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February 7th
4:00 PM
“Just a week away! I'm so excited!” Willow beamed as she marked out a day on her calendar. She could hardly contain her excitement, as Joyous Hearts Day was now only seven days away. It was a day about celebrating relationships. Friendships, families, and, most prominently, romantic relationships.
Despite Willow's excitement, she had a bit of a… history with her feelings towards the holiday. It came from way back when Willow celebrated her friendship with Amity when she was little. In fact, Willow's first Joyous Hearts Days were always spent with Amity, so when Amity betrayed her, she went from looking forward to Joyous Hearts Days to dreading and resenting it.
Up until this very year, every Joyous Hearts Day was just a painful reminder that Amity betrayed her and went on to relentlessly bully her along with her new friends. Willow didn't even have a single friendship to celebrate Joyous Hearts Day with until she met Gus a couple of years down the line. Before that, all Willow had was just her dads, and she was too crushed to even bother celebrating it with them. Joyous Hearts had become just a painful time of the year, and every time Willow started seeing the dreaded holiday starting to be advertised, she couldn't help but become bitter and angry about how she was all alone and how lonely she truly was.
But Joyous Hearts was mainly about romance, and unfortunately, Willow had no luck in that aspect either. She had had crushes before, several in fact, but she had to quickly learn to keep them secret. No one would dare to date the dreaded half-a-witch Willow, one of the weakest, if not the weakest witch in school. Pretty much everyone was out of her league, and Titan, if Boscha and her gang found out about any sort of crush, it was game over. The whole school would know, and everyone would laugh at her for weeks on end.
Willow couldn't help but despise the holiday for years due to being alone for so long. It truly felt like things would be like this forever, where she'd be alone for the rest of her Joyous Hearts days, but times sure do change. Willow could have never imagined that, within the past year, her life would flip upside down for the better. She had new friends that loved and understood her, she was bullied less, and she had even reconnected with Amity, but most of all, Willow had a boyfriend . She never thought she'd end up with one . Especially not one as amazing as Hunter.
After so, so many years, it was finally time to celebrate the holiday rather than resent it. It was finally time to look forward rather than look back, and Willow couldn't wait.
She already had the perfect gift in mind for Hunter. A giant teddy bear that he could cuddle with when she wasn't around. Hunter adored plushies, and especially stuffed animals. He was a bit shy about it when he first told her, but now he had openly embraced his love for them, so this teddy bear was by far the perfect gift for him. Willow had even researched several teddy bear brands, trying to find the perfect one. Nothing less than perfect would suffice for him. Willow settled on the Build-A-Demon brand. A fairly expensive brand, but one that she knew would be worth the price. It was all for her perfect little prince. Hunter would adore it. Willow knew he would.
However, that would have to wait until Joyous Hearts Day came, and for now, Willow was planning to see a certain blonde boy.
February 7th
5:00 PM
Hunter was expecting Willow to arrive at his doorstep any moment. They were hanging out for the evening, and he couldn't wait. He stood at the door everlastingly patient for his Willow to arrive. There was a knock, and Hunter instantly opened the door. “Willow!” he cried.
“Hunter!” Willow beamed, throwing her arms around him for a bear hug. Hunter's heart fluttered at this. They had been dating for about a month, and Hunter swore that he should be used to this by now, but every time Willow gave him hugs, his heart always burst out of his chest.
They ended the hug and then sat at the dining table as Darius prepared them dinner. Willow smiled ear to ear. “So, are you excited for Joyous Hearts Day?”
Hunter raised a brow. “...Joyous Hearts Day?”
“Yeah! I can't wait to celebrate it with you! I've been looking forward to the holiday for the first time since I was a little kid, and it's all because…” Willow blushed. “I get to spend it with you.”
Hunter's cheeks turned red. “Aww, that's so sweet…” His eyes darted side to side. “...So what's this holiday about now?”
Willow deadpanned him. “You… don't know?”
Hunter playfully smiled. “Willow, I didn't even know what a hug was and barely understood people could actually be nice until after I ran away from the Emperor's Coven,” Hunter replied.
“Oh, right, that makes sense,” Willow replied. “Well, Joyous Hearts Day is a celebration of the relationships in your life. Friendships as well as familial, but it's mainly centered around romantic relationships. The traditional gift is a beating heart with your joyfriend's name on it, but you can get anything for them. I got a special gift in mind for you,” Willow said with a wink.
“Oh, OH! I get it now,” Hunter suddenly realized something. “...and you already have a gift for me?”
“Yes, I do!” Willow declared. “You'll love it. It's perfect.
Hunter's stomach dropped. “Oh, oh jeez. I guess I need to figure out what to get you then… When is this holiday?”
“February 14th.”
“Oh Titan, so only a week to figure this out,” Hunter said, his stomach sinking. “But don't worry, I will make absolutely sure that I will get you nothing but the most perfect gift as well.”
Willow chuckled. “I'm sure it will be.”
Hunter swallowed, knowing that he had a huge mission on his shoulders now and not a lot of time to figure it out.
February 8th
3:30 PM
After arriving home from school, Hunter immediately started doing research on Joyous Hearts Day for himself and how to get the perfect gift for Willow. He also wanted to get gifts for his adoptive father and uncle as well, but they were easy. Just get some super good skincare cream for Darius and a magma cake for Eberwolf. Willow was by far going to be the hardest one because her gift had to be more than just some face cream or food. It had to be perfect and nothing less.
Hunter knew he should give something related to plants… probably flowers. A bouquet would definitely do, but with what flowers? They had to be the fairest, most sentimental flowers on Earth. Then Hunter remembered something.
A dazzling, maroon flower called a cupid-rose.
Cupid-roses were a type of special rose that represented the everlasting love between joyfriends.
That was it. The perfect flower for his bouquet.
However, Hunter quickly found himself having several issues with this plan. Natural growing cupid-roses were incredibly rare. They didn't often pop up on their own without a witch casting magic. Only the strongest plant witches could grow them, and they had to be in love to do that in the first place. Hunter knew this because Willow had both accidentally and purposely grown them before, and she never used to be able to do that until she returned his romantic feelings.
But no matter, surely people sold bouquets of cupid-roses, especially around this time of year, so Hunter decided to look up bouquets for sale. Unfortunately, since the holiday was fast approaching, he found that they were only sold at the night market for insane prices, and the prices were far more than he could afford.
This was going to be tricky.
It seemed like his last option was finding cupid-roses and plucking them himself. It would be hard to find one, let alone even some, but the good news was cupid-roses were a winter flower, and Hunter could use this to his advantage.
February 10th
9:00 AM
It was the weekend before Joyous Hearts Day, and Hunter was finalizing his preparations to go out and collect cupid-roses. He had researched online forums for the best place to find naturally growing cupid-roses on the isles, and unfortunately, it was pretty far away from his home in the abdominal cavity. It was below the peak of the Knee, a good 4000 feet below where it began to ice.
Hunter made sure to bundle up, grabbed a sandwich for lunch, and his staff as he went to Darius. “Hey, I'm leaving for the Knee.”
“Alright, you better be careful,” Darius replied. “The terrain there is not the most level. Be back before nightfall or risk mortal peril, got it?”
Hunter nodded, a nervous smile dawning on his face. “Got it.”
10:00 AM
Willow opened her wary eyes, moaning tiredly. It was the start of a new day for her, and today was important, as she had to go out and buy the Build-A-Demon teddy bear for Hunter. The brand came in two different styles, one was premade, where everything was already stitched, and stuffed for the buyer, while the other was DIY, where it was up to one to add the stuffing and sew it together.
Willow could sew, but she wasn't very good at it, so she was opting for the premade style. Of course, Hunter wouldn't mind sewing and stuffing the DIY one himself, but this was his gift for Joyous Hearts Day. Hunter shouldn't have to put any effort into it. It was all on her.
After breakfast, Willow's first goal was to go out to the day market and buy one of the Build-A-Demon teddy bears with her own snails. She boarded Clover and flew to the day market, finding it to be incredibly crowded, likely with Joyous Hearts shoppers. Willow gently weaved her way through the crowd towards the Build-A-Demon stand, and once she saw it, her stomach immediately sank through the floor. They only had the DIY teddy bears in stock. That meant she would have to assemble it herself. Willow knew she would do a horrible job at it; sewing was by far not one of her strong suits. It wouldn't be the perfect gift she had promised Hunter, but Willow didn't have a choice. Right now, her choice was either that old hand-me-down or nothing to give Hunter at all.
Willow let out a heavy sigh and bought the DIY teddy bear.
Hunter flew out to the Knee on Waffles, landing below the frozen peak, and began his search for any cupid-roses. He knew this would be incredibly tough, especially since not many would be around due to the demand this time of year, but he had to try. Hunter carefully traversed the area. It was on a sharp incline, so he kept Waffles on standby in case he had to save himself from falling.
Every flower patch Hunter saw he carefully dug through, searching for any signs of the beautiful maroon flower. As time went on, the winds grew stronger, and despite Hunter bundling up, he grew cold. Before long, he had to eat the sandwich he had packed, and after some more time, nothing still. Hunter did not know how much time had passed, but it was enough for him to start getting worried. All this time, and not a single cupid-rose found.
Hunter's searching grew more desperate and frantic at an exponential rate. He didn't have the whole day, and he had to leave a good hour before sundown so he got home in time before night fell. He knew this was going to be hard, but come on, this hard? This was the most optimal location for cupid-roses to bloom this time of year, and they were even winter flowers! Why couldn't he find a single one?
Hunter kept rummaging around, hoping to find anything. His eyes glanced around until he spotted something maroon, he immediately went for it, and indeed, it was a fabled cupid-rose, “FINALLY!” Hunter screamed as he picked it up. “About time!” But then his stomach sank. If he wanted a bouquet, he'd have to find several more of these. He swallowed. It took hours just to find one. How was he gonna find more before he had to go home for the night?
Hunter sighed. He knew he had to keep searching. Willow had gotten him the perfect gift, and he had to return the favor. Nothing less than perfect would do because this was Willow, a girl who deserved nothing less than the perfect gift for Joyous Hearts Day. After all, this was the first time she had been looking forward to this day in how many years now? Far too many for anything less than perfect to suffice.
He had to keep going. He had to do it for her.
Willow went home with all the supplies she needed, stuffing, threads, and a needle. She sat down at a desk as she swallowed, knowing what she had to do. It was all for Hunter, so she had to try her hardest.
The first step was to sew all the limbs together, but Willow had to prepare the thread and needle first. She went to put the thread through the eye of the needle but immensely struggled to get it through. Once slowly and painfully succeeding, she tied the knot. Now it was ready to stitch. Willow sighed and went to start but paused. “Titan… It's been so long, I hardly remember how to do this….” Willow's eyes darted around, then she summoned her scroll and looked up tutorials.
“Damn it…” Hunter uttered. He looked at the measly three cupid-roses in his hands after an entire day of searching. “I can't believe it… what would Willow say?” Hunter was crushed. All of this hard work, and all he got was barely anything, but he had no choice but to go home. The Knee got dangerous at night, and he had to go home for dinner or risk becoming something else's dinner. With a heavy heart, Hunter flew home, his heart aching at the thought of his pathetic bouquet disappointing the girl of his dreams.
She deserved better than this.
Willow swore she was going to tear her hair out. These tutorials were hardly helping as she slogged her way through sewing each of the limbs to the body. She had pricked her fingers a few times, too, leading to her wearing bandages. It felt like she had been sitting here sewing this for ages, but she was almost done, at least. All she had to do now was stuff it and sew up the back. Willow did the final few stitches and let out a sigh of relief when she finished.
She took a good look at it and…
“This looks like trash!” Willow cried. She buried her face into her hands, groaning. “What will Hunter say…? I built up his expectations for a perfect gift, and this is what I have to show? Titan, if I had just bought the stupid teddy bear sooner, then this wouldn't be a problem! What was I thinking waiting for so long…”
Willow couldn't believe it. She completely and utterly failed. This was no longer the perfect gift but a husk of her former plan. She knew for a fact that she was going to let Hunter down.
He deserved better than this.
February 14th
Joyous Hearts Day
3:00 PM
“AAAAUUUUUGHHHH!” The school bell screamed, signaling the end of the school day.
Both Willow and Hunter went to Hexside's front plaza. “Ugh, I can't believe they wouldn't let anyone give their joyfriends gifts until after school,” Hunter grumbled. “Yet they let friends do it. Like, come on, what's so different about some ol’ gift?”
“They're really strict on PDA. I used to be on their side until I realized I couldn't kiss you at school,” Willow said with a nudge.
“Yeah, I can see that,” Hunter replied with a chuckle. “Anyway, I guess we should start heading to Olive Meadow. I'm dying to eat out with you.”
“Oh, yes, right, I'm dying to go to Olive Meadow, too,” Willow's eyes darted side to side. “...Do you wanna give our gifts after we eat?”
Hunter thought for a moment. Well, he figured he might as well get it out of the way. He didn't want to be dreading it the whole date. “...No, I'd rather do it right now.”
Willow swallowed, not expecting that answer. “O-Oh, okay then. How about you give me yours first?”
Hunter nervously laughed. “Uh, you can give me yours first if you'd like?”
Willow grabbed her uniform's skirt. “Oh, okay. How about we do it at the same time?”
Hunter nervously smiled. “Oh, alright. Why don't we count down?”
“3… 2… 1…”
Both Willow and Hunter presented their gifts to each other.
“I'm so sorry it's not perfect-”
“My apologies that it's not perfect-”
They stopped speaking and stared at each other's gifts.
“I LOVE IT!” They screamed in unison.
“Oh my Titan, Hunter, cupid-roses?! Freshly picked from just below the ice cap of the Knee? You must've gone through insanity to get these!”
“Oh my Titan, Willow, a Build-A-demon DIY teddy bear?! You even went through the effort to sew it! I didn't even know you could sew! What on the isles did you go through to make this?!”
The two went quiet, realizing they were raving at the same time. Then broke into laughter for a good while.
“Oh Titan, I'm so glad you like it.” Willow said, “I was so worried that I'd disappoint you. I was supposed to buy the premade version, but they were out of stock, and I'm not the best at sewing.”
Hunter warmly smiled, “Willow, the fact that you sewed this makes it a million times more authentic, no matter if it's done poorly or well. I'm going to cuddle with this day and night, and hey, if it helps, I was probably just as worried as you. I was supposed to get a whole bouquet of cupid-roses, but I could only find three, and I spent the entire day searching for them. I was so worried I'd let you down, but hey, it's the thought that counts I suppose.”
“Yeah, you're right because I can't believe you actually went out of your way to freshly pick these yourself. That is absolutely insane to do this time of year. They're plucked so much because of people using them for potions, flavoring in drinks, and market-made bouquets. I'm shocked you even managed to find one this time of year. Now THAT'S dedication!”
Hunter blushed, “Oh jeez, it really wasn't much.”
“You are so much more than not much, Hunter,” Willow said, pulling him close.
“And so are you…”
They kissed each other for a good few moments, then separated. “Now, let's head to Olive Meadow. I'm dying to eat some real food instead of that crummy stuff they serve at Hexside.” Hunter said as he summoned Waffles.
Willow smiled, summoning Clover, “Me too, and it'll be perfect because we're together.”