Mistletoe

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Each winter, for the last couple of years, a group of middle school friends would meet for their own Christmas celebrations. Not much have changed since the first time they threw such a party. There were still ugly winter sweaters involved, red, white or green, with Christmas trees, snowmen, or Rudolph on them; it was always Chanyeol and Sehun responsible for picking them up. There was still poorly decorated Christmas tree in the corner of a room, with too many ornaments that had nothing to do with each other, or Christmas time; however, Jongdae and Baekhyun would always argue that it was supposed to be an artistic Christmas tree that would hold memories. Each year Minseok, Kyungsoo and Jongin would prepare gingerbread with just a little too much frosting, and two older ones would always put the blame on poor NiNi. And the youngest would never argue, only smiling from ear to ear. Junmyeon and Yixing were always the ones in charge of presents, and more specific, getting them. There was no one more trustworthy with money than Jun, and Xing was the best at fulfilling a given task. They just made a perfect duo, and they way they packed the presents was so pretty that no one had any objections giving them the job of playing Santa.

But there were also things that did change. After all, hardly anything stays the same forever. Like feelings, for example. They tend to change every day, without much control on one’s side. Within all the years there were happy and sad moments, love and heartbreaks, laughs and tears. Only after a few Christmas parties, Chanyeol and Baekhyun decided to give their kind of newly developed feelings a go, and they have been together ever since, always showing up with matching ugly sweaters, and even worse elf shoes. Sehun was the one who went through a terrible heartbreak, after the love of his life decided to move on, and leave him behind. They spent that year’s Christmas feeding Sehun with too sweet gingerbread and many glasses of soju, watching terrible Christmas classics, which they have never since played.

Throughout all the winters, love was coming and going, sometimes choosing to stay, sometimes going away, leaving place for a new one. But one thing never changed, and was helping them get through whatever blizzard was there to face – friendship.

And that was why, Kim Jongdae and Kim Minseok, the terrible artist and the miserable cook, became wonderful liars and managed to keep all the glances, smiles and innocent touches that were making their hearts flutter, in perfect secrecy.

Or so they thought. This year their play failed, and more than one person quickly caught up with the situation. But more than one, still excluded Jongdae and Minseok.

“What a bunch of stupid idiots,” Baekhyun mumbled, when he realized that neither of his friends knew the other had feelings for them. They were currently getting ready for Christmas. Junmyeon and Yixing were shopping, Jongin and Sehun went out to grab some takeout food for lunch, Chanyeol was diving in his closet, looking for his special box tagged “ugly Christmas sweaters”, Kyungsoo was in the attic looking for their old Santa to put in the garden, Baekhyun was walking around doing nothing, because the boy just didn’t like to get his hands dirty, Minseok was sitting in front of the TV, getting though their collection of movies, and Jongdae was  decorating the Christmas tree, singing his heart out and incredibly annoying Baekhyun.

“Can you please, for the love of Santa, shut the hell up, Jongdae?,” Baekhyun growled, rolling his eyes from the couch, sick and tired or listening to All I Want For Christmas.

“But I like this song,” Minseok mumbled, looking up from the DVD collection.

“You see, hyung likes this,” Jongdae stuck his tongue out and started singing again, but this time a bit quieter.

Baekhyun rolled his eyes, and pulling a face, he mimicked “you see, hyung likes this” in a high pitched voice.

“If hyung said he likes to be called daddy, would be also be walking around screaming it at the top of his lungs,” he asked, looking at both of them, waiting for a reaction, and he smirked in victory, when both of them went red and started coughing.

“What the hell, Baekhyun?!” Minseok exclaimed, and threw a pillow at the younger. Baek only laughed and left the room, leaving the two in an awkward silence.

When the boy disappeared, Minseok slowly looked up at Jongdae, who was frozen on a chair, with an ugly mistletoe they made in middle school hanging in his hand. He was about to open his mouth to speak, when Baekhyun’s head reappeared in the room, and with a cheeky grin on his lips he asked, “but seriously, hyung, do you happen to have a ?”

Minseok quickly took off his shoe and threw it in the direction of Baekhyun’s stupid face. Unfortunately, the younger managed to quickly hide and run away.

While running away from his hyung’s shoe, Baekhyun laughed manically, and upon not paying attention to his surrounding he bumbed into Sehun, who was already wearing his Christmas sweater, even though there were still a few days left.

“Ugh, you ugly, go away,” Baekhyun mumbled, trying to pass.

“Says the guy who’s gonna be wearing elf’s boots in a few days,” Sehun retorted, “why are you laughing, anyway?”

“Jongdae and Minseok,” he replied simply, sitting down in the kitchen and throwing his leags on the table.

“Please, elaborate? What these two morons did again?”

“Yo! A bit of respect for your hyungs!”

There were a few moments of silence between them, Sehun blankly staring at Baekhyun, as if he was an unknown species of a dinosaur.

“So what did the idiots do?” Sehun repeated after some time, and Baekhyun nodded.

“They’re so obvious, it’s even more obvious than the fact that the earth is revolving around the sun,” he chuckled.

“I think it’s funny,” Sehun smiled, sitting next to him, “you’ve no idea how much fun I’ve head for the last months… or maybe years… it’s been so long since they started crushing on each other I lost the ability to count anymore…”

“You’ve never had one, in the first place,” Baekhyun whispered under his breath.

“Shut up,” the younger growled.

“I’m done with them tho… as much as it’s fun, they should just get together. Then, we could have even more fun, teasing them about this, and so many more things until the end of the world… if you know what I mean,” he said, wiggling his eyebrows.

Sehun high fived him, and both of them sneaked into the living room, where now both Jongdae and Minseok were decorating the tree together.

Jongdae smiled when Minseok joined him to help me with decorations, since Baekhyun ditched him, like almost every year, and the younger was taking forever to finish.

“You need some help up there?” Minseok asked, smiling softly at the younger, when he kneeled next to the tree and started looking for the lights in one of the boxes.

“Thanks,” he said quietly, and sparks were dancing in his eyes.

“I’m sorry… for what Baekhyun said,” Minseok mumbled, getting slightly red on his cheeks again.

“Why? It was Baekhyun who as always said too much,” Jongdae answered, but he felt heat hitting his cheeks.

“You’re right…but it was still awkward.”

There were a few moments of silence, and Jongdae decided to end it.

“So…. Do you happen to have a ?” he asked, and quickly laughed.

“This is none of your business!” Minseok exclaimed, getting even redder.

“Omg, you so do have a ,” Jongdae laughed even louder, and Minseok threw a punch at him, hitting him in a leg.

“I don’t!” Minseok shouted, and Jongdae lost control over his laugh. He was shaking so much that he lost balance on the chair, and before he realised, he was falling down, landing on, surprisingly, something softer than the floor. When he opened his eyes, he forgot how to breathe. Minseok’s face was only a few inches from his, the elder’s eyes on the same level as his, their breaths mixing into one. It was as if the time has stopped. Jongdae was looking into Minseok’s dark eyes, and he felt as if nothing else mattered. His heart was beating like crazy, and his mind went blank. There he was, his best friend, his secret love, his hyung.

When Minseok saw Jongdae rock on the chair, he wanted to warn the other, but didn’t get a chance, as the last thing he knew Jongdae was falling down, directly onto him. He caught the younger, wrapping his hands around his waist, trying to mitigate the pain. When he opened his eyes, he was lying on the floor, with a terrible pain in his back, looking directly into Jongdae’s eyelids. A few loose bangs of hair were falling onto the younger’s face, and Minseok felt an uncontrollable desire to push the hair back. His eyes were roaming on Jongdae’s face, his sharp features, closed eyes that on daily basis turn into his favourite eye smile in the world; his sharp jaw that could cut diamonds, and soft lips, that were always smiling. Minseok really wanted to take his hand from the other’s waist, and brush his fingertips over these lips, the ones he dreamt of kissing so many times, during so many restless nights, that instead of sleep were filled with thoughts of his friend.

And then, Jongdae opened his eyes, and Minseok was lost. The younger’s eyes looked like galaxies, and Minseok was sure he would do anything to spend forever counting stars in them.

When Sehun and Baekhyun reached the living room door, they sneaked their heads inside, and they both gasped, upon seeing the scene in front of them.

“Oh my,” Sehun said, and Baekhyun quickly covered his mouth with his hand, but it was too late. Jongdae quickly got up, his face as red as a tomato, and turned to face the door.

“We’re… sorry to interrupt,” Baekhyun laughed, but the damage had been done.

“It’s okay, nothing happened,” Minseok mumbled, and quickly turned around and faced the tower of DVDs again. Jongdae sat in front of the tree, and suddenly all of the ugly ornaments seemed very interesting.

Baekhyun frowned and looked at Sehun, and the younger knew, that if glances could kill, he’d be already dead. So he gulped, and tried his best to come up with a good idea, just to make it up to Baekhyun.

A few days later, they were sitting in a living room, with the Christmas tree, with a banch of presents underneath it, in the corner, flames playing in the fireplace, hot chocolate in their hands, and ugly sweaters on. Christmas songs were playing in the background, and plates of way too sweet gingerbreads on a table. Everyone was in cheerful moods, beside two boys, who were standing in the kitchen, with their own mugs of hot beverages, glaring at two other boys sitting on two different couches, facing each other, and being sickly sweet and blind towards each other.

“I cannot take it anymore,” Baekhyun mumbled, trying not to vomit while looking at Jongdae. If the boy was an emoji, he would be an eye-hearted shaped one. Baekhyun could feel it from across the room, how much Jongdae enjoyed seeing the oldest of them all wearing a red sweater with a massive reindeer on it, a red ball on his nose, and a pair of massive, reindeer’s antlers on his head. For some reason Baekhyun suspected his friend of having a bunch of weird kinks, and he was almost sure he wouldn’t mind if Rudolph did him. Ugh, Baekhyun thought and cringed at how wrong had the thought turned out.

“What the hell?” Sehun asked, a slight look of disgust on his face.

“What exactly did I say out loud?”

“He wouldn’t mind if Rudolph did him? The hell are you thinking about, Baekhyun?!”

“Ugh, this is not what I wanted it to sound like. I was just looking at Jongdae and just look he’s drooling, his eyes never leaving Minseok. He’s so freaking love-struck, I bet he enjoys hyung’s costume more than necessary. That’s what I meant by Rudolph! I meant Minseok hyung!” he explained himself, and after a moment Sehun sighed in relief.

“Actually, hyung, I might have an idea how to help them a bit,” the younger said, and Baekhyun raised his eyebrows.

“I’m all ears.”

 Jongdae was sitting by the Christmas tree, looking at a small box in his hand, afraid to open it, not knowing who had been responsible for his present this year. He had a terrible feeling it was Baekhyun, and upon opening the box he would find one of Baek’s stupid pictures and would hear a comment from across the room similar to the one he had heard a few years back “so you could always carry something beautiful with you, wherever you go!”

“Hey, what’s up?” he heard a familiar voice, and even before looking up, a massive smiale had already been playing on his lips.

“Hey, hyung. Yeah, I’m just afraid of what’s inside,” he laughed, shaking the box.

“Why?” Minseok asked, sitting next to him.

“Because I’m afraid it might be one of Baekhyun’s pictures again,” Jongdae admitted, and put the box on the floor, taking a new mug from Minseok, “thank you,” he whispered, and smiled.

“No problem,” the older replied with a soft smile and silence fell upon them.

“I really like your outfit,” Jongdae chuckled, not being able to keep it to himself anymore, “the nose fits you.”

“You think so?” Minseok asked, squeezing the ball, “maybe I should wear it more often?”

Jongdae laughed, and Minseok took his antlers off and put it on Jongdae’s head. “Look, now we’re matching,” he laughed, and his eyes turned into half moons.

Jongdae blushed slightly and his heart skipped a bit, but a warm smile decorated his lips. He looked at the older and his features softened as he got lost in the other’s eyes.

But his fairytale was ruined when he heard quiet chuckled and laughs coming somewhere from around them. He looked to the right, and was met with a disturbing gazes and massives grins of his friends. He frowned, and looked up. Out of all the possibilities of what his friends thought about, seeing a green mistletoe hanging above him and Minseok was the last one. He gulped, and a blush colored his face. He looked at Minseok, who was also looking up at the plant. And surprisingly, what he saw on the other’s face, was a small grin decorating his lips.

“What are you doing, Baekhyun?” Minseok asked calmly, his eyes never leaving the mistletoe.

“It’s Christmas. What do you think I’m doing? We’re playing the Mistletoe game. Me and Chanyeol had already done it, now it’s your turn.”

Minseok was more than sure that there is no such thing as the “Minstletoe game”, but he decided to play along.

“Okay, if we’re playing, then we’re playing,” he said and looked at Jongdae, with a massive smile on his face, “c’mon Jongdae, we cannot be worse than these lovebirds,” he laughed, and leant foreword, waiting for the younger to do the same. However, Jongdae was frozen and his brain just shut down.

“I… I…,” he stuttered, and cursed at himself mentaly. He saw Minseok’s smile soften, and then the boy leant even closer and closer, and before Jongdae knew it, he felt his hyung’s hot breath on his lips. All he could do with all his rational thinking being out of order, he closed his eyes, and waited. And only a few seconds later, he felt a touch of something as soft and delicate as a feather, and as sweet as chocolate they drank earlier. He smiled slightly, and then pouted at the loss of contact.

When Jongdae opened his eyes again, everything and everyone in the room was silent. He looked directly at Minseok, and the older looked at him, and they stayed like that for a few moments.

“Can you open your present, please?” Minseok asked suddenly, startling everyone.

Jongdae frowned, but grabbed the box and opened it. What he found inside made him gasp.

A mistletoe.

“What?” he whispered, looking at Minseok, feeling puzzled.

“I guess I wanted to tell you I really like you, Jongdae,” Minseok mumbled, not really enjoying having such an audience.

“Finally,” Baekhyun and Sehun said at the same time and everyone looked at them. Everyone expect two boys sitting on the floor facing each other. Jongdae smiled slowly, and lifted the mistletoe up.

“I really like you too, Min -,” he started slowly, but before he finished, he had the older’s lips on his again. He laughed against the kiss, and felt a pair of strong arms wrap around his waist.

“Merry Christmas,” Minseok whispered against his ear, when he broke the kiss.

“Merry Christmas, hyung.”

MERRY CHRISTMAS AND HAPPY HOLIDAYS EVERYONE!

Here it is, our Christmas Xiuchen oneshot! What do you think of it? :)

(not edited, nto checked, it's 2am I just really wanted to finish it, sorry for all the mistakes)