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Valentine's day was never Henry's favorite day of the year for more reasons than one. Sure, it was a nice holiday as holidays went; with the importance of love being highlighted in every advertisement and corner flower shop bursting with red carnations and roses. Henry appreciated the holiday's meaning, but he had never been at a tizzy with buying gifts like a lovesick teenager. Actually, gift buying for valentine's day had never been important. Henry had no romance in his life and thus no reason to buy overpriced flowers and chocolates every year, with the exception of small items for the coworkers he was acquainted with.
Henry had worked at the pharmaceutical for a long enough time so that he could anticipate what would come Valentine's day. He could expect delivery boys bearing bouquets to intrude in the workspace, the cubicles overflowing with candy and stuffed animals, and he could expect Saperstein to play the worst love songs over the loudspeaker. Larry would always give Henry inappropriate gifts like edible underwear, Charmonique would hand Henry a chocolate and a hand-drawn valentine courtesy of her son, and even Joan would have the tiniest of a smile on her face when her husband sent his usual bouquet up to her office.
Henry had gotten used to it, and there was a difference between enjoying and tolerating a holiday. This year, however, he was at a standstill. Valentine's Day was three days away and rather than focusing on work, his thoughts were straying to one beautiful redhead.
He'd lost Eliza for sure. He remembered how he'd told himself more than the middle schoolers on skateboards that he'd be ready next time- but in reality, it seemed that there would be no next time. Last he'd heard (from Raj) Eliza and Freddy were still going strong. Henry couldn't help but wish that he were the one in Freddy's place- that he were the one holding Eliza's hand in the hallway and be the one sending her numerous texts. Well, if Henry were unbiased for a second, he'd think that Freddy was a terrible boyfriend because of the fact that all he did was text Eliza instead of spending time with her. Henry longed to be the one to court Eliza, to send her flowers and drop thoughtful notes on her desk, but it would be improper to do so when she was still with Freddy.
"Sir," a timid voice coming from the door brought Henry out of his thoughts. "It's- um- Eliza. She wants to-"
"Move, Charlie!" Eliza huffed and pushed past Henry's assistant, rolling her eyes. Henry's eyes grew wide when he realized he wasn't even working and he hastily pushed some paperwork in front of his face.
"Eliza," he said, not expecting her. "I believe we mentioned being courteous in talking to others."
Eliza looked unabashed as she sat on the corner of Henry's desk. "Fine, but Charlie doesn't count, does he? 'Cause he's just, like, your servant or something."
"Assistant," Henry corrected, but he let himself smile at the girl he was quite fond of.
"Whatever. I've got a serious prob that I need your help with asap," Eliza said, facing Henry intently. Henry felt his face flush, taking in Eliza's moving cherry-red lips and watching her brown eyes blink innocently, not really listening. He wondered, idly, if her slightly more buttoned up work attire meant that she was taking more of an effort to seem professional. Her pencil skirt was longer, her heels not as high, and her shirt neckline higher than usual. Even though the new Eliza Dooley was becoming a better person and her short hair was lovely, nothing could ever hide the fact that she was beautiful.
"Henry!" Eliza snapped her fingers in front of Henry's nose.
"I-I apologize," Henry stammered. "You've- um- caught me at a bad time, this time of day. I was busy, and my mind was elsewhere."
Eliza quirked an eyebrow. "I can tell." She craned her neck to look at the papers in front of Henry. "What'cha working on?"
Henry slammed his hand on top of the papers because they just so happened to actually be completed. "What was that problem of yours again?"
Eliza lit up again at having Henry's complete attention. "It's Valentine's day soon, so you know, I need your help."
Henry swallowed hard. "Of course. Valentine's day."
"Me and Freddy are probably gonna do something cas," Eliza studied her nails (painted red, like her lips, not that Henry was noticing). "But, like, I should get him something. What do you think?"
"Think about-"
"What do you think I should give him?" Eliza looked Henry in the eyes with a little smile growing on the side of her mouth.
"Oh," Henry said, crestfallen, suddenly thinking of Eliza spending the day with Freddy. "I'm afraid I can't help you with this, Eliza. I don't know enough about Freddy to advise you on this subject."
"But you're a guy," Eliza pouted, nearing Henry a little bit closer on his desk and pushing his stapler out of her way. Henry was near eye level with her chest and he looked away. Eliza gave him a coy smile. "What do you want for Valentine's day?"
You.
"There's nothing in particular that I'd like, Eliza," Henry said, looking anywhere other than where Eliza sat. "Perhaps get Freddy something standard- something he needs."
"You have to want something," Eliza crossed her legs, taking her time doing so. Her head lolled to the side childishly, a bright smile pursed on her lips. "C'mon. Spill."
"There's nothing I need," Henry said, feeling like his face was on fire. "Valentine's Day isn't important."
Eliza tapped her lips with her index finger devilishly, giving Henry a wink. "It's not about what you need, Henry.. it's about what you want." She stood up and let her mouth graze Henry's earlobe while Henry sat shock still. "You can find me when you figure out what you want."
Eliza pulled away as quickly as she'd approached, sashaying out of the office with her hips swaying suggestively. Henry cursed his rapidly beating heart on the fact that Eliza Dooley knew how attractive she was and used it to her advantage.
"Um- sir?"
Henry looked up to see Charlie in the corner of the room awkwardly shifting his weight from one leg to the either.
"Uhm," Henry cleared his throat, fixing the papers on his desk. "Yes, Charlie."
"What do you want for Valentine's day?"
"That is all, Charlie, thank you, go take a break."
"Oh-okay."
_______________________________
"He's blocking me!" Eliza huffed out in frustration. "It's like he doesn't like me anymore-" she gasped. "D'you think that he's..moved on?"
Charmonique looked up at the woman pacing in front of her desk and sighed. "Eliza, I don't have time for this. If the man doesn't like you, get another one."
Eliza pouted childishly. "But I want Henry."
"I thought you and Freddy were still hot and heavy," Charmonique said, flatter than Eliza expected.
"We were," Eliza said. "Okay, we were after everything, but like, I used to majorly love Henry. Or, I sorta do. Sorta. Just a little bit."
"Eliza," Charmonique said, "If you like the dude, then go for it. What else is Henry waiting for?"
"I don't know," Eliza chewed her bottom lip thoughtfully until she tasted lipstick. "I keep dropping all these hints, and still- nothing. I even tried to make him jealous with Freddy. Do you think he's not interested?"
"Eliza," Charmonique stressed, "Henry's not smart. He won't do anything unless you tell him straight out. He doesn't do hints."
"But he should do something," Eliza pointed out. "It's like he's just waiting for me to go away every time I talk to him." She tilted her head inquisitively. "Do you think I'm annoying him?"
"You're annoying me," Charmonique said, not lifting her eyes from her laptop.
Eliza stuck out her tongue because old habits died hard. "You're totally not helping."
"Good. Just tell Henry how you feel, or don't," Charmonique was ever the rational one.
"I got it!" Eliza stuck her finger in the air. "I'll get him something amaze for V day and tell him then. What do you think?"
"Sure," Charmonique replied, but even as Eliza shot her a huge grin, it was clear she was uninterested in Eliza's problems.
_______________________________________
Henry was stuck in a department store two days before Valentine's, and it was harder than anticipated to find something Eliza would like. He knew that Eliza loved expensive trinkets and makeup, but he knew next to nothing on those topics. If he only could be in her mind for a second to know if there was something she needed- but her words kept coming back to him. Want. It was about something she'd want. At once, Henry tossed his idea of heart themed stationary out of consideration and out of his shopping basket.
Forget his rational, gentlemanly respect for Eliza's relationship with Freddy. Henry was going to make some sort of romantic gesture to Eliza, declaring his unrequited love, and then he could move aside.
The only problem was what to do.
"Flash mobs," Larry stated, not helpfully, the next day over coffee in the break room. "Girls love flash mobs."
"That never worked with your wife, if I recall," Henry said slowly.
"Nancy pretends she doesn't like them," Larry waggled his eyebrows.
Linda and Joan weren't as miffed at Henry's problem.
"I imagine Eliza isn't a woman of high standards," Joan said stiffly. "It can't be hard to find something that will please her."
"You can't go wrong with flowers," Linda offered calmly.
Henry found Bryn sipping heated tea by the microwave and she got a glint in her eye once Henry explained his problem.
"How romantic," she sighed dreamily.
Henry flushed. "Not- really, I just thought that if I tell her how I feel that I can finally move away from her and-"
"No," Bryn said firmly.
Henry was taken aback by her response. "No?"
"You're obviously madly in love with her," Bryn blew on her tea.
"I- she has a boyfriend," Henry supplied lamely.
"Irrelevant," Bryn pushed her face close to Henry's. "You need to make a huge romantic gesture to win her over."
Henry uncomfortably backed away. "I'm not sure that's what I need to do-"
"Yes, it is," Bryn ignored him. "You have to do something drastic. I'm assuming Larry told you a flash mob, but not something loud and chaotic. I'm talking pouring rain, candlelit dinner, cheesy romantic comedies so you can make out during boring parts."
"The forecast says nothing about rain for this week."
Bryn groaned loudly, in an exasperated manner. "Guys are always like this. Okay," she said, setting down her mug and crossing her arms, "Girls, they like romantic guys. Ones that open their doors and leave flowers at their doorstep and love the same books they do- sensitive types. Not the un-romantically involved ones."
"I don't want her to leave Freddy for me," Henry said, pensive. "I wouldn't want to impose in her relationship and ruin it, at least not anymore then I already did."
"How'd you ruin it before?" Bryn looked amused.
"That's not important," Henry mumbled, half to himself. "The point is," he explained, raising his voice, "I would like to do something meaningful but nothing too flashy."
"Flashy is exactly Eliza's type, that's why she's dating Freddy," Bryn said, like this made obvious sense. "She likes him as her eye candy, not because Freddy is interesting." She huffed in distaste. "He'd never even heard of Pride and Prejudice when Wren approached him about the book club. I'd never lower my standards like that."
Henry nodded. "Righhht. Well, this has given me some ideas, but I can't take her to dinner on Valentine's day- I expect she'll have made plans with Freddy."
"A technicality," Bryn waved her hand. "The idea is to get the wheels in her head churning. If she has any. Your gesture should make her rethink the Freddy fiasco and make her want to date you instead."
"I already said that I don't want her to-"
"It's obvious you want it," Bryn said, cutting Henry off. "Your fantasy is that Eliza will leave her cute, brain-dead boyfriend so you can sweep her off her feet..isn't it."
Henry kept quiet at that point, but Bryn smiled triumphantly.
"I am in love with Eliza," Henry admitted quietly, more to himself than to Bryn. "I am." And he was. He was plagued by thoughts of her, of her adorable laugh and the way she scrunched her nose, the vibrant colors of her hair and wardrobe and suddenly he thought of Saperstein's words to him during the Santa Barbara house- 'You're more lifelike around her'.
"Good, 'cause we have a lot of planning to do," Bryn grabbed Henry's elbow and yanked him out of the break room.
____________________________________
Eliza was struck with the realization that she was utterly and completely broke as fuck. Okay, so with Henry's help, she had been managing her money, and her rent and all that was taken care of for the next month, but spending money funds were totes gone. As in, she's seen the cutest pair of wedges in the mall the other day that made her ankles look amazing and so it would've been criminal not to take them. So how the heck was she supposed to find Henry a great Valentine's day gift if she couldn't even get something standard like chocolates?
Re-gifting something could work, but Eliza had nothing that screamed 'I'm madly in love with you, date me'. Really, unless he wanted last season's clothes, Henry could've have something secondhand from Eliza. Eliza groaned and flopped on her couch, smacking her forehead dramatically. Well, she'd just have to wing it.
______________________________________________________
Valentine's Day bloomed with fair weather and a large share of heart-shaped items. Terrance, no longer being the office floater, did not deliver the usual cards, much to Henry's horror. He said it in horror, because it appeared that they got a volunteer that year- a volunteer that happened to be Larry wearing a diaper, a bow and arrow over his back.
"Henry!" Larry waved him over and opened a pouch. "I got you something..."
"That's very nice, thank you Larry, but it's not the best time right now," Henry scanned the room in search of Bryn, nervous in his suit and anxious about the flowers in his hands. If only he could find her, and then Eliza, the rest of the day could go on swimmingly.
"You'll like this one. Chocolates, shaped like little hearts," Larry held them out to Henry, who accepted them without much thought. "I admit I was going to get you butthole shaped chocolates but Nancy told me they'd be inappropriate for work..."
"That's very nice, thank you Larry," Henry repeated and caught sight of Bryn, who wore a large red hat over her hair extensively. "Excuse me."
"I've already called him, he's on his way," Bryn said, the epitome of calmness when Henry was in her earshot. "Now stop worrying and find Eliza. I've got this."
Henry did as she asked, hiding the flowers behind his back as he spotted Eliza at her cubicle. She looked perfect, and maybe he was biased, but he was sure she'd look perfect any day of the week. Her hair fell in usual ringlets around her shoulders, pursed lips were red, her dress was tight, red, and underneath, her legs were covered in black fishnets. Henry loved (yes, he admitted it, he loved her) Eliza for herself, not her beauty, but at times like these, it struck him that he fell in love with a woman who was far out of his league, and he worried about embarrassing himself.
It was Valentine's Day, and if he didn't do this now, he'd never do it at all.
"Eliza," Henry called out to her, pasting a smile on his face nervously.
"Henry!" Eliza jumped and hastily exited her seat, blocking something on her desk. "Um- you're here- earlier than usual!"
"I- always get here before you," Henry raised his eyebrows.
"Yeah, I knew that, buuuut," Eliza stalled, "I thought you'd be late. Dammnit, I told Larry to distract you."
"You told-"
"Forget it," Eliza sighed. "Henry, there's something I need to tell you. I l-"
"I need to tell you something too," Henry presented her the flowers. "These- are for you."
Eliza looked at them in surprise and gingerly accepted them. "Wow. Um. For what?"
"Because I've realized something," Henry began. Right on cue, a violinist courtesy of Bryn came behind Henry and began to play. Eliza looked majorly freaked, almost dropping her flowers. "Eliza Dooley, I'm in love with you." Eliza's eyes bugged at that moment appreciatively, and a few curious coworkers began forming a circle.
"Henry-"
"I need to say this," Henry interrupted. "Eliza, I've been in love with you. I understand you were never mine to have, and I suppose- I- I still wish that you and I..."
"OMG," Eliza blurted, going extremely red in the face and cutting off what was supposed to be Henry's beautiful speech. "Henry! What the hell?"
"W-what?" Henry said. The violinist stopped playing.
"You're such a huge idiot!" Eliza jabbed her finger into his shoulder. "I've been trying to get with you for months and you haven't picked up anything I've been offering!"
"But- Freddy," Henry said.
"Ugh, Freddy, there's no Freddy anymore, and there isn't going to be," Eliza crossed her arms, but then she started to smile. "You really love me?"
Henry shyly looked at the floor. "I do."
"You did this for me?" Eliza gave the violinist a quick smile over Henry's shoulder.
He chuckled. "Yes."
"Damn," Eliza cursed, none too quietly. "Shit, now I have to do this."
"Do what?"
Eliza reached for what she'd tried to conceal before Henry reached her desk- a hand drawn card, with poorly scattered glitter glue hearts adorning the cover, seemingly unfinished.
"This was supposed to be- a card," she said, placing it in Henry's hands. "Basically I was gonna do the same thing you're doing, but- cheaper."
Henry smiled at the card. "It's beautiful, Eliza. Thank you."
Eliza took a deep breath and approached him, slowly placing her hand on his cheek. "I love you too," she whispered, very much sober this time.
Henry swallowed and watched as her lips moved closer to his. His arms curled around her waist, hers furled against his chest, and their lips almost touched....
...until the bucket of water was tossed over them.
Eliza squealed and leapt away. "Larry!" she shouted accusingly.
"It was her idea!" Larry pointed at Bryn.
"You were supposed to lightly drench them!" Bryn tossed her hands in the air. "Ugh, now you ruined the romantic moment!"
Henry met Eliza's eyes and saw that she was laughing, shoulders shaking, and a smile formed on his own face. He pulled her in quickly for a kiss while Larry and Bryn continued to argue.
Well, it wasn't as romantic as expected, but it was everything he wanted.
Eliza looked at Henry in amazement as he pulled away slowly. Everything he wanted to communicate was said with his eyes, and Eliza smiled smugly.
"You worship me," she decided with a smirk.
Henry smiled at the love of his life, currently in his arms, and decided she was right.
"I've grown accustomed to your face."