Frantic shoppers hurried around you, taking advantage of the last few days of holiday shopping. You and your boyfriend were finding gifts to give to his group members, to whom you had grown especially close. Already you had visited a popular holiday store, and had chosen a wide variety of colored wrapping paper, bows, and ribbon.

“How about this?” he asked you, holding up a limited edition hat from the designer store in which you were browsing.

“I guess,” you said, taking it in your hands and turning it over a few times. “He’ll love it!” Your boyfriend smiled, adding it to the small stack of things he was preparing to buy. You walked out of the store together, one hand holding heavy paper bags, the other wrapped tightly in his. He wore dark sunglasses as he always did in public with you, a heavily knit scarf covering most of his face.

“Oh my god!” a girl shrieked, running in front of you two. She hollered your boyfriend’s name to her friends. You stopped on the sidewalk, frozen in concern with the fear of being uncovered. The girl pointed to an advertisement at the bust stop, a picture of your boyfriend’s face plastered against the structure along with the rest of his group. You exchanged a look with your boyfriend as the girls took picture with his larger-than-life face. You shuffled quickly down the stairs to the subway, escaping before anyone took notice of their favorite celebrity standing only a few feet away.

“That was entertaining,” he noted, and you could tell by the tone of his voice that he was smiling. Your shaking laughter brought forth confused glances from the other subway riders. Thankfully, with his eyes and face inconspicuously hidden, people took as much notice to your boyfriend as they did the peeling advertisements on the walls.

You walked a few blocks from the station to your apartment, climbing carefully up the stairs with heaping bags. He helped lay everything out on your kitchen counters and dining table, haphazardly cutting the wrapping paper.

“What are you doing?” you asked him, adjusting the scissors in his hand. “You’re cutting wrapping paper, not fighting a bear!” He laughed, biting his lip as he leaned over the table to slowly cut the paper. You weren’t wrapping gifts perfectly, but were satisfied with the tightly tied packages. When you turned to grab another gift, a violent rush of laughter broke in your throat.

“How is that even possible?” you asked. He looked at you sheepishly, ripping another ribbon of tape to try and hold together the random pieces of wrapping paper.

“Well…I cut the paper too small so I needed another piece, but they didn’t fit together so I’m just taping it together,” he explained happily. You gave him a theatrically incredulous look. “What?” he asked defensively. “It’s a hat! It’s really hard to wrap!” You laughed, poking his lower lip that had slipped into a childish pout. You grinned.

“I guess it doesn’t really matter,” you agreed. “They’re going to rip the paper off like monsters anyway.” When all of the wrapping was finished, you arranged the gifts carefully in cardboard boxes to carry to their dorm.

He helped you fit them in the trunk of your car, driving carefully down the busy road dusted with a slippery layer of snow. You leaned with your cheek against the cool window glass and watched as people and buildings became colorful blurs with the vehicle’s speeds. When you walked into their dorm, you took great care in avoiding the slippery patches frozen to the walkway. As the door opened, you were greeted by several of the boys before you had even a moment to set down the box.

“What’s this?” one asked, shaking a present with excited fervor. You pulled it from his hands, sticking out your tongue and giving him a childish glare.

“Who wrapped this?” one asked, peeking through the randomly folded paper. “It looks awful.” Your boyfriend snatched it away from him.

“Hey! It’s really difficult,” he whined. They laughed at his expense, but slapped affectionate hands against his shoulders and back. One of them extended an arm to you, pulling you into their circle.

“Come here,” he said with a laugh. You smiled and joined in a hug with his entire group, your boys, your brothers.