You go over to the Switser section and pick out a nice bag of chocolates. Not fancy enough to be too expensive, but nice-looking with interesting images engraved on them. When you return to Louis, he nods approvingly.
LO Those Are Good
LO Lemon Father Wanted Those To Be All Scenic
LO So The Nature Stuff Is From The Swiss Countryside
Y/N Oh, so where he grew up?
LO Where He Spent His Vacations At Least Hah Hah
LO Could You Imagine Having A House Just For That??
LO Chocolate Wasn't The Only Rich Stuff He Was Hanging Around
Even as he sticks his tongue out in disgust, you can tell he's playing it up. Whenever Lucas and Louis stumble across one another, it's like they were separated for years. He even tolerates Louis' strange habit of slobbering all over him like a dog.
Y/N Well, I'm sure this'll be good.
Y/N What about you?
Y/N The stock at home running low?
LO Actually
LO My Stock Is Just Fine
There's a seriousness to Louis' expression that unnerves you.
Y/N Okay.
Y/N So, are you running an errand? Getting something for someone else?
Y/N Some sour candy for that woman... Lawahiz, was it?
LO No She Has Plenty
LO And She Is So Particular About It
LO She Would Make Me Into A Souffle If I Dared To Touch It
Y/N Scary.
LO No I Sorta Deserved It
LO But It's Not All My Fault That I Wanted To Test My Sour Skills @_@
Y/N I would assume your sour tolerance rivals hers.
LO She Would Saute You For Saying As Much
LO But Thank You @u@
LO This Is For Someone Else
LO Someone Much Sweeter Than Lime
LO And More Colorful Than Lemon
Though Louis shows affection in the strangest ways, there's no mistaking his expression.
Y/N And that someone... will want a bag of candy as an expression of love?
LO Why Are You Saying That Like It's Ridiculous
LO This Is An Aisle Of Dreams
LO Anyone Would Be Thrilled To Get Any One Of These
Y/N I guess I expected something more... personal?
Y/N These would be a good gift for you, definitely.
Y/N But unless your special someone eats candy for every meal...
LO No
LO But They Could
You exhale.
Y/N That's sweet in its own way.
Y/N But let's start from the beginning.
Y/N Who is this person? What do they like?
LO Fun
LO And Games
LO And Silly Things As A Whole
Y/N So, why are you getting them chocolates and candy?
You can hear the wheels in his brain turning.
LO I Want Them To Think Of Me As They Eat It
You raise your eyebrow. Louis has the decency to look a little embarrassed.
LO Is That So Bad??
LO I Want Them To Know How Much They Mean To Me
LO With Something That Also Means A Lot To Me
LO And Maybe We Could Eat It Together
LO And I Could See A Sugar Stain On Their Cheek And Lick It Off
LO And They'd Laugh And Eat More And Get It All Over Their -
Y/N Alright, that's all I need to hear about that.
Y/N Clearly, your feelings are real. I get that.
Y/N But are you sure they like candy? Enough to enjoy this much?
LO They Like Desserts
LO Cakes And Cookies And All That
LO And Whenever I Offer Them Some They Always Take A Little
Y/N Okay, at least they like sweet things.
Y/N But... think about it, Louis.
Y/N This shows how you feel about them.
Y/N It doesn't show you how much you understand them.
Y/N Does that make sense?
Louis blinks.
LO You're Asking An Awful Lot Of Me Y'know
You groan, drop the bag of candy, and grab his shoulders.
Y/N My man.
Y/N You have to think about what this person likes, not what you want them to like.
Y/N Otherwise, even if they eat the candy, they won't see the gesture as genuine.
LO ..
LO Y/N
Two hands grab your shoulders. Louis is staring back at you.
LO Will Giving This To Them Make Them Hate Me
Y/N Umm.
LO I Couldn't Bear That
LO I Didn't Even Think That Would Be A Possibility
LO But If What You're Saying Is True
LO Am I Not Being Considerate Enough??
You hesitantly let go of his shoulders, but he's still gripping yours tightly.
Y/N I mean...
Y/N You're going out of your way to get them something.
Y/N That's, uh, sort of considerate?
LO @_@
Y/N But... I think the better option would be...
Y/N Giving them something true to their character, not yours.
LO @_@
Y/N At least, more theirs than yours.
Y/N Like they're the chocolate base, and you're the sprinkle of peanuts.
LO I See
He finally lets go, stepping back and nodding to himself.
LO You Know
LO Lemon Father Has Told Me About This Problem I Have
LO That I Can Have.. What Were His Words??
LO A Two-Step Shuffle?? A Train With One Rail??
Y/N Oh. You mean a one-track mind?
LO Yeah Probably??
LO I Would Remember Better If He Didn't List So Many Problems @_@
LO The Gist Is That Understanding And Learning New Things Is..
LO Hard
LO And I Can Pretend All I Want At Public Events
LO But I Don't Want Them To See Me Pretend
LO I Want Them To See Me Try
Y/N There you go.
Y/N You've got a good heart, Louis. (I think?)
Y/N I'm rooting for you.
Y/N And this totally unknown person you're vying for.
He grins, digs into his pocket, and brings out two mystery-flavored lollipops.
LO Cheers!!
Yours is a white color, and when you take a lick, you can't discern the exact flavor. Just sugar. Meanwhile, his is a reddish-pink color, and his eyes light up once it's in his mouth.
LO Birthday Cake!!
Y/N Is that one of your favorites?
LO You Could Say That @u@
With a lollipop stick protruding out of his mouth, he peers around the aisles.
LO Well We're Already At A Supermarket
LO I Could Get Them A Food They Like
You follow him to the bakery department, but not before putting the Switser chocolates back on the shelf. Luckily, he either forgot about that conversation or doesn't mind anymore, because he's focused squarely on all the desserts.
Y/N What about cookies?
Y/N They have the classics - chocolate chip, brownie,
Y/N Even those really underrated sugar-frosted ones.
Y/N Seriously. It's weird how much hate they get for being good.
LO Who Hates Cookies?? @_@
Y/N People who hate good things.
LO I Have No Reason Not To Take Your Word On That
He ends up gravitating towards the cakes and cupcakes. There are some blank ones that can be written on with frosting, or ones that are pre-decorated with messages of birthday or holiday cheers. He points at a large tray of cupcakes.
LO That One!!
Y/N Do they have a favorite flavor?
LO Oh Damn I Don't Know
He pulls out his phone, but you quickly shoo it away.
Y/N Don't ask them! Then, it won't be a surprise!
LO Oh Damn I Forgot
He puts his phone away and contemplates the variety before him. Then, he nods at one particularly colorful set.
LO They Like All The Colors
LO And All The Toppings
LO So I'll Take This Home And Put All Kinds Of Stuff On It
LO Sprinkles.. Gummy Worms.. Jelly Beans.. The Works!!
Y/N Which I assume you have in full supply already.
LO Who Do You Take Me For??
You help him carry the large tray to the check-out area, because you don't doubt that he would surreptitiously take a bite when you're not looking. Once he's home, that'll be the Switsers' problem.
THE END
(Ending 14/20: All On One Plate)
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