A/N: It’s a week of holidays before prelims start, and I decided to get this idea out of my head :3 Hehe, I’m so sorry for those who have been waiting so long. I love you *glomp*

Chapter 29: Rose, Chocolate Bananas, and Fluffy Unicorns.

Rose’s POV

It was a beautiful, wonderful Saturday morning, and I was in the kitchen testing the batter for our sponge cakes when I heard someone clamber down the creaky wooden stairs.

“RoseRose!!” Giselle’s voice sounded bright as sunshine as she came skipping into the kitchen. “RoseRose RoseRose!!” She jumped on the spot, clutching Chip’s teddy bear in her arms.

I let her taste the batter and her eyes twinkled. “You know you know, Giselle saw Chocolate Chip and Xandie in bed!!” She squealed, waltzing around the kitchen with her teddy.

I quick ushered her over to the counter, placing a chocolate muffin in her hands before she knocked into anything dangerous.

“Of course Chocolate Chip and Xandie are in bed my dear. It’s a Saturday morning after all,” I smiled gently, pulling her gorgeous brown locks into twin tails.

Giselle fidgeted in her position, trying to turn around to look at the cupcake display case.

“Butbutbutbut—“ She seemed to be trying to say something. Her mouth opened and closed, but she couldn’t find the words.

Giselle tugged at my apron after I was done with her hair, and I took that as a sign to follow her.

She quickly led me up the stairs, and then towards Chip’s room.

She pointed to the door.

Giving her a quizzical look, I turned the knob slowly, hearing the creak of the wood.

I screamed.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Xander’s POV

I jerked out of bed at the sound of shrill screaming. “What the—“

“Don’t you ‘what the’ me young man!” What the—

“Will you please explain to me what is going on here and for heaven’s sake please put on some clothes my dear,” What the—

“Oh, and please tell me that is not lube on the floor—“ What the—

“Oh, and I do hope you’ve used necessary preventive measures such as con—“ What the—

“Anyway, you best be ready with a valid explanation for this young man,” Rose paused, scanning the room for a second, “I trust you take full responsibility for this.”

And before I could utter a single word, Chip’s sister exited the room with a huff, trying her best not to slam the door.

…

…

What the—

.

“Mm…” There was a soft murmur from the pillows. “Xander?”

Realizing that Chip had used my arm as a substitute for a pillow, I apologized quickly—proceeding to pull the covers back up and snuggle with the adorable angel.

“So warm…” A small smile adorned his lips and he shuffled closer into my chest.

I glanced down at the angel in my arms, taking in the vanilla scent of his hair and the ridiculously long eyelashes that fanned out, tickling my skin.

Damn. That sleeping face really turns me on.

God I’m creepy.

.

“Um…Xander?” I felt his breath touch the surface of my chest, and somehow it made me feel really happy.

“Yes Angel?”

“W-Well…” He stole a glance at me through his lashes, “I was just curious about…y-you know, you calling me…” He paused to blush, “Angel…every time—it’s not that I mind it! I just, was kinda…wondering why…”

Chip fiddled with his fingers under the covers, looking down at them to try to hide his embarrassment.

He was blushing to the tips of his ears and I could practically feel the slight heat radiating from his cheeks.

I covered my mouth, hiding the ridiculous smile on my face. “Isn’t that just because you’re my Angel?”

His ears darkened.

“E-Ehh? But that doesn’t make any sense!” Chip glanced up, pouting slightly.

“Why? Do you want to give me a nickname too?” I joked, running my fingers through his soft honey locks.

Chip was silent.

I paused for a moment.

.

Then I hooked a finger under his chin, tilting his head up. His eyes darted from right to left, and his cheeks burned.

“…You’re not serious are you?” I asked again, suddenly unable to believe the unfolding scene before me.

“W-Well if you don’t like it then—“ He began in stammered words.

“What? No!” I corrected quickly.

Chip’s expression turned quizzical.

“I mean—If you’re okay with it, as in, you don’t feel shy or anything, then—well, go ahead.” I rubbed the back of my neck awkwardly. “It makes me happy to know that we have names for each other.”

All of a sudden, Chip buried his head in the pillows.

“Chip? What’s wrong? Uh, you don’t really have to do it—“

Then he whispered softly. “C-Can I just call you –n?”

I leaned closer, “Wait what?”

“Xan.”

“…Xan?”

“Un.”

I stared down at my angel.

…Well…that sounds hot.

My hand came up to rub my face in distress.  

He’s not even doing it on purpose! For f—‘s sake this isn’t doing any good to my self-control!

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

When I finally put on some clothes and get my itchy hands off the adorable mess, I proceeded downstairs, where I was ambushed by sister-in-law—woops I mean Rose.

She grabbed my arm and pulled me to a side, checking the surroundings to make sure Chip was out of earshot.

“Young man, I am certain that I did not agree to this at all. What I agreed to was to give you and my dear brother some private time to talk things out—not—“ Her cheeks flushed, “not to…to engage in…in some…reproductive activity!” She concluded, looking away while crossing her arms.

I wondered whether I should assure her that Chip was not going to get pregnant or whether as a matter of fact, Chip could not get pregnant.  

.

“Uh…no worries Rose, I—“

“Did you use protection? Are you sure you’ve prepared him? Oh my dear Chip…”

“U-Um…what are you guys talking about?” Chip piped up from behind Rose, startling her.

“Chippy dear! Don’t you worry, I was just confirming this man’s responsibility—ah, but rest assured, everything is—“

Without much thought, I pulled Chip into my chest, encasing his head in my arms. “I take full responsibility for this Angel over here.”

The back of Chip’s neck flushed, and I remembered how sensitive it was last night.

“S-Stop…saying those kind of stuff…” He mumbled against my shirt and I laughed.

Rose pinched the bridge of her nose, sighing. “Just not in front of the sister please, not in front of the sister.”

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Chip’s POV

Later in the evening, when the crowd from the bakery was long gone, Gretel came back from the grocery store, going on about a festival at the dock.

“There were so many colorful lights and booths and stuff! All the street food—gosh, I wanted to get a couple of candy apples back but my hands were already full!” Giselle, Xander, Rose and I were in the kitchen cleaning up, lending a listening ear to my excited sister.

“Oh, it’s such a perfect place for a date,” She sighed dreamily, “and there I was all alone! Can you imagine the torture? Oh! My heart—“ Gretel clutched her chest dramatically and Giselle giggled.

“Sounds like an adventure huh? Why don’t you two bring Giselle to the Festival?” Rose suggested, kneeling down to clean the oven. “After all, it’s not good for a child to stay indoors for the whole week. She barely sees any sunlight at all!” She added, shaking her head.

I was trying to contain the excitement in my tiny heart.

I mean—I know it’s for G-Giselle but…but I couldn’t help but think about what Gretel had said—‘A perfect place for a date’.

I felt heat rush to my face at the thought, and I snuck a peek at Xander.

Unfortunately for me, Xander caught me, and returned my gaze with a playful wink.

W-Were we thinking the same thing?

No way…impossible. Xander’s always so cool and calm about everything. H-He wouldn’t be excited over something like this.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

There was a knock on the door.

“Angel? You ready?” Xander’s muffled voice came through the door as I pulled on an oversized sweater.

“Un! Almost done, just a minute—“ I searched the drawers for a pair of dark jeans.

“Wee~” I could hear Giselle’s excitement through the door and she was making my heart go crazy. “Xandie! Xandie! ‘There be chocolate and teddy bears?”

I heard Xander laugh. “I hope so too.”

Jumping to get the slim-fit jeans up my hips, I quickly zipped up and grabbed my cellphone a few bits of cash.

Xander and Giselle were already waiting in the living room, and Giselle had her pink backpack and teddy bear ready at hand. “Let’s go!”

Giselle proceeded to place teddy in her backpack, grabbing hold on my hand. And on the other, she pulled her brother along so that she was in between the two of us.

After glancing around, Xander leaned down to capture my lips for a fraction of a second, and I went red.

“X-Xan…not in front of your sister!”

Giselle giggled. “Kiss kiss.”

And I blushed harder.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

I’ve always loved night Festivals, especially those that come during fall. There’s this one that always comes during September, and it’s always beside the sea—not on the beach, just on the dock.

The festive music kind of floats along the shore, and the orange lights just seem magical out of the darkness. The game stalls string alternate ‘Christmas’ lights that make everything colorful, and the smell of delicious crêpes wafts through the night breeze.

It’s pretty noisy, and you see a whole lot of people trying their luck at the shooting and claw crane games, or queuing up for candy floss and crêpes, but it’s all part of the fun.

I remember seeing one or two ambitious boyfriends taking a chance at the shooting games, trying to impress their lover by winning the adorable stuffed toy that was prized at ‘Number One’, but that was a long time ago. I remembered giggling at how silly they seem, and how—deep inside, I wished there was someone who would do so for me too.

H-How embarrassing.

.

And to think that here I was—on the way to the very same Festival with Xander and his sister.

I felt something warm and fuzzy blooming in my chest, and there was a soothing comfort that followed it.

“Hey, we’re almost there.”

We followed the faint sound of traditional drums and tambourines, nearing the colorful lights that hung cheerily from streetlamp to streetlamp.

There was the sweet smell of popcorn and candy floss in the air, and I could almost taste it in on my tongue.

“Candy candy candy!” Giselle began, jumping between Xander and me, using our hands to propel herself up.

Her brother laughed as we turned into the dock, our shoes coming in contact with the wooden boards beneath. “Let’s get some food then, I’m starving.”

I nodded slightly, happy to see that both brother and sister were just as excited as I was.

We walked around the food stalls, and were quite pleased to see that yesterday’s crowd had thinned. Giselle would have felt less comfortable in an area where she could get lost easily.

I tried to keep my stomach from calling out to me as we passed a stall selling chocolate bananas, but it didn’t work. Xander caught me (even though it was so noisy! My stomach must have been so loud) and I felt the heat rush to my cheeks furiously.

“Xaandie crepe crepe!” Giselle whined, tugging at her brother’s sleeves as she eyed the strawberry-banana crepe of the person walking past us.

“Okay okay, we have to find the stall first alright? Let’s be patient,” Xander told his sister as he himself eyed the stall selling chicken wraps.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

It took us a long time before we finally settled down on a bench with our very own picks. Xander got Giselle and I a strawberry-banana crêpe with chocolate sauce, while he grabbed two chicken wraps for himself. I had to debate between the caramel apples and the chocolate bananas but in the end, the chocolate bananas were just too tempting.

We sat on one of the benches of the dock that faced the sea, and the breeze was pretty chilly. The view was amazing, and we could see the little lights coming from the light house, even the sparkle from the reflection of the festive lights on the surface of the dark sea.

There were a few stars. Just several littered here and there.

And I couldn’t help but agree with Gretel on this one—it did feel like a date.

It was definitely worth it to see the smiles on Xander and his sister’s faces.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

After our all-too-sweet dinner, Xander, Giselle, and I strolled around the remaining game stalls of the Festival—with me trying to finish my chocolate banana.

“Come on! Give it a try—you never know! The first prize of the day has yet to be won!” Called the store vendor, directing his shouts to oncoming passers-by. Then he spotted us.

“Hey kids! Wanna give it a try? Just a dollar and you can win something ten times worth that amount! Come on, isn’t it worth?”

Giselle and I glanced at Xander, as if asking for permission.

He sighed, then fiddled with the coins in his pocket.

He produced a final dollar.

“Yes!” Giselle and I celebrated for a moment, before handing the coin to the store vendor.

“Okay, you’ve got five tries at any game. You can either land a hoop on one of those poles over ‘ere,” The man pointed to an area one metre from the counter, “an’ earn yourself a two-dollar prize of choice, or, shoot down that aluminium can riiiight over there,” He pointed to an aluminium can that was at least more than twenty metres away. It was soooo tiny.   

With that, he produced five hoops and a toy gun with pellets. “So—the hoops or the can?”

Giselle and I voted for the hoops immediately, but Xander was attracted to the gun.

“What’s the prize for the can?” He asked.

“You think you can do it son?” The store vendor chuckled, amused. “It’ll be the first prize of the day—the fluffy unicorn,” He pointed to an adorable white unicorn plush toy with a pink mane and horn.

“FLUFFY FLUFFY FLUFFY AAAA!!” Giselle’s eyes lit up at the pink unicorn and she squealed excitedly. Without hesitation, she turned to her brother and tugged eagerly at his sleeve.

Xander laughed, and asked the vendor whether it was possible to try both games.

“Sure ‘ya can, then ‘ya only get two tries for the hoops, an’ two tries for the unicorn.”

Giselle and I looked to Xander in anticipation, nodding our heads eagerly. He sighed in return, and proceeded to nod his head at the vendor, who passed us two hoops, and the toy gun loaded with two pellets.

“Mmkay, ‘re ready to go whenever ‘ya are!”

“Yay!” Giselle was the first to fling her hoop randomly at the row of poles lined up a meter away.

Unfortunately, it bounced off one of it, and flew in another direction. “Aw…”

“It’s okay Giselle, we have one more try here!” I gave Giselle the last of the two hoops, and guided her hands into a throwing position.

I’m no athlete, b-but at least this wasn’t a ball.

“One, two,” I held onto Giselle’s tiny hand that had the hoop, and together we aimed at the pole in the middle. “Three!”

There was a soft ‘clink’ as the hoop touched the tip of the pole—and slid snugly down it.

“Yay!” Xander’s sister tackled my waist and squeezed tightly. “Horsey!”

“No ‘lil girl, ‘ya only get the horsey if ‘ya shoot down that one over there.”

“Aw…”

“At’s alright, pick one of these from over here—“ The vendor held out a basket of small prizes, ranging from a couple of pens, plastic fishes, key chains, and accessories.

Giselle ended up choosing a pink plastic ring.

“Xandie Xandie quick shoot!” His sister ordered.

Xander laughed and picked up the toy gun, winking to get a better gage of the distance. Without hesitation, he fired twice immediately—two shots in a row.

The was a resounding ‘ping’ as the first pellet came into contact with the aluminium can, and then a second one, slightly softer, as it hit the top of the can.

But it didn’t fall.

It was in a physically impossible state, whereby it was tilting off the edge in an almost forty-five degree manner, but stayed there. From the distance, Xander squinted.

“Uh…is there like tape or something—“

“Aa, hold on a second would ’ya haha, ha,” The vendor laughed sheepishly, waddling over to the aluminium can twenty metres away.

Xander glanced at Giselle, then at me, and then we burst out laughing. Giselle didn’t really get what we were laughing at, but she was playing along.

“Shit,” Xander said between laughs, “Did you see his face? No wonder you can’t get it down!”

The vendor came back soon after fixing the can, and cleared his throat. I tried to hide my smile.

“Well,” He coughed, “I guess you win the prize then.”

With that, he produced the fluffy unicorn plush toy that was sitting atop the ‘Number One’ shelf, and handed it to a very delighted-looking Giselle.

“Fluffeh!!” She squealed, enveloping the toy in a hug.

.

As the three of us walked home from the night Festival, Xander turned to me. Glancing at Giselle to make sure that she was in her own world of unicorns, he lowered his voice.

“I wanted to get it for you.”

Fortunately, it was dark outside, save for the street lights, so Xander couldn’t see how hard I blushed then.

“U-Um it’s okay! It’s…It’s not suited for boys anyway,” I tried, convincing Xander, “and besides, Giselle’s smile is worth all that.” I turned to him with a smile of my own.

Xander sighed, and face-palmed himself.

“U-Uwa what’s wrong? Did I say something weird?”

“No, no you didn’t,” Xander replied, looking away. He touched Giselle on the shoulder. “Giselle, can I exchange your ring for the unicorn?”

Giselle turned to her brother and took a while to process what he had requested.

With difficulty, she nodded and fiddled with the pocket of her dress to find the plastic ring. Then she handed it to Xander with closed fingers, and dropped it on his palm.

“Thank you,” Xander ruffled his sister’s hair and she replied a few seconds late. “You’re welcome.”

I wasn’t really paying attention to their interaction, but then suddenly Xander grabbed my hand, and then something slipped onto my fourth finger.

I felt my cheeks heat up like never before and a dizzy happiness hit me like a truck.

“X-Xan, what—“

“Yay, you’re mine,” He replied simply, and I had never felt so speechless in my whole entire life.

.

Giselle giggled out of the blue. “Yay, kiss kiss!”

Her brother leaned down and I felt something warm on my cheeks. Then both brother and sister laughed.

U-Uwa, this is too much for the heart!

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

A/N: Hi my beautiful Bakers! I hope you’re satisfied with the fluffy unicorns LOL hehe and hope you get the reference wee <3 I’m trying my best to dish out a chapter every two weeks but I’m not too sure with my current pace of studying (I’m getting nowhere honestly). I hope you will be patient with this useless cupcake over here ;__;

Oh, and today’s my birthday *places candle on top of icing* s-so um, I think I’ve grown a lot this year *looks at the extra chocolate in the cupcake* and um, considering I wrote my very first love scene a few weeks ago *cough* I think I’ve grown a lot mentally too (u-uwa). Hehe, I’m really glad I spent this year, almost, devoted to this book. (OMG my priorities, gosh) Thank you so much for being here for me. Uwa. *hugs* *gets your clothes on fire because of the candle*

Wuv you :3

-Cuppiecake.

10/9/14