Errand The Perfect Present PV Juniper Closed

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@Stanley Buttons

Christmas was always a big thing in the Yu household. The Christmas tree would be put up on the first of December, in the same spot near the fireplace every single year, a tree so tall that the star grazed the ceiling and so wide that it took up an entire corner of the room. Tree decorating was something they all did together, and every year they brought out the same box of decorations, with a few new additions and memories attached to each bauble, fairy light and garland of tinsel. Boughs of holly were hung up on each door, and an Elf on the Shelf sat on the kitchen counter until the 26th. (The elf was a tradition that Juniper found a little creepy, if she was being honest - but it was a Christmas tradition, so she never brought it up.) Fairy lights went up around the front of the house, twinkling proudly in white, red and green. There were so many more traditions - cookie baking, wood carving, puppet shows - but Juniper was afraid to think about that for the fear of missing home even more.

It was hard for her to be away from home at this time of year. She was returning to Chelsea on the 23rd, but by then everything would have been done. The lights would be up, and the cookies would have been baked, and there would be nothing left for her to do. A letter from her brother had arrived last night, written on the 2nd, and he had written of the tree decorating. It hadn't helped with her homesickness, something she had been dealing with for the past few months. It wasn't as bad as it had been in the beginning, but now it was Christmas, and... sigh. At least she had the Secret Santa to focus on, didn't she?

She didn't know her assigned person very well - in fact, she didn't know them at all, and therefore had no idea what they would like as a Christmas present. Juniper could have easily found out more by asking around or tuning in on the gossip, but she had been in a mopey mood all week and she couldn't be bothered. She honestly just wanted to get this whole present thing over and done with, and as she approached the library, she silently said an apology to the recipient of her gift. Goddamn it, I should have never signed up for this. I don't even want to be here. I want to be home with Jere and everyone... ugh. What was she even supposed make? She knew nothing about this person.

Juniper was a girl of many talents, but right now she was at a loss. Her mother, being a dressmaker, had taught her how to sew, so she make a bag or something. But Madeline had taught her how to use a modern sewing machine, and electricity didn't work here, and she was no good with needlework. Perhaps she could carve something out of wood, but her brother was better at that kind of thing and she was afraid of accidentally cutting herself with the knife anyway. As she approached the table, she left out a frustrated sigh. This was a LOT harder than she thought it would be. Maybe I should come back later... I mean, this setup isn't going anywhere, right? She did have until the 21st to complete this gift.

Then she looked up and gave a startled yelp at the sight of a familiar face ahead of her, before blushing slightly and looking embarrassed at how loudly she had just expressed her surprise. Her next words were spoken in a much lower tone, although no less excited. "I - Stanley? Hey! What are you doing here?" Juniper let out a soft laugh. "Secret Santa, right? I'm here for it too. I have no idea what to make." She dragged a chair over and sat down, watching Stanley as he worked. "Maybe I'll paint something," she mused after a few moments of thinking. "What do you think?"

Word Count | 682/1000

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@Juniper Yu

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At the arrival of someone new, Stanley looked up quickly and smiled slightly. Juniper had taken a seat at his table while watching the boy start off his present. He nodded slightly and turned his eyes back down to the table. "He-" he coughed once and then talked a bit louder. "Hello Juniper. Was that you that made that noise?" Stanley said while finished his out line and picking up the scissors next to him. "How- How are you?" He stuttered out without making eye contact once. Slowly cutting out the outline, he shifted in his seat a bit trying to feel more comfortable in the quite silent library.

He moved his head slightly and continued quietly, "I- I like paintings." Stanley brought his head up again and put another smile on, "What do you want to paint? I'm sew- sewing something." He picked up the red felt and pinned the paper outline onto the felt. The scissors were once again found in his hand cutting out the red outline before starting on cutting out the other side. "It’s going to be a fire swan." He muttered slowly while placing the two swan outlines onto the table.

Stanley started on the yellow and orange felt cutting out random shapes of the felt until he had enough to create a small pile on the table. "I hope it looks nice." He whispered turning his head to look at Big Ted hoping for a tiny bit of reassurance to be put into his mind. Stanley was a massive perfectionist. Everything had to look good or it would go in the bin and he would start over again. This time, he didn't have the time to redo the present and had to make sure it would be amazing the first time around.

"Do you think you will have enough time to finish the present?" He asked while picking up the sewing kit and taking out some red thread and a needle. Stanley had been taught how to sew by his Grandmother on his fathers side. When he was a young child, he had loved to watch his Grandmother sew up old clothes of his and eventually asked her to teach him. It was a very enjoyable time for both people and had become a weekly occurrence up until he started Hogwarts.

Starting the sewing, Stanley looked over towards Juniper again. "Are- are you going home for Christmas?" He took a small breath and continued, "Ignore that question actually. I'm staying here for Christmas." He nodded his head slightly and then started weaving the needle and thread between the two pieces of red felt leaving a small gap before picking up a few spares bit of felt and shoving the small pieces into the homemade swan.

Finishing closing up the red body, Stanley coughed once and brought up his hand to rub his nose. Sighing slightly under his breath, the boy picked up some orange pieces and starting to sew them onto the swan. Everything was going to plan perfectly. It had to be the perfect present.

"It's nice to see you again Juniper." He whispered while finally picking up the yellow felt piece and sewing it on. "Ow!" He exclaimed while waving his hand around. He had picked himself. Stanley had not been careful at all. The boy continued this time making sure to carefully finish the job. All he had to finish was to stick it onto the hair clip. Stanley was very excited to see the end product and quickly moved his head to look over to Big Ted once again giving him a massive smile.

Word Count: 412 + 605 = 1017/1000
COMPLETE