Sequel to PART 1 . Philly figures out a gift, though he’s real uncertain about it.
Philly had spent the better part of the week (read: every day) since the first night of Hanukkah panicking over what to get Wendy. He would go to her place, and relax a bit except for that damn pit in his stomach. She seemed happier each night that he was still there celebrating with her. It made him melt a little inside.
But now it was the last day and he still didn't have anything. Shit.
He'd gone to more stores and gift shops and holiday markets than he could count, with every spare minute of his time. He was distracted at work trying to figure out what to do. Every suggestion anyone made pissed him off, because it wasn't good enough. She deserved the perfect gift, and he was determined to bring it to her. She meant everything to him, and he'd be damned if he wasn't going to prove it to her.
However, he was swiftly running out of time.
As he was finishing up at work, he had an idea. Maybe the reason nothing had seemed right was because the gift had to come from him. Would he have time to make it before he had to go over to her place? Well, he'd make it work.
It was for her, after all.
---------------------------------------
Wendy opened the door to find Philly, looking out of breath.
"I'm so sorry I'm late, I just, some stuff, you know-" He stepped inside, carelessly kicking his shoes off, holding a small box close to his chest. He saw Wendy look curiously at it, and shoved it into his jacket pocket.
"It's alright, Philly." She smiled. "I mean, I was a little worried that I didn't hear from you..." She clasped her hands together a bit nervously.
"Aw fuck, I meant to text you, I- oh, look, here's the unsent text saying I was on my way. Great. Good job me." He held up his phone to show her, putting his other hand on his face with a heavy sigh. "I'm sorry."
"It's okay! Stop apologizing. We can still do candles and everything." She laughed a little, taking his jacket from him and putting it on a hanger.
"Alright..." He still looked sheepish, waiting until she started to walk away before grabbing the box from his jacket and shoving it into his back pocket.
Wendy lit the shamash, said the prayers, and they lit the candles together, hand on hand. Feeling soft in the candle light, Wendy wrapped her arms around Philly's waist, burying her head in his shoulder. He looked at her with a smile, even as his nerves started up again. This was it. The moment to present his gift. He was suddenly filled with doubts that she would like it. But it was too late, and he'd thought a lot about this. And it would be worse not to give her a gift, right?
"Um, I've got something for you." Philly put his hand on the back of his neck anxiously, smiling weakly. Wendy looked up at him, eyes practically sparkling. This only made him more nervous. "Don't look at me like that, you don't even know what it is yet! Come on..." He grabbed her hand, pulling her to the couch to sit next to him. He pulled the box out, putting it on his lap.
He cringed at his own presentation. It was a tiny cardboard box, held shut with packing tape. It was, frankly, a mess. He was finding himself embarrassed about it now.
"Do I need scissors to open this?" Wendy joked, snatching it off his lap, holding it up, feeling it's weight, pressing it against her face and sticking her tongue out him-
He laughed. "Yeah, sorry, give it here, I'll get it with my keys."
She handed it back, watching as he ripped open the taped up edges with his car keys. He handed it back, and she bit her lip, holding it in her hands for a moment. She looked at him, noticing how stiff he'd gone.
"Are you...nervous?" She asked, tilting her head, looking surprised.
"..." There was no point in denying it. "Well, yeah, I...your gift was so perfect I'm just not sure if...mine is...you know. I made it though, so..."
"You know I'll love it no matter what, right?" She replied, putting a hand on his cheek.
"I...I suppose." His eyes darted away.
She turned her attention to the present, figuring there was no need to delay it further. She opened the box, pulling out the colored tissue paper and putting it on her head. Philly watched intently, unable to stop himself from smiling at her silliness.
When she saw the gift itself, she put a hand over her mouth. "Philly...you made these?!" She asked in awe, pulling the earrings out of the box with great care. Each earring had a thin gold triangle and a thin silver triangle. "These are...amazing."
He nodded, blushing a bit. "I'm glad you like them."
"I adore them." She held them to her chest, leaning towards him suddenly, grinning. He was taken aback for a moment. "It's even more special to me that you made them..." Her eyes lit up suddenly. "I'll be right back!" She dashed upstairs, leaving him looking startled.
With her out of the room, he felt his stomach twist in knots despite the happy reception of the gift. He needed to correct his lie. He had promised himself he'd do that, and more importantly, he owed it to her. He had to stop with the casual lying. Lying to her was unbearable.
She came back into the room, almost tripping over her feet.
"Ta-da!" She gestured to her ears, where the earrings were already dangling.
Philly stared at her. "You put them on already?" He asked, despite the obvious answer. He stood up, walking up to her, tucking her hair behind her ears, leaving his hands cupping her cheeks. "You look radiant." A thumb grazed her lips before he pressed his lips to hers. When he pulled away, he couldn't help but snicker at her red face and dazed look. "Cat got your tongue?"
"N-no, you did though." She stammered out, breaking into a wide grin. He blinked, before cracking up.
"Shit, you're right. That was fucking perfect." He grabbed her hands, holding them up between the two of them. He darted his gaze away from her's. "Hey, uh, can I tell you something?" His heart was pounding in his chest.
"Of course you can. What's up?" She squeezed his hands reassuringly.
"Well, I...I maybe...didn't know what I was gonna get you until today." His shoulders sagged and he pouted, unwilling to meet her gaze. "I shouldn't have lied about it."
"Aw, Philly." She pressed a quick kiss to his lips. "It's okay. You ended up getting me a really great gift and I'm really happy! And even if you hadn't, it'd be okay."
"...dammit." He pressed his forehead against hers, eyes closed. "You're too nice to me."
"Absolutely not. I'm going to show you all the kindness in the world." She paused, thinking. "And anyway, I, um...I kinda knew."
"Y-you what?!" Philly pulled back, jerking his hands out of hers in surprise.
"Well, yeah, you get kinda...nervous? I could just tell."
"And you didn't say anything?!" He looked aghast.
She giggled. "I didn't need to. I knew you'd follow through on it."
He turned his head to the side, rubbing the back of his neck. "That's a lot of confidence, you know...even I wasn't that sure."
She gently put a hand on his face, pushing him to look at her. "But I was."
He looked confused, before softening. "Guess you were right, too." He laughed a little, pulling her to him, wrapping his arms around her. He kissed the top of her head.
She smiled up at him. "You're the one who made it happen, though. Don't forget that." She got on her tiptoes, wrapping her arms over his shoulders, pulling him into a long kiss.
I think Akabayashi is the type to try and learn to cook Hanukkah foods for me because he's a sweetheart. Together we make latkes (or try to KWHSWJW). It turns out he bought the ingredients but decided that he should get my help to make sure he does it correctly after all. It absolutely makes my night ;w;
And then wrt modern au goofball family!!! Making latkes is an EVENT!!! Claudia is super into it and also into trying out...new flavors lol. Soren is here for sufganiyot (we buy these if I'm honest lol). And Viren and I are just happy to see them enjoying it all so much. Even if the kitchen got a little messy ;)
