Build-A-Bear was a place that you hadn't properly been in years. It was also one of the only stores in the mall that hadn't closed down yet. You'd stopped by the mall for a few things, and a few things only: return a pair of shoes, exchange a foundation you'd bought in the wrong shade, and possibly buy one of those delicious soft pretzels. As a treat.

When you walk by the Workshop, it's a little too enticing. Bright, friendly colors, a sign posted out front that boasts "Fur-ever Friends" for great prices in all of your favorite licensed characters. You can't help but step inside, just for a moment.

You're just looking around anyways, right?

Bins line the right side of the store, full of the unstuffed bodies of all different furry friends, from scruffy dogs and purple cats to...a hobbit? Yoda? It really has been a while since your last visit. There's a few small kids with their parents on the far side of the store, much further along in the process of building their furry friend than you are.

No. You are not buying a stuffed animal here right now—

"Hi, welcome in. You need some help deciding?" A soft voice interrupts your train of thought, and you glance over to find the source of said voice.

It's a guy about your age, wearing an employee's blue apron and a plain white t-shirt underneath. He's got a sweet smile, a dusting of pink on the tops of his soft cheeks.

He's cute.

Your brain goes offline for about eight seconds before you reboot and remember that you need to actually answer him. "Oh, uh-yeah, I'm just-looking around, thanks."

This is the kind of store that you only really enter if you're ready to make a hefty purchase. Your wallet cries out in mourning of the money you know you're about to spend here.

The employee-Highston, it says on the name tag pinned to his apron, written in black sharpie in bright, friendly letters-nods, his smile widening a traction.

"Awesome," he grins, taking a half step backwards to give you some room to decide.

"I'll be over there-" he gestures to the first station of the process, where you select a sound to be heard inside the bear, "-whenever you're ready."

You give him a soft smile in return, waving him off politely as he steps away. After much deliberation, you've made your decision. You were almost tempted by the pink and green frogs, but in the end, you settled for something classic. A bunny, with soft fur and floppy ears.

Highston's all smiles when you walk over to the sound station, and it's definitely got some upgrades since the last time you were at the Workshop.

It used to be little drawers of pre-recorded sound buttons; dogs barking, maybe a hit song-just cute little animal sounds and things to stuff your friend with. Now? It's all high-tech. Screens and buttons and it takes Highston a few minutes to help you get sorted with the sound you've picked.

For the sake of comedy, you've decided to put a dog's bark in your bunny plush.

Highston snorts a little when you pick it out. It's adorable, and you hate it.

The next step is the stuffing station, where things get serious. Highston settles down into a chair on one side of the stuffing machine, taking your un-stuffed bunny and sound button from you gently.

He asks your name, and you give it-he writes it down on the bunny's tag, adding a little smiley face at the end. Then, he tears off the barcode of the tag, and stuffs it somewhere in the bunny's front paw, followed by the sound button you'd picked out.

"Okay, this is a pretty make-or-break question," he starts, a slight tease edging into his tone.

You listen intently, watching him as he meets your gaze with an unwavering intensity.

"How much stuffing do you want your friend to have?"

He's got a sweetness to his voice, clearly picked up from talking to probably hundreds of little kids, going through the same dialogue a million times daily.

"We can make her soft, or hard, or somewhere in the middle?"