Archive of Our Own ^beta

Woody was losing his mind. He kept glancing at the Calendar date that was circled on February 14th.

Valentines Day. It was always a love-hate relationship with the holiday, either you'd get something or nothing. It's a simple yet gut-punching concept. Taking place the second week of February. It was the holiday filled with love, gifts, and all that other lovey-dovey stuff. So, why would Woody be freaking out? It's not like he had a reason, right? 

Well, there was one. 

Woody didn't have anything to give to his partner, Buzz. He didn't know what to get him. They had been married for about a year now and this was going to be their first Valentine's together as a married couple, Valentine's Day was less than a week away from now and he was STILL currently empty-handed.

Buzz and Woody were both busy people, with Woody being the Sheriff of the small town that they lived in and Buzz being a space ranger and working for NASA. They worked day and night, mostly having little time to themselves at the end of the day.

But Woody wanted this Valentine to be special, not just for him but for Buzz.

He paced back and forth in the kitchen, trying to figure out what Buzz might want. A gift that was 'out of this world' (little spaceman joke) but he couldn't think of anything. He tried everything! Looking up on the internet for some inspiration, going to almost every store in town to see what they had in stock besides those basic red and pink teddy bears holding hearts with sweet messages on them, buying chocolates, etc. But nothing felt good. Nothing felt perfect. Woody was completely (and utterly) hopeless!

Woody's thoughts were quickly interrupted by their Orange cat, swiftly rubbing its face against his legs and meowing many times to grab his attention. He was demanding wet cat food. "Oh hi there Sox, you must be a hungry little guy" Woody went over to the upper cabinet and grabbed some wet cat food, and poured it into Sox's food bowl. Within seconds the little orange furball was munching away at the food, Woody smiled and began to scratch the top of his head repeatedly. Getting nothing but purring in response.

Woody sighed and looked over at Sox, who had now looked up at him "god, Sox. I have no idea what to give Buzz and Valentine's day is less than a week from now. I'm hopeless! What do you think I should do?"

"Meow."

"I know, I know it's silly that I'm talking to a cat about my problems. I'm aware of that, Sox."

"Meow."

"What? You want me to go and ask Jessie what she thinks?"

"Meoww"

"Sox no, that's dumb. I don't wanna just ask her about this y'know?"

"Meow?"

"You know how she gets with this whole romance thing, she gets so excited about it.." Woody paused for a moment, grabbing his chin "But then again she could be a big help... maybe I will give her a call. Thanks, Sox!" Woody petted his back as a reward before grabbing his phone and dialing her number.

It didn't take long for the phone to pick up.

"Hey Jessie, are you available tomorrow? I need your help with something."

---------------------

The next day came around faster than usual.

Woody and Jessie both decided to meet up at the local diner that they always went to when they were teenagers

Woody came in 20 minutes earlier than the time he and Jessie were supposed to meet. He couldn't help himself from feeling impatient of some sort. He was so eager to get this whole thing over with. He had already alerted Jessie that he was there, and she replied that she'd be there in less than 15 minutes. Great! Now he just had to wait, Not so hard, right? Well, it felt like it. Not long after that, he looked at his phone and hands a few times and looked around the place, trying his hardest to let time pass.

Until finally, he noticed a red-haired woman, standing at the front entrance looking around at the place to find him, Woody wasted no time waving his arms in the air signaling his location. Jessie noticed and walked over quickly. "Woody!" She ran over with a huge smile and hugged him tightly for a few seconds and let go to face him "Jessie, long time no see, sis!" "Yeah! I haven't seen you since your wedding night!" Jessie leaned into Woody's ear "So, how was the honeymoon between you and Buzz?"

Woody immediately became flustered at her question "Uh well- everything went great, just-- great." He stuttered over his words, he tried so hard to hide the blush that appeared on his face when Jessie mention the honeymoon by looking away but Jessie knew him better than anybody. She was his younger sister after all, by a few years. She knew that Woody wasn't a huge fan of talking about his love life, he had never been a huge fan of romantic relationships that was until high school, when he met Buzz years ago, Now, it was a completely different story.

She couldn't help but start giggling at the sight of him getting flustered over a question about his honeymoon with Buzz "Okay, okay! Enough with the teasing, Jessie are you going to help me or not!?!" He murmured, still blushing red under his cowboy hat. "Wait I'm sorry! I'm sorry! Yes, of course, I'll help!" She said, wiping a tear under her eye.

Woody sat down at his seat before she did, he was looking away from Jessie, with an embarrassed look on his face, "I'm sorry, Woody, it's just been a while since I've seen you like this. I've missed you." his face lit up, it had almost been a year since his wedding with Buzz, and the only way they'd been communicating since then was through the phone so it was a nice change. "I've missed you too, Jessie." He smiled.

"Ah, now that's the happy face of a brother of mine!" Jessie proclaimed. They both started giggling with each other. It took a minute to let them calm down a bit, Woody mustered up the words, "So, how are things with Bo, again? Is she still-' "Still the most beautiful girl I laid eyes on, yep and it'll stay that way." Cutting Woody off with glee on her face. Classic Jessie, always knowing what he's about to say next. 

They both knew that it was time to pick their menus and start deciding what they were gonna get. 

"I wonder if this place has anything new to offer, It's been a while since we sat down and ate at this place," Jessie said, her eyes scanning through every section of the menu. 

"Eh- I doubt that." Woody blurred, taking a tiny sip of his ice-cold water. "This place hasn't changed since we first came here, doubt that they'd even thought about changing the menu for a second." He was right, the old building hadn't changed since forever ago, and the old neon lights were hanging from the ceiling, as old as they were, surprised they hadn't stopped working yet. Still, some old faces that you can recognize instantly, in a small town like this, everyone is your next-door neighbor. 

Jessie decided on getting pancakes while Woody was getting some bacon, eggs, and french fries, the waiter came by, took their orders, and then left.

The silence came back into the atmosphere. Damn, did they already talk about everything yet? That quick? No, that couldn't be. 

They just sat there. Woody stared into space, looking like he was trying to remember something and Jessie looked at her phone, it felt like a minute before Jessie spoke again.

"So, Woody, you said you wanted to talk to me about something? It seemed pretty urgent the way you said it on the phone yesterday." 

Woody, abruptly shook his head to turn his head to her, "OH!"  Woody snapped his fingers at the same time, "Yes! That's what I was trying to remember." He avowed. Jessie gave a confused look on her face. "Okay so, how do I say this?"

Woody gestured his hand so she could come closer, he leaned into her ear, "the reason I called you here- is because I need your help picking out a Valentine's gift for Buzz.." 

Her face immediately changed from confusion to excitement. "OH! THAT'S WHAT THIS IS ABOUT-!" "SHHHH. Jessie!" She covered her mouth; she didn't mean to yell so loud to the point where the whole diner was looking at them. "Sorry, sorry!" They both sat back down in their seats. "So, that's what you called me here for?" Jesse asked. Woody nodded, frantically, looking embarrassed about it. 

"YEAH! I mean yes! Jessie, you were the only person I could turn to for this, you're way better at things like this than me, c'mon now!"

Jessie was trying her best not to smile so hard, she loved giving out romantic advice to other people, especially somebody like her brother. 

"Well Woody, I would be honored to help you with that! First, did you try looking up on the internet?" Jessie asked, Woody, nodding almost immediately. 

"Hm, have you considered flowers yet?"  

"Eh, Buzz isn't a flower guy. He's allergic." 

"What about a stuffed animal?" 

"He already has a million of those, they take up half the bed." 

"Chocolate?" 

"Maybe.. but I don't wanna give him just chocolate. That would be lazy." 

"A gift basket? A bottle of wine? A gift card?" 

"To cliche. Maybe and hell no." 

"Damn." Jessie tried to think of more ideas but what else was there? There weren't many leads to go on from. Now she could see why Woody needed help with this. Soon, the waiter came back with their orders, Jessie and Woody thanked them and shortly afterward, they left to go serve another table. 

"You got any more ideas?" Woody asked, taking a bite out of his bacon. Jessie was still thinking, she took a bite of her pancakes. The sweet syrup hit her tongue while she chewed, chewed, and chewed until a lightbulb went off. "OH, I GOT IT! Why not make something for him? Like the breakfast, you used to make me when I was sick when we were younger! That seems like a good gift. " Jessie claimed before taking another bite of her pancakes.

Then it finally hit him, "Jessie." He turned his head to her, "YOU'RE A GENIUS!" 'Of course, a classic breakfast in bed! Why didn't he think of it earlier? It's perfect! Buzz would love it!'

"Yeah, you're right! Breakfast in bed is a great idea, he'll love it!" Woody was thrilled! Finally, he didn't need to worry about figuring out a gift he was getting for his partner! The stress was over! (For now). "Yeah, there you go; I knew you would figure it out, Woody!" Jessie assured. Woody stood up from the old wooden chair, now having a big smile on his face  "Thanks, Jess! I'm so relieved right now. In fact; I think I might go buy the ingredients right now!" He exclaimed before walking to the exit, Jessie yelled "Woody! What about your food?" He stopped dead in his tracks, walked back over, and sat back down. 

"Ha- Right, can't let it go to waste. Plus Buzz would kill me if I didn't come home with takeout." 

Jessie rolled her eyes as Woody continued to stuff his face with the food on his plate. He was trying to hold in his happy thoughts.

---------------------

Now, it was the night before Valentine's Day and Woody was; at the most, agitated. 

He paced back and forth in the kitchen continuously, He'd already brought all the ingredients for the perfect breakfast in bed, he could possibly imagine.

He already had everything set out, he knew that he'd have to wake up a few hours earlier than Buzz in the morning to make his breakfast. 

Now, all he had to do is hide and keep it a secret till the morning. Woody sighed and took a deep breath, trying to calm himself down a bit. 'Everything is gonna be fine Woody, Buzz is gonna be home any second now, everything will be fine, you can do this. He'll love it.'

Just then, the sound of jiggling keys came from the other side of the front door and it opened; he was home. 

"Buzz!" Woody walked over to him and hugged him, "Woody! There's my Sunshine!" he gave him a tiny peck on his forehead. Woody blushed and giggled silently as he brought his hand up to his forehead, Buzz dropped his duffle bag to the side. "How was your day? Worked on any new projects at work?" Woody asked. Buzz sighed "it was pretty much the same but way more exhausting than the last, still been working on the same project for a week now." 

"Sorry to hear that, Moonlight. Perhaps a cup of lemonade help cheer you up?" Woody watched as Buzz plop himself on the couch and lay down in exhaustion, taking up the whole couch. "Yeah, that would be nice." Woody walked over to the kitchen, opened the fridge, and grabbed a cup; filling it up with lemonade. 

Woody walked back into the living room; he handed Buzz the cup of lemonade  “Here you go.” “Thank you.” 

Buzz sat up to drink a tiny sip out of the cup. “So.” Woody blurred, “So?” Buzz asked. “What are you planning to do? Y’know we have a lot of time to kill, Buzz.” He hummed in response, and he placed the cup down on the table “I don't know. I don't really wanna do anything." Buzz paused for a moment, "-anything that doesn't involve you in it.'' he added. Woody turned his head in surprise at his response, then, he just chuckled.

He laid his body right on top of him. "Alright you, flirty fox, you want us to stay on the couch like this? Watch the same tv shows?"

"I'd like that a lot." 

It was around 11 o’clock, the night was cold and beautiful. It was still winter, after all, the cold was nice but the warmth within it was even nicer. 

For the rest of the night, Woody and Buzz just sat on the couch on top of one another, throwing affection jesters at one another.

When it was almost near midnight, Buzz got up from the couch and said “Woody” 

“Already?! Work got you that exhausted?” Woody teased. Buzz nodded, his hand rubbing his head and walking in the hallway. “You should go to bed too, y’know, Today is the only day we get to sleep in.” He advised.

“Fine, I’ll be right there. Goodnight Sox!" He petted the orange furball around his legs, the cat purred in response. 

He didn't forget his plan though, he knew that creating this gift for buzz wasn't going to be easy. He hoped that maybe this situation wouldn’t make him lose so much sleep. 

And of course, he didn’t, he was constantly staring at the alarm clock with the words that now read  6:42 AM on it, ‘Damn insomnia..’ Woody thought. This felt like it was going on forever so he decided why not start earlier? Nothing wrong with getting a head start. 

Woody quietly stood up from his bed trying his hardest not to make noise that would wake Buzz up. Luckily, the carpet flooring makes that easy for him, Woody has never thanked god for installing carpet flooring. He made it out the door and slowly closed the door behind him. He was able to make it to the kitchen within a minute, without making any noise. 

Success! Now, step two, make the breakfast (without burning it) and then give it to him when Buzz wakes up. 

“Fine, I’ll be right there. Goodnight Sox!" He petted the orange furball around his legs, the cat purred in response. 

He didn't forget his plan though, he knew that creating this gift for buzz wasn't going to be easy. He hoped that maybe this situation wouldn’t make him lose so much sleep. 

And of course, it did, he was constantly staring at the alarm clock with the words that now read  6:42 AM on it, ‘Damn insomnia..’ Woody thought. This felt like it was going on forever so he decided why not start earlier? Nothing wrong with getting a head start. 

Woody quietly stood up from his bed trying his hardest not to make noise that would wake Buzz up. Luckily, the carpet flooring makes that easy for him, Woody has never thanked god for installing carpet flooring. He made it out the door and slowly closed the door behind him. He was able to make it to the kitchen within a minute, without making any noise. 

Success! Now, step two, make the breakfast (without burning it) and then give it to him when Buzz wakes up. Simple. 

Woody grabbed the only apron that they had, it was all pink with a heart in the middle. 

Woody lazily rubs his eyes and got out all the ingredients: Eggs, milk, sugar, fruits, oil, flour, etc. 

First was the eggs. The easiest food to make. Buzz always liked his eggs scrambled. 

Woody grabbed two eggs from the carton and put it in a bowl, separately melted a tiny Bloch of butter on a skillet, and said it to over medium heat. Then, he poured the egg mixture and reduce the heat on the skillet. Finally, waited till the eggs thickened till you couldn’t see the liquid egg mixture. And boom; All done! 

He patted his shoulder and said “Wow, not bad, after a while, Woody. Did a great job.” He glanced at the clock and now it was about 7:13 AM. ‘Took way longer than expected.’ 

Okay, now he needed to make pancakes. Multiple pancakes. Woody had searched for a video on YouTube about how to make pancakes in under 10 minutes. He clicked it and observed with the person was doing in the video, it was until after he was done watching the video that, he had no idea what he was doing! He was watching the video over and over again, trying to follow along perfectly. But somehow his pancakes looked different from theirs.

What the fuck. What the fuck was he doing wrong?! He measured the flour and added the eggs and the sugar. He followed the steps best he could. 

He kept looking at it back and forth until he checked the Clock again, it was 7:39 AM. At that point, Woody decided to follow his instincts instead of watching multiple videos of people making better-looking pancakes than his. He continue to make 3 more pancakes, he flipped over the pancakes, and needless to say that some look better than others but not brunt. 

Finally, to complete this gift, Woody grabbed some strawberries and blueberries and dipped them into cooled melted chocolate. He added it to the plate and finally, it was complete! He check the clock one last time and it read 8:26 AM. 

Buzz would be awake any second now and realize that Woody was gone. Which would ruin the surprise that he’d been working on all day (and night). 

And sure enough, again, he was right. “Woody!?” Buzz yelled from the bedroom. “I’ll be there in a second! Don’t leave the bed, Buzz!” Woody replied. He placed the breakfast on the foldable tray table and carefully watched his balance from the kitchen to the bedroom. 
Woody slowly opened the door to the bedroom to find him sitting up from the bed, rubbing his eyes with eye bags under them. 

“Woody- I- wow” Buzz stumbled over his words, shocked to find his husband carrying a tray filled with homemade food, Woody wasn’t the like to cook so it was a big surprise for him. “Are those for me?” Buzz asked. “Mhm! You know I don’t like scrambled eggs.” He walked over and placed the trey in between his legs and sat down at the edge of the bed. “Woody, I- I don’t know what else to say..” Buzz still had a shocked expression on his face, the one that always made Woody laugh, “you don’t have to be silly, you eat it before it gets cold.” Woody said. 

Buzz nodded, as he grabbed his fork and cut a piece of the pancake; putting it in his mouth then he swallowed. “This is perfect, Woody! Wow I didn’t know you made a great breakfast!“ He complimented before taking some more bites. “It was nothing really-“ “No, this is something. This is amazing. Woody, I love you so much.” He blurred. 

Woody wasn’t the affectionate type especially straight in the morning, but he’ll let this one slide. He leaned in and kissed Buzz’s cheek before saying “I love you too, Happy Valentine’s Day, my Moonlight.”