a scavenger hunt for you. The next card came without a logo this time. Though you were sure all the clues, or puns as there were, would most likely lead you to all your favorite places.

‘Chocolate, Caramel, and Cream,

Our love is like a dream.’

You read it several times, over and over. It’s so sweet you could cry. But happy tears could wait. It was obviously a hint to go to your favorite chocolate shop. It was a bit farther away, but you really don’t mind the walk. You keep reading the card over and over.until you arrive. An employee greets you, handing you a small box of caramel cream filled chocolates. They’re packaged into a red and gold heart shaped box, and ‘I love you’ Is written on the lid, in Vald’s handwriting. You also receive another card.

‘Roses are Red,

Violets are not actually Blue,

But that doesn’t change the Fact,

That I Love You.’

Vald was really almost making you cry in a chocolate shop. It was possible you might break down into tears by the time you reached the flower shop that you knew was only a block away.You laugh a little at his poem. He was always a little annoyed by the ‘violets are blue’ part of it.They weren’t and you loved how he changed the poem. After a quick thank you to the employee, you head back out, eager to see what you would get at the flower shop.

Roses, obviously. Vald tended to stick to most traditions and cliches. You were handed a bouquet of 12 roses and yet another card. You struggled to open it, still holding your chocolates, and now the roses. It made you glad you had stopped to eat your pastry, or you’d be juggling that too.

‘Some things are Mint to be,

Come have a frozen treat with me.’

That made your heart skip a beat. You didn’t want to get your hopes up. He did say he had to work. And it was more likely that Vald had just wanted the clue to rhyme. The ice cream shop the two of you always went to was only a couple shops down. You leave and carefully make your way to the ice cream place. When you walk in, Vald IS there, in a new, much fancier suit than earlier. He’s sitting at the first table facing the door, a huge grin on his face when he sees you. He stands quickly as you approach. 

“Happy Valentine’s Day.” He says, taking the chocolate and roses from you. He sets them down so he can pull you into a hug.

“I knew it.” You say, laughing and tearing up a little. “You never work on Valentine’s day.”

“No,” He laughed too. “I don’t.”

He pulled your chair out for you, your favorite ice cream already on the table. He returned to his seat and produced a small jewelry box from his pocket.

Your favorite bookshop has the cutest little cafe. It’s got the calming vibes everyone wants. A great place to sip coffee or tea and read the brand new book you just bought. Not to mention, the cutest barista to ever exist works there. Hae-ju, the sweetest person to ever exist. You awkwardly flirt with her half the time you go there. The rest of the time, you can barely get a word in, she’s just so talkative, and she knows just about every regular and their orders. 

You have never met someone so in love with food as Hae-ju. This was the day, this Valentine’s Day, that you were going to ask her out. You practice your whole conversation on the drive there, preparing for both a yes, and a no. It doesn’t hurt to be prepared. But there is no possible way to be completely prepared for her smile, or the immediate ‘yes’ before you even finish asking her out.

“You said yes?” You ask, still a bit shocked.

“Of course I said yes.” she laughed. Her eyes practically sparkled with joy. Or maybe that was just your imagination. “Where and When?”

“Oh. I hadn’t thought that far yet.” You feel a little embarrassed.

“That’s okay, I know a perfect place.” She grabbed a napkin and wrote down an address. “This is a great bar, and I always have a reservation. My shift is over at six, so meet me there around eight.”

You look down at the napkin, admiring her handwriting. It’s super cute, and she even dotted her 'i' with a heart. The Krispy Kraken. You had heard of that particular bar, but had never been. After folding the napkin and tucking it in your bag, you both said a quick ‘see you later’ after seeing you were holding up the line. 

 You stood outside the bar looking up at the neon sign. Swallowing your nervousness, you stepped through the door as the scent of the water around you filled your nostrils. After taking a small look around you noticed Hae-ju standing just across the way by the bar. The way her face lit up when she noticed you walking her way sent butterflies straight through your stomach. Her smile was infectious and you couldn't help but smile back when she waved.

“This place looks like a lot of fun!” You leaned in so she could hear you over the crowd.

“Oh yeah, no I love this place. I come here every weekend!” She grinned even wider. “You need to try their fried chicken and beer, there is nothing else like it. I tried getting their recipe for the secret sauce once, but that thing is guarded better than the Mona Lisa!” She laughed.

You could listen to that laugh forever. The way it seemed to just reach right directly into your heart and stay there just made you want this to last forever. You barely even registered that she had led you over to the bar to sit and order your drinks and that fried chicken she just couldn’t stop talking about.

“You were right about that fried chicken!” You remarked as you took another drink of your Siren’s Song(which for sure was just a Redheaded Slut renamed). What was this? Your third drink of the night? Maybe your fourth? Who knows. All you knew was that you were having the time of your life right now with the most beautiful woman you could even think of.

“You know how many times I have taken some of the sauce home and tried to recreate it? Like, I swear, it’s something that must be from another planet entirely! No matter what I try, I just can’t seem to make it myself. But I guess that is one of the charms of this place. It holds so many secrets just in the food alone.”

You weren’t even sure where you were in this conversation, but all you cared about was just getting her to talk. You loved listening to her go on and on about the food she loved. Plus you weren’t entirely sure that you could even form a coherent sentence at this point with how much alcohol you had.

“Hey gorgeous.” A sudden smooth and sexy voice, with a slight alcohol drawl, came out of nowhere. “I don’t think I have ever seen someone so beautiful before. Especially in a place like this.” Whoever this man was, you didn’t like him getting so close to Hae-ju. “Name’s Triton by the way.” God even his smirk was sexy.

You weren’t even sure what was happening at this point. The alcohol had basically frozen your brain so all you could do it sit there and watch this man try and take Hae-ju. But all she did was smirk in response.

“Well looks like you might have to keep looking.” And without warning she turned back to you and pulled you closer to give your cheek a quick peck. “I’m already taken.”

You head out to your favorite coffee shop. It’s a small family owned cafe with a cozy, friendly atmosphere. Several of the baristas know you, and know your order by heart. The line was longer than usual, but you don’t mind the wait. You wait patiently, searching cat memes on your phone. You don’t even notice the guy behind you, reading the memes over your shoulder.

“I don’t get it.” You hear him mutter to himself. It’s the first thing that alerts you to his presence. 

“I’m sorry?” You say, not quite sure if he was talking to himself, or to you. His eyes flick up from the phone screen to you. He looked slightly embarrassed.

“The pictures, I don’t get it.” He repeated. 

“You mean the memes?” 

“What on earth is a meme?” 

Your eyes widen. The poor man, he looks so confused.

“It’s a funny picture, mostly with words. Like a joke or a pun.” You try to explain. “Some are good, most are stupid. Cat memes are usually pretty good.”

He hummed thoughtfully, trying to grasp the concept. He still looked like he didn’t quite understand. You look him over as he continues to stare at your phone screen. He had to be at least in his late forties. He definitely has the silver fox thing going for him.

It was suddenly your turn to order, none of the usual baristas in sight. Before you could rattle off your order, the man stepped forward. 

“One black coffee, a large one please.” He said, already taking out his wallet. “And what she wants.”

You give the barista your order, before moving to wait at the end of the counter. After paying, the man joined you. You were both quiet, and it felt a little awkward.

“You didn’t need to pay for me.” You tell him

“I wanted to,” He stated, then continued. “It’s the least I could do, after spying over your shoulder. I apologise, it was a borderline creepy thing to do.”

“Apology accepted.” You tell him. He didn’t give  off any creeper vibes, and he looked genuinely embarrassed about it.

“My name’s Aegaeus,” He said once the two of you received your coffee. “And if you don’t mind, I’d love to learn more about these memes.”

You choose to go have some fun. Several other single friends planned a group trip to the local theme park. You quickly text one of them to come pick you up and soon, you’re there. The rides look fun and you’re happy that you decided to come. Sitting at home alone all day would have been very boring. While your friends are mapping out which rides to go on first, you notice a concession stand nearby. You know your friends well enough, they won’t reach a decision quickly. So you're head over to get a snack and a soda. There is a woman sitting at the nearby table, by herself. You look around, wondering if she’s really at the theme park all by herself. After you get your treats, you sit to eat at the table that is opposite hers. You glance up every now and then, realizing she really is all by herself. The last time you look up, she does too. You stare at her and she smiles at you. After giving her an awkward wave, you finish your snack and drink before heading back to your friends. They had finalized the list of rides,and were ready to get started. 

After the first five rides, your group arrived at a super intimidating rollercoaster. You opt to wait by the darts and fishing games. A couple of your friends join you, but run off to check out another ride. You play the fishing game a couple times and win a small prize. You get a kazoo, which you plan to annoy your friends with when they get back. 

You’re about to head back over to the rollercoaster to wait for them, when you see the woman from before. She was standing at the darts booth, trying, and failing, to pop the balloons. She was starting to look upset.

“Hey,” You tap her shoulder. You felt a little awkward walking up to a stranger, but it seemed she really was here alone. And she didn’t look like she was having fun.“Remember me? I saw you earlier by the concessions. I was wondering if you’d want to play a few of the games with me.”

“I’m not doing too good on my own.” She responded, managing a smile. “I guess anyone can see that. I’m Marin.”

“I’m getting pretty good at the fishing game.” You say, wanting to cheer her up. She seemed so nice. “ Wanna try it?”

“Yeah, I’m getting nowhere with these darts.” She replied, following you over to the other game.

You pay for both of you to take several turns, and begin giving her tips on how to catch the little plastic fish. By the time you run out of turns, Marin has won a small prize as well, a pair of goofy pink sunglasses. She laughs as she tries them on, making you smile. Her laugh is adorable and you end up laughing with her. You pay so she can take another turn and she wins a kazoo. 

“Now you’re better than me at this game, I’ve only got a kazoo.” You tell her, making sure she doesn’t see the ‘Everyone wins’ sign. The game was for kids. It was made so you get a prize every time. 

Marin pulled out her phone to take a selfie with her new sunglasses and her neon green kazoo. She posted the best one on instagram, not caring about how dorky she might look. You could tell she was having fun, and that made you happy. You ran over to buy some cotton candy, bringing back one pink and one blue to share with her. After you both sat down on a bench, your friends had appeared at the exit of the roller coaster. They barely notice you were with someone they didn’t know. They all yelled that they were going to ride again and then they were gone.

“So, are you really here all by yourself?” You ask while you eat the cotton candy. Marin looked down at her phone, mumbling a ‘yes’.

“My boyfriend dumped me last night.” She said after a few minutes. “He’s apparently been seeing someone else for the last few weeks so...screw him. We were supposed to come here together today. So I decided I'd go by myself. And thanks to you, I'm feeling much better about it.”

“Good.” You tell her. “I’m glad you're having fun.”

“That is also the reason I was trying the dart game. My Ex was never able to win one of those huge stuffed animals, and I really wanted to do it.”  She explained, glancing over at the dart booth. “I really want that giant narwal.”

“Well, my friends are still in line to ride the roller coaster again, let’s give it a shot.” You stand up and take her hand before heading over to the dart booth. You had never won a giant stuffed animal before either.You feel the determination to win, and you do your best to cheat the already rigged game. Several of your friends have taught you how to angle the darts, you just need to get the throw right. You explained the theory to Marin so she could try, but you’re the one to win the big prize. You pick the giant narwal and give it to her. It’s over half Marin’s size. She hugs the Narwal as the two of you walk over to wait at the roller coaster exit.

“Thank you.” Marin said. She took hold of your hand as the two of you sat on a bench to wait. She hesitated for a moment, then kissed your cheek. 

Just then, your friends exited the ride. A couple of them saw Marin kiss your cheek, but they kept quiet, giving you a wink when no one else was looking. 

“This is Marin.” You introduce her to everyone. “She’s here by herself, I invited her to join us.”