A/N: Long chapter ahead! ^0^/

It was, unsurprisingly, another bad day for Xander Jaxon.

Difficult guests and unintended mistakes surfaced one after another, testing the limits of the young man's smile. Then came the unyielding orders of his biological father and yet another dinner with the family of his arranged wife-to-be to top it all off.

What was wife-to-be in the first place, anyway? The man's heart laughed coldly, reminding himself of his own emptiness. What does 'to-be' refer to?

Was he going to spend the rest of his life with this person?

This...wife? To be?

Was this his future?

The man began his journey home, willing his feet to move. It seemed to the rest of the world that he was moving forward—towards somewhere; a destination, perhaps—but to Xander himself, he knew he was going nowhere.

For no matter how long he had been walking; how far the distance; and how much the pain made him flinch—

Xander's heart had never moved an inch.

However abandoned the lone man in the streets would have seemed, however solitary his world appeared to be, just like how he was on that very Christmas night as a child—

There was a moment where the world seemed to answer,

With a flicker of hope.

Much like a miracle.

It was, unsurprisingly, another bad day for Xander Jaxon.

His sister was having a hard time in school; his father was not being one; his job wasn't all that pleasant; and it had been a long time since he felt loved.

Most importantly, he had not seen his angel's smile today.

And this, perhaps, was above all—the sole reason for Xander to conclude that today was indeed...

A bad day.

But as his angel would say, and as his angel IS, miracles are real.

It was strange for Xander; because it had been such a fated day where he had to make the wrong turn amidst thinking of the one he so loved.

There, the light from a particular store caught the storm in his eyes.

It no longer reflected a dull grey of heavy clouds, but turned into something that resembled that of a stone.

A gemstone.

The store had a humble furnish—very much unlike the extravagance of the other jewelry stores that he'd see in crowded malls at the city center.

What drew him closer; Xander did not know at all.

Perhaps it was the warm lighting that seemed almost like a place of refuge from both the darkness of the streets and the void emptiness of his heart; or it could have been the name of the store itself that brought a smile to his tired face—

Whatever it was, the man's feet started instinctively towards the entrance. And before Xander knew it, he was inside.

"Oh! Good evening Sir," There was a sole lady in the store that somehow reminded the man of a woman he knew. Her name was Rose. "How may I help you?"

A kind smile was a rare sight for Xander nowadays, and it was a kind smile that caught him off guard.

"Good evening," He nodded, not quite sure of what he should say. He hadn't had a concrete idea as to why he entered a jewelry store either.

And a small one like this, as a matter of fact.

He just...

Felt like it.

"Are you looking for something?" The lady behind the counter asked politely.

Xander paused to think.

Was he?

"Not really, I guess." His gaze flitted from the display cases that formed a pleasant u-shape facing himself to the smiling lady. "I don't have anything particular in mind. Is it alright if I just browse for a moment?"

The young woman laughed knowingly, perhaps in an understanding manner. "Of course."

And so Xander did—clutching his business case in one hand, coat over his other arm.

Unconsciously, the man tended to linger for a moment longer when looking at the rings.

"Would you be interested in browsing our ring catalogue?" The store lady asked quite suddenly when she noticed her customer staring at a particular design. "Although there's not much to look at." She added with a sheepish smile.

The man glanced up. He hadn't intended to spend a long time in the store.

But for some reason, something inside told him that it was time.

Time?

What was time?

"Would you prefer to look at the engagement rings or the just the finger rings?"

He didn't know the answer to that question; both the one he heard and the one in his heart.

"The engagement rings, please."

Xander wondered why he was beginning to speak without will.

Or perhaps it's because this was his true will, and therefore did not require his mind to control his speech.

It was a will from the heart.

"Is something wrong, Sir?"

Xander didn't quite know how to answer. He had been browsing through the catalogue for time that he could not tell. It seemed to slip.

"Well—it's not really a problem."

"Your frown tells me otherwise, though," The lady smiled. "Are you looking for a particular design?"

Was he?

"Not exactly," Xander knew he was giving the store lady a hard time. He didn't mean to.

"It's just—engagement rings are normally for women, aren't they?"

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

[Home, 8.55 p.m.]

This relief washed over as warmth for Xander, as he stepped into the place he could definitely call—home. The first thing he felt, however, was a strange sensation that reminded him of something that was warm and fuzzy.

It meddled with his senses; and made him feel that he was, perhaps, in a dream.

And as much he felt like he was, indeed, dreaming; there was a voice that seemed to give him direction within the all-surrounding sensation that tingled in the very tips of his fingers.

"Xan? Is that you?"

He followed the voice to the living room, pleased to see the two people he loved most in the world gathered around the coffee table with the heater not far away.

The scent of battered fish and chips told the man that his fiancé had been spoiling his sister again—and despite knowing that it was he, himself who was spoiled at the same time; Xander felt that his angel couldn't be any more kind.

"What? Started supper without me?" He asked in false disappointment, leaning his work bag against the table and joining the two.

"Cuz you were late, Xandie," Giselle snapped in an exasperated tone, "We waited so long for you dumb. I was hungry!"

Xander's angel laughed—a rather magical sound that even Xander himself could not grasp.

"Sorry Xan. U-Um! We'll wait for you next time, promise!"

"No! No promise!" Giselle stuck her tongue out, then proceeded to go back to her delicious supper.

Xander flicked his sister's forehead, poking her cheek. "Then I'll tell Chocolate Chip to stop spoiling you with your favorite snacks all the time."

"Yuck, go away Xandie."

"O-Oh Giselle, you have some ketchup on your nose. Here, let me—"

"Smear it all over her face—"

"Shut up Xandie—"

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

"Oh."

The young woman paused, inferring quickly.

Xander suddenly wished he hadn't stepped into the store.

He was only making things hard for both of them—

"That will not be a problem. We have a new line of engagement rings for men as well!" The young woman's smile reached her eyes.

"Wow," Xander blinked, not believing his ears. It seemed to the man that too many good things were happening at once that it was more than whatever he had asked for the past two years.

After all, the man was never one to believe in miracles.

Of course, there was only one—

"Here we are!" The lady brought out a thin plastic file, "Um, sadly there's not much to look at. For the time being, we only have three designs..." A guilty smile surfaced, leaving Xander quite confused.

There was nothing to be guilty about.

In fact, Xander was quite pleased with the designs. They were simple-looking. Not too outstanding, loud, or attention-catching.

He would have liked this, Xander thought, imagining the ring on his angel's finger. It was a sight in his dreams. Then, there was his smile.

He could picture it well.

"These look great."

"Really?" The store lady beamed with mirth. "You like them? Do you know your partner's size?"

Xander paused for a moment.

He hadn't thought about that—he never knew rings had sizes. 

In fact, Xander had not bothered about sizes when he chose Trudy's ring. He had simply told the salesperson to get the cheapest ring and left the rest up to them.

"Oh..."

"Well I could show you a sample? Here," She brought out a tiny velvet box, opening it to reveal one of the men's designs. "This is the smallest size."

The lady held up the ring with her gloved hand.

Xander noted that it was fairly big for the smallest size. He could understand, however, that since it was a small store, they couldn't possibly have the entire range of sizes in stock.

He laughed small. "I guess I'll have to look at the women's designs then."

"He's got small hands. And his fingers are very slender," The man added with eyes that, with one look, anyone could tell were in love. He spoke, as if he was talking about an angel.

Which he was, indeed.

"Slender fingers? I wish I had those," The lady laughed.

Xander smiled in thought, eyes downcast. "They aren't perfect though. He's got some blisters from overworking and minor burns."

It had been a long time since he smiled like this.

"He's a baker."

The lady nodded at the explanation, eyes soft with emotion. "I'm sure those hands are beautiful."

Xander looked up in pleasant surprise, smile wide.

"You think so?"

"Of course. Passionate hands that work hard are always beautiful," She nodded confidently, pulling out two more catalogues. "And they deserve the perfect ring."

Xander wasn't too sure about finding the perfect ring. He wasn't even sure if 'perfection' existed.

It was merely an idea;

An angle of perception;

An illusion.

But despite so—there was one thing the young man was certain about.

Not the design of the ring; not its size; and definitely not whether he was even planning to get married.

Xander Jaxon was sure of one thing—

And that;

Was the only person he'd ever propose to.

For he couldn't imagine falling in Love with any other;

Or, rather—

He couldn't forget his love.

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

Rachel would have insisted that her cupcakes were the best in the world. If someone disagreed, she would have said, then, that they were the best in the country. If someone disagreed with that, she would have said, then, that they were the best in the city. And—well, you get the idea.

Rachel took pride in her creation; and that was something to admire, indeed.

But somehow, she wasn't that sure anymore.

Not when she walked into the bakery named Baked Love, and ordered an ordinary-looking vanilla cupcake with raspberry frosting on top.

It was a very plain cupcake, she had thought initially. And the bakery didn't match her fancy tastes at all. She had taken a quick glance around the store and noticed nothing eye-catching or special about the bakers working there.

There was no one famous that she recognized.

It was—in simple terms, a very average bakery.

Thus, when the young lady bit into her ordinary-looking vanilla cupcake with raspberry frosting on top, she was first shocked, confused, and slightly worried.

The cupcake was good.

If she were to be honest about it, it wasn't just good.

It was special.

The cake itself was fluffy despite being able to hold the frosting on top. Moreover, the melted white chocolate surprise she had found in the middle of the cake pleased her very much indeed. The frosting had bits of raspberry to add on to the ordinary smooth texture—and then there was something else that she couldn't quite put her finger on.

It was only then, when Rachel realized that she had noticed something about the bakers in that bakery.

Every single one of them—

Was smiling.

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

Hansel and Shea weren't the best of siblings that you could find in any other family.

They had their differences, and really—neither of them could stand the other. It was only regarding their brother, Chip, that they found a common ground to agree on; in which both insisted that he was 'a precious cinnamon roll to be protected'.

Shea didn't even like cinnamon rolls. Too bad she was great at baking them.

Hansel on the other hand, was a sucker for those spiced rolls of fluffy bread.

It was no surprise, then—that the two screeched to a halt with wide eyes as they were making their way back home after work in Hansel's delivery van, spotting an eye-catching sign that said 'Angel Rachel's Cakes for Devils! Coming your way with the start of a new year!'

"Fantastic naming sense," Shea said under her breath as she rolled her eyes. "What's with that color scheme? Everything's so...pink."

The white-and-pink sign decorated with hearts and clouds was placed in front of a shop under renovation, attracting the attention of a group of schoolgirls. They were conversing in hushed tones with excitement in their eyes, large smiles on their faces.

"Not like you could do any better," Hansel parked the van along the sidewalk, proceeding to wind down his window to get a better idea of what the girls were saying. "I bet you'd go for an all-black scheme and name your bakery 'Burnt buns of Angst'—"

His sister hit the back of his head.

"Shh! Listen—"

"That was my idea, butter Shea!"

"It's shea butter you idiot!"

The schoolgirls were aged about thirteen to fifteen at a glance, gushing about the new store coming to town.

"Isn't this a really popular cake store from the city?"

"You've heard of it too? Like, I've only tried it once though, but I swear you're going to love it. Literally. Their strawberry shortcake is soo on point," Said the second.

A bespectacled girl frowned.

"Won't it be a little expensive though? Since it's from the city."

Her friend gave her a nudge. "But their stuff is good. I'll treat you next time."

"How about me? I want the devil's food cake—I had that before and I literally fainted. Oh oh! Their cupcakes are amaze too."

Hansel and his sister exchanged an anxious glance before winding up the window. They leaned against the headrests of their respective seats, almost forgetting that they were on their way home.

"Um. What now, bruh?"

"What do you mean what now?!" Shea snapped, biting her lip with a frown. "This bakery's gonna be a street away from ours! We're lucky Chip's house is in the other direction, he'd panic loads if he saw this!"

"Damn right—"

"Is that all you have to say?" His sister interrupted. "Chip's been handling the bakery well so far but, I mean, we've never really had competition before—"

"Dude did you have to interrupt me?" Hansel protested, changing the gears before driving away from the bakery-to-be. "And don't steal my lines! I was supposed to say that. Well there are other bakeries in town but they're way on the other side so."

Shea clicked her tongue in annoyance, folding her arms.

"We've got until January to think of some way to set ourselves apart I guess. I didn't think a bakery with such a lame name was a famous one from the city."

Hansel shrugged.

"Some people think Shea's nice. See? The impossible can become possible—"

"Oh shut up."

Her brother made a face. He was twenty-four, yes.

"I don't understand why a famous bakery would set up a franchise store here in a small town like this," Shea pursed her lips in thought. "Just keep this from cinnamon roll, okay?"

Hansel laughed. "Was going to do that even if you didn't say anything. I'm your older brother, after all—"

"I'm sorry, what? My older brother has a mental maturity of an eight-year-old?" His sister placed a hand on her chest to feign shock.

A couple of years ago, Shea wouldn't have expressed herself so differently in front of human beings.

She was used to not giving a single damn about any one of them.

The nineteen-year-old would have never understood what it meant to be part of a family. To share concerns, troubles; and care about someone else other than herself in this lonely world.

She would have never bothered with a sarcastic remark.

Or even an occasional tease.

She never thought that having a brother, or a sister—would mean so much to her.

"I'm sorry, apparently, the 'brother with a mental maturity of an eight-year-old' knows the address of this bakery in the city and was about to suggest we pop over for a quick taste test to see how good they are," Hansel wriggled his eyebrows proudly. "What a reliable brother I am."

Shea blinked.

"Woah. Um, okay, sure."

In truth, the girl didn't know what to say.

She didn't think that Hansel would come up with a quick strategy in such a short amount of time, and most importantly—

She was shocked that for a moment there;

Her heart had agreed that he was a reliable brother indeed.

But she would never say it—

Because Shea was just that sort of person.

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

"How about this design? It's rather simple for an engagement ring, but I think your partner would love it. He could wear it as a necklace when he's baking too. They do take off all accessories when baking, don't they?" The store lady hesitated in thought as she presented Xander the seventh ring of the night.

It was getting late, and most of the stores along the street were long closed.

"Woah," Was all Xander managed to say in awe. "It's..." Perfect, he wanted to say—

"Amazing. I think he'll love it."

"Yes, but is it perfect?" The young woman insisted, excitement in her eyes. "Does it speak to you? Does it have his name written over it? Does it say him?"

The young businessman had close to no idea what the store lady was going on about, and was sure that any simple explanation would not have made the cut either.

What he noted; was the simplicity of the ring.

The diamond wasn't protruding out of the accessory, unlike most engagement rings that presented large diamonds in the middle. Instead, it was inside the ring; snug in a perfect hole carved on the inner surface of the silver accessory.

It reminded him...of a hidden gem.

A surprise—

Just like the angel he saw

During that cold winter night.

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

Xander never knew he liked surprises, not until his fiancé asked him one night—

"Y-You know, um. That day...when we moved," Chip began hesitantly, fidgeting in his seat as the family of three were about to finish supper. "You asked whether we could...you know, u-um. Take a bath together?" His voice was so soft that Xander practically had to lean forward till their faces were less than an elbow-length apart.

"S-So. Do you...want? To—want to. Want to take...the bath," Xander's angel had his face hidden in his hands eventually, tips of his ears red with embarrassment.

Giselle stopped chewing.

Berry the husky looked up from her water bowl.

Xander had a half-eaten battered haddock held to his mouth, ready to eat, before he dropped it back on his plate.

"Uh," He blinked, stare blank as a sheet as though he was trying to deduce whether this was merely one of his fantasies. "What?"

"No!" His sister protested immediately, mouth full. "No! Chocolate Chip is bathing with me—"

This, Giselle's brother was quick to object to. "He asked me, so be quiet Giselle!"

"No! You shut up!"

Berry barked, as if in agreement. She was on Giselle's side, as usual.

Chip felt that he needed to say something about his shock at the girl's use of language and how it was actually more vulgar than Xander's at this 'crucial' moment, but of course, he knew that it wasn't the time to do so.

"G-Guys, calm down, we could, um...all bathe together—" He began gently.

"No!" The siblings said at the same time, exchanging glares (metaphorically for Giselle, because, you know).

"It doesn't work that way, Angel."

"No space for Xandie, Chocolate Chip! We have to kick him—"

"You had your turn last time! Since when did I teach you to be so selfish?" Xander snapped before turning to his fiancé with a smile that could crumble any heart. "Of course we can take a bath together, I'd never thought you would say so."

Giselle growled.

"Since you took my pudding last week!" His sister stabbed randomly at her plate, piercing her fork into a piece of battered fish. "That was mine."

"It wasn't yours, it was Chip's," Xander pointed out—and his angel blinked.

Then he shot his best glare at the taller frame. "You...you ate my pudding?" He sounded disappointed, yet trying really hard to look angry at the loss of his custard pudding.

Xander's heart cracked and crumbled into two, as if a bolt of lightning had struck its stone-hard defense.

"Oh God, no...I mean...yes, Angel. I did. I'm so sorry," He stood up immediately, going over to the other side of the table to hug his angel from behind. "My bad. Forgive me?"

"Please?" Xander added when Chip merely crossed his arms with a pout.

"I can't believe you ate my pudding..." His angel turned around with disappointment in his eyes. "I-I was saving it for tomorrow after work."

Chip's fiancé had no idea what was going through his mind when he ate that cup of pudding. He began berating that stupid mind of his, wondering why he hadn't thought of the consequences at that point of time.

But of course, there would be a time for every soul;

Where regret was all that we could hold.

And Xander knew how that felt.

Though this was a small matter—something as minor as a silly cup of stolen pudding—

He had to admit;

Feelings...

Were feelings. And they were of equal importance, either way.

Yet—he scolded himself—he had not thought of the consequences that he might regret.

"I'm going to get five custard puddings from the convenience store—I'll be right back."

His angel reached out to hold onto his arm, preventing him from leaving the table. "W-What are you talking about? It's cold outside. I can get the pudding another time..."

Xander stopped himself, taking in the concern in his angel's eyes that had replaced the faint disappointment.

"I'm the worst. You're being too lenient on me Angel—"

"And I'm taking back my offer!" Chip huffed quite suddenly. "I'm not going to take a bath with you...t-tonight."

This declaration had a total of four effects—

One; a devastated Xander that muttered curses aimed at himself as he fell to the floor on fours (in defeat).

Two; a very giggly Giselle. Which was quite normal, indeed.

Three; a howling Berry who seemed to be celebrating with his favorite member of the family. Which was quite normal, indeed.

And four; a blushing Chip—for he had added the word 'tonight' involuntarily.

Which was, I have to admit, quite normal indeed.

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

"Chocolate Chip?"

"Yes Giselle?" The young man was busy unpacking the leftovers he had brought back from the bakery; placing them into air-tight boxes stacked neatly on top of one another before the girl had entered the kitchen.

Xander's sister felt her way towards the refrigerator, leaving Chip's question hanging in the air.

"You're still hungry Giselle? I-I can make hot chocolate for you if you'd like," He asked gently, bending down beside the girl as she opened the door of the fridge and reached in.

She seemed to be in search for something.

"Wait," Giselle said suddenly, opening the bottom drawer that was supposedly for vegetable storage. She reached into the compartment, hands deep—almost as if she was doing a lucky draw at the super mart and wanted to fish for the perfect prize (although it all felt the same, really).

Xander's angel waited patiently, humming the girl's favorite tune from Lord of the Rings—the Shire's theme—as he did so.

His patience was rewarded with a proud 'aha!' that announced Giselle's mini-victory of having found what she had been searching for.

It was a cup of chocolate pudding.

Chip had bought it for Giselle a couple of days ago when he had made a trip to the store to get a custard pudding each for himself and Xander.

The girl held out her hand with the cup of pudding, as if presenting it to Chip.

"Take it," She grinned, speaking in the wrong direction, but Xander's angel knew that she was speaking to him.

"Eh? Me?" He blinked, reaching slowly for the pudding in confusion. "But weren't you going to eat it while re-watching that part when Gandalf returned?"

Chip repeated Giselle's exact words, knowing that she had taken a great liking for Gandalf's 'scratchy and white' voice, as she had put it, and Legolas' 'navy' voice—which were somehow associated to colors. She did also point out that the music was particularly good at that scene where Gandalf returned.

Unexpectedly, the girl shook her head quickly; prompting Xander's fiancé to take the pudding in her hands. "It's okay."

"It's in exchange. You take the pudding, so you will bathe with Xandie now, right?"

Chip's eyes widened.

"W-Wha—but it's your pudding, Giselle. I can't take yours."

The girl shrugged. "Miss Honeycutt called it barter trade."

Chip had almost forgotten that Gretel was her ex-form teacher.

"Uwa...oh Giselle."

He didn't know what to say; it was obvious that after this, it would certainly be very hard for him to stick to his will and forget about the offer. Not when Giselle gave her precious pudding away just to appease him.

It was strange how, despite what Giselle had been saying, she would care for her brother in the tiniest ways that made a difference.

It was only due to the fact that she didn't know how to do it in front of Xander himself, that made him forget that she too—loved him as much as he loved her.

"Don't be mad at Xandie," The nineteen-year-old said as she lowered her head. "You took the pudding right? You'll go in the tub together, right?"

She had said this so simply and so sincerely—that there was really no way Xander's angel could refuse. And then there was her smile.

Chip knew that she couldn't see her own smile;

But if she could,

He would have definitely told her that this—

Was the true color of sunshine.

And so the young man who took the pudding agreed.

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

"I wish you both all the happiness in the world!" The store lady called after the man's back, a radiant smile sharing the goodness of a kind heart.

Xander turned back with a smile, purchase in his back pocket.

He reached in, fingertips running along the edge of the smooth velvet.

It comforted the man, as if washing a relieving wave of ease on dried shores.

What an impulse buy, he must have thought to himself with a laugh, seeing that Xander was not one to spend without a second thought.

Though not particularly expensive, the engagement ring that the young man bought did cost him much time to choose—especially since he had insisted on finding the perfect one.

Perfect? That must mean that he already had someone in mind.

And yes, he did.

It was strange how—the moment he saw that design—Chip's smile had surfaced at the back of his mind. It was as if Xander could imagine the happiness in his eyes when he would ask his angel to be a part of him for the rest of his entire life.

And then the hole in his heart reminded him of the things he lost;

And the things he had left behind.

One of them had been his heart.

That was when Xander realized that he didn't need to ask whether Chip would be a part of him for the rest of his entire life,

He already was.

Because not for one second, no—

The young man had never forgotten his angel.

He couldn't forget.

And so Xander decided that it was time

To go back.

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

This—is a story of happiness,

Where you'd think could only be found

In our fairytales.

The story of happiness;

Like all stories, will have a main character—

The side characters,

And a very, very beautiful villain.

Now, if happiness was the main character—

Perhaps the rightful antagonist would be entitled to the villain called

Loneliness.

But in what story, then?

Would happiness seem to be the villain?

I guess that would be

The story—

of You.

In which you would be the main character.

And perhaps happiness, the one that we have all been searching for, wasn't something that was on our side—

It was...on the other.

If this—you think,

Was a story of happiness—

That this was just a fairytale,

Something you'd never believe in;

Then perhaps it would tell you—

That happiness

Wasn't on the other side after all.

It was merely on the side of Love.

And perhaps it is only when Love is the main character...

That we will understand what true happiness is.

But this—is a story

Of Happiness.

One that was on a journey to find Love—

For his friend called Loneliness.

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

A/N: Uwaaaaa I really wanted to drop that bath scene in this chapter but somehow it turned out longer than I thought so ;_; we will have to do it two weeks later :> uhu. I hope I'm not rusty anymore ._. it's been so long since I wrote those kind of stuff /.\ 

I hope you've enjoyed this chapter!! Stay warm and comfy, and enjoy the coming Christmas season. 

(I love Christmas :>) 

-Cuppiecake.