Christmas was coming up in a few days and Donghae was still staying with Eunhyuk, which the blonde didn’t seem to mind at all. The two of them had gotten closer and closer with each passing day, discovering more about each other, and Donghae had gotten more comfortable walking on his legs, building up tons of strength in them. “Are you excited about Christmas?” Eunhyuk asked one Saturday afternoon.

          “I suppose so, although I’ve never celebrated this holiday before,” Donghae replied.

          “You’re owner never gave you anything for Christmas?” Eunhyuk inquired.

          “Well, one year he gave me half the day off, but other than that, no not really, that day was always a work day. My owner always had a show every Christmas, even if it was one of the slowest days we had,” Donghae explained.

          “That’s awful,” Eunhyuk responded.

          “It’s okay, I know better than to ask for anything. My owner said that good mermen don’t ask for things and should be grateful for what I already have,” Donghae said.

          “Donghae, how would you feel if I offered to give you your first real Christmas experience?” Eunhyuk wondered.

          “Wow, what would we do?” Donghae asked.

          “Well, we would buy each other presents, take you out ice skating, and then afterwards, I’d make us some dinner,” Eunhyuk explained. “Would you like that?”

          “Yeah, that sounds good,” Donghae agreed. “Where do we get the presents at?”

          “I’ll take you to the store and we can look around,” Eunhyuk said. “C’mon, let’s get you out of the tub so we can go ahead and look.”

          After drying off Donghae and helping him bundle up, Eunhyuk helped him downstairs to the car. The blonde drove them over to the mall and walked inside with Donghae. “So where do I look?” Donghae wondered.

          “Wherever you want,” Eunhyuk replied.

          “Let’s go in that store over there,” Donghae suggested.

          “Okay,” Eunhyuk agreed. “Now I’m going to look for you something, you look for me something, then when you’re finished, you pay for them up there. Will you be okay walking by yourself for a few minutes?”

          “Yeah, I think I’ll be okay,” Donghae said.

          “Alright, well I’ll come find you when I’m done,” Eunhyuk replied before walking away to look for a present for the merman. After looking around for about half an hour, Donghae and Eunhyuk both found presents for one another, but didn’t show them to each other.

          “What do we do now?” Donghae wondered as they headed back out to Eunhyuk’s car.

          “I’m going to take you ice skating,” Eunhyuk responded with a smile.

          “Is it easy?” Donghae asked.

          “It’s not difficult, but not easy either. Don’t worry, I’ll give you a hand,” Eunhyuk promised.

          As they reached the outdoor skating rink, Donghae noticed the weather was beginning to change. “Look Eunhyuk, there’s white rain falling,” Donghae said as he caught some in his hand.

          “This is called snow Donghae, have you ever seen it before?” Eunhyuk inquired.

          “I did one time, but was never told what it was. I was scared to ask about it, so I just assumed it was really cold rain,” Donghae informed.

          “Ya know, if you catch a snowflake on your tongue, it’s supposed to bring you luck and happiness,” Eunhyuk said before he stuck his tongue out and caught one.

          “Wow,” Donghae replied before he opened his mouth and attempted to catch some snowflakes himself. “Almost got it.”

          “C’mon, I’ll help you slip on your skates,” Eunhyuk offered as Donghae sat down. Eunhyuk knelt in front of the brunette and placed the skates on his feet. “Okay, c’mon.” The blonde helped him stand up and watched Donghae begin to wobble.

          “This is weird,” Donghae muttered as he held onto Eunhyuk and stumbled towards the ice.

          “Okay, just relax, and try not to stress about it,” Eunhyuk calmly said as they began to glide on the ice. He looked at Donghae and took both hands. “All you do is gently push off with one foot and then the other, and just repeat that.”

          Donghae looked down at his feet and tried to move them like Eunhyuk’s. The brunette moved one leg and fell down onto the ice and took Eunhyuk down with him. “I’m sorry, I’m sorry,” Donghae apologized as he and Eunhyuk stood up.

          Laughing, the blonde replied “It’s okay Donghae, you’ll get the hang of it. Here, let’s try again.” Eunhyuk wrapped an arm around Donghae’s waist and held one of his hands in his own before leading him around the ice. “See, it’s an art, like swimming. Just close your eyes and pretend you’re moving through the water.”

          “You won’t let me go?” Donghae asked.

          “No Donghae, I won’t let you fall,” Eunhyuk promised. Smiling, Donghae closed his eyes and let his imagination run as Eunhyuk helped him move around the ice. He didn’t seem to notice Eunhyuk interlace their fingers together as he held Donghae’s hand tightly.

          The merman opened his eyes and looked up at the night time sky. He saw some stars shine through a break in the clouds, and watched the gray clouds continue to spit out white specks over him, Eunhyuk, and the other people who were skating too. “This is really an amazing experience,” Donghae muttered as he looked at his blonde friend. “I’m having a really good time.”

          “Good, that makes me happy. Are you ready to go back home, so I can start our dinner?” Eunhyuk wondered.

          “Yes, please get me off the ice,” Donghae agreed as Eunhyuk assisted him over to a bench and took his skates off. “I prefer my water in liquid form and not frozen.” As they walked out to the car, Donghae noticed something hanging from the entranceway of the ice rink. “Eunhyuk, what’s that?”

          “What?” Eunhyuk asked.

          Donghae pointed to a small plant up over the entranceway. “Why is that plant up there?” he wondered.

          “That’s called mistletoe, people hang it up around Christmas time,” Eunhyuk informed.

          “What’s it used for, just decoration?” Donghae inquired.

          “Well you’re supposed to kiss someone you love underneath it,” Eunhyuk added.

          “Like a boyfriend?” Donghae asked.

          Eunhyuk laughed before kissing Donghae’s cheek quickly. “You’re so cute and funny Donghae,” the blonde said.

          The merman gently placed his hand on top of the spot where Eunhyuk had kissed him as he watched his friend walk towards the car. This human had kissed him; did that mean that he liked Donghae? The brunette wasn’t used to something like this; no human had ever done that before. His owner had always touched him abusively, and forced his body to do things he was uncomfortable with. But Eunhyuk, he was different. The two had a special kind of relationship, the kind that made Donghae’s heart pound fast every time the blonde’s name was mentioned.

          After they returned to Eunhyuk’s apartment, they took their gifts and placed them underneath the Christmas tree they’d put up a few days earlier. “When do we open these?” Donghae wondered.

          “After dinner,” Eunhyuk said.

          “I’m going to go sit in the bathtub for a few minutes, if that’s okay,” Donghae informed.

          “Yeah go ahead, I’ll start cooking,” Eunhyuk agreed.

          Donghae locked himself in the bathroom before submerging himself in warm water as he moved and flexed his tail around. He popped up out of the water and pulled his tail close to his chest as he thought to himself, what if Eunhyuk doesn’t like what I got him? The blonde had taken such good care of him, and Donghae tried his hardest to get Eunhyuk presents that showed him he was grateful for all he’d done for him. After soaking for several minutes, Donghae got out of the bathtub and headed back into the main room. He looked over at Eunhyuk cooking in the kitchen, and walked over to him. “Would you like some help?”

          “No I’ve got it, and it’s almost ready, just sit down and I’ll bring it over to you,” Eunhyuk responded. Donghae sat down at the table as Eunhyuk served him. “I hope you like this.”

          “I’m sure I will, you always make nice things,” Donghae replied with a smile.

          “Thanks,” Eunhyuk said as he grinned back at the brunette.

          When the two were finished with their meal, and the kitchen had been cleaned up, Eunhyuk sat Donghae down on the couch and handed him his gift. “What is it?” Donghae asked as he looked at the bag.

          “Open it up,” Eunhyuk suggested as he took a seat next to Donghae on the couch. The brunette opened the bag and pulled out a pair of blue jeans. “I got you your own pair of pants, so you didn’t have to keep borrowing mine anymore.”

          “Wow, these are nice, thank you,” Donghae replied. He reached in the bag again and pulled out several DVD’s. “What are these?”

          “They’re movies I thought you’d enjoy; there’s The Little Mermaid, Finding Nemo, Titanic, you know, movies about water,” Eunhyuk explained. “We can watch one later if you want.”

          “Thank you Eunhyuk, these are very considerate. Now, I wanna give you my gift. I hope you like it,” Donghae said as he handed a bag to the blonde. Eunhyuk opened up the gift and pulled out a package. “They’re floaties for the swimming pool. I thought you could use them to help you swim better.”

          Eunhyuk giggled, which made Donghae’s heart jump. “This is very thoughtful Donghae, I’m going to use these when we go back to the pool,” Eunhyuk promised. He reached back into the bag and pulled out a small box. Opening it up, the blonde found a silver necklace with a little fish charm on it.

          “That’s just something for you to remember me by when I leave eventually,” Donghae said as Eunhyuk slid the necklace over his head and let it dangle from his neck.

          “You’re still thinking about leaving and going back to the ocean?” Eunhyuk asked.

          “Yeah, I keep thinking about it every day, but still don’t know if I wanna do it or not,” Donghae explained.

          “Well you know you’re welcome to stay here for as long as you want,” Eunhyuk reminded. Instead of verbally responding, Donghae hesitantly leaned forward and lightly pressed his lips against one of Eunhyuk’s cheeks, like the blonde had done to him earlier. The two sat there quietly for a few moments before Eunhyuk stood up and suggested “Um, why don’t we put a movie in and I’ll go make us some coffee and dessert?”

          “Okay,” Donghae muttered in agreement.

          While they watched one of the movies Eunhyuk had bought for Donghae, the brunette merman fell asleep and unknowingly leaned his head against Eunhyuk’s shoulder. The blonde smiled before turning off the TV, so that only the Christmas tree lights lit up the room. “C’mon Donghae,” he whispered as he gently picked up Donghae bridal style and carried him into his bedroom. He lay the merman down on his bed, moved his legs into the fetal position like he liked, and covered him up. Eunhyuk lay down next to Donghae and looked at the sleeping brunette. He ran a hand over Donghae’s hair and face as he quietly said “I don’t want you to leave Donghae.” He leaned his face against Donghae’s. “I don’t want you to ever leave.”