Submission (#2755) Approved

Thistle fidgeted with their lower set of arms as they looked around the small store.
Showing how much you loved your friends was important every day, but it was even more important on Valentine’s day, when said friend who isn’t dating anyone might feel lonely. It’s also super important to make sure that you got her a gift that was not only perfect, but also not too perfect, because what if she accidentally thought you had feelings for her??
That would be supremely ridiculous and totally not true. So they had to find something that was so platonic that Sienna wouldn’t even consider that there was even a chance Thistle had a crush on her.
Thistle’s caterpillar inside of their vizor yawned as it curled up to take a nap. Apparently, it wasn’t as invested in the deep social predicament of having to balance platonic and romantic.
Perhaps the candy section would be the best to browse first - candy seemed like a pretty neutral gift compared to something like a stuffed animal or flowers. Most of the sweets offered were heart-shaped, though, or came in a big heart-shaped box… wait! That’s it!
Thistle’s caterpillar perked up a bit as it watched them collect both a giant heart-shaped box, and a rectangular box of heart-shaped candy. If they just swapped the regular chocolates from the heart box with the heart-shaped ones in the regular box, they’d have a regular box full of regular chocolates - the perfect platonic gift!
They shuffled over to the checkout, setting the chocolates on the counter, and fumbling for their grubsprouts. “Um— I’d like to buy these, please! And, uh— no gift wrap.”
“Oh!” The terralien managing the storefront glanced over the items. “Looks like you’ve got somebody special! Your total will be 250.”
A bit pricy for chocolates, but Thistle was buying double. They tried to ignore the comment as they handed over the money.
“Have a nice day!” The cashier chirped, as Thistle fumbled to grab the chocolates and leave, setting their plan into place.
—
“This is… for me?”
Thistle nodded quickly, almost shaking their caterpillar around as they did so. “Yup! Uh, sorry it’s last-minute—“
Sienna opened the box, tilting her head at the chocolates. “…Huh. I’m not really one for sweets.”
Thistle’s ears drooped.
“…But Mesmer is. Thank you.”
Huh.
Thistle perked up a little. Maybe this gift didn’t have quite the effect they wanted… but as long as Sienna was happy, they were happy.