It had been two days since Baekhyun had last spoken and Chanyeol was beyond worried. Each morning, Baekhyun would wrap himself tightly in the thick blankets of the bed, being sure to keep his back to Chanyeol and would refuse to eat unless Chanyeol fed him by hand. Baekhyun would spend the most part of the day with an empty gaze; his attention fixed on the stark white ceiling.

The only way Chanyeol was able to coax him from the cocoon Baekhyun had encased himself in was by taking him on a short walk to the park so that he can see his friend once more. Wordlessly, Baekhyun would stretch his hand, covered with a thick woolen mitten, out to Chanyeol and, after Chanyeol would take hold of his hand, Baekhyun would allow himself to be guided through the bustling city to the park.

With his scarf wrapped around the lower half of his face, shielding his nose from the biting winter chill and his beanie so low it came to his eyebrows, Chanyeol wondered how Baekhyun was able to see at all. For two days, Chanyeol would spend hours coaxing Baekhyun out of bed, only to spend the rest of the afternoon leaning against the large oak tree in the park, watching carefully whilst Baekhyun sat on the fresh blanket of snow next to Bear’s grave.

After spending some time by Bear’s side, Chanyeol decided that they would take a detour through the shopping district whilst heading home – that way, he could keep his eye out for something that would make Baekhyun smile once more.

Readjusting his mitten, Baekhyun trailed after Chanyeol through the busy shopping district, trying his best to focus his attention on anything at all to take his mind off of Bear. Extending a hand, Baekhyun caught Chanyeol by the wrist.

“Mister Giant?” he asked, pointing to something glittering in the middle of the shopping square. “What’s that? It’s pretty.”

Surprised and overjoyed at the fact that Baekhyun had finally spoken to him once more, Chanyeol followed Baekhyun’s gaze. “That,” he said with a smile, “is a Christmas tree.”

“Kris?” Baekhyun asked, tilting his head to the side. Baekhyun wasn’t stupid. Even if Kris was green, somewhat triangular and draped in fairy lights, he didn’t look like that.

“No, no,” Chanyeol chuckled, wrapping an arm around Baekhyun’s shoulder lightly. “Christmas. Would you like to get closer?”

Baekhyun nodded, snuggling into Chanyeol’s side. With a roll of his eyes, Chanyeol tucked Baekhhyun’s scarf under his chin.

“No silly,” he said softly. “Closer to the Christmas tree.” Although, deep down, he did not mind Baekhyun moving closer to him at all. Chanyeol was actually quite glad.

Steering Baekhyun through the ocean of Christmas shoppers, their arms laden with brightly coloured paper shopping bags, the two came to a halt in front of the white picket fence that surrounded the big tree; an array of colourful gifts of various shapes and sizes littered the ground around the tree.

“What are they for?” Baekhyun asked, eyeing the presents suspiciously. Was it normal for so many people to leave such things lying around out in the open where anyone could take them?

“They’re Christmas presents,” Chanyeol explained. “Do you not know about Christmas?”

“No,” Baekhyun replied, looking down at his snow boots. Was he supposed to? Did he let Chanyeol down? “I’m sorry.”

“What about Santa Clause?” Chanyeol asked kindly and Baekhyun shook his head, scuffing the snow that dusted the ground with the toe of his boot.

Chanyeol’s face fell. How could somebody not know about Christmas? Taking hold of Baekhyun’s hand once more, Chanyeol lead Baekhyun from the Christmas tree in the shopping square. He knew exactly what to get for Baekhyun to take his mind off of things.

“What’s this?” Baekhyun asked, crinkling his nose when the strong scent of nutmeg reached his nostrils.

“Ingredients,” Chanyeol smiled as he packed them away into the pantry. “We are going to make gingerbread men this afternoon.” He held out the cookie cutter, his eyes sparkled with amusement as he watched Baekhyun take the tiny shape from his hand and inspect it carefully.

“We are going to make little men?” he asked curiously. “Is that how I was made? Did I come out of an oven, too?”

“Sure,” Chanyeol laughed, ruffling Baekhyun’s hair. “And these,” he explained, handing Baekhyun something made from red felt, its sequins twinkled in the kitchen light. “These are stockings, you hang them up on the wall and Santa Clause will put presents in them on Christmas day for you.”

“Santa Clause,” Baekhyun repeated slowly. “Is he a friend of yours, Mister Giant?”

“You could say that we are well acquainted,” Chanyeol winked, fishing something out of his shopping bag. “We can put the Christmas tree up this afternoon but, - “

“Oh, oh!” Baekhyun said, clapping his hands together excitedly. “I know what those are! They are just like my My Little Pony movies! Do they have Pinkie Pie in them, too?”

Chanyeol grinned. “They don’t have Pinkie Pie in them, but these are some of my favourite Christmas movies. Let’s watch them together, okay?”

“Now?” Baekhyun asked and Chanyeol nodded.

“Of course. Now is perfect.”

The scent of gingerbread filled the house, a plate of freshly baked Christmas treats sat on the coffee table. Baekhyun, who had snuggled himself into Chanyeol’s side, watched first with horror as Chanyeol broke off a gingerbread man’s arms before mirroring Chanyeol’s actions, popping the –s till warm – treat into his mouth.

“It’s … Good,” he said, savoring the taste. “Can I have another, please?”

“Have as many as you’d like,” Chanyeol said, before adding with a laugh, “careful you don’t eat too many – you might turn into a gingerbread yourself, and I’d have to eat you.”

Withdrawing his hand from the plate, Baekhyun shook his head. “On second thoughts,” he murmured, turning his attention back to the television. “I’d rather snuggle than be eaten.” Watching the unfamiliar film carefully, Baekhyun’s eyes widened with shock. “Mister Giant! That strange man just came into their house uninvited!”

“That’s Santa Clause,” Chanyeol chuckled, running his fingers through Baekhyun’s hair. “He leaves presents under the Christmas tree for those who have been good.”

“Oh,” said Baekhyun, watching the man in red carefully. Crossing the living room, the man with rosy cheeks laughed heartily before disappearing from view completely. “Where did he go?”

“The chimney,” Chanyeol replied, amused by Baekhyun’s questions. “That’s how he gets into each house.”

Sitting upright, Baekhyun scanned the room quickly, his heartbeat quickening. Getting to his feet, Baekhyun tried his best to drag Chanyeol up after him.

“But Mister Giant!” he stammered frantically. “We don’t have a chimmy-knee! Santa Clause can’t get in if we don’t find a chimmy-knee!”

“Baekhyun,” Chanyeol whispered, shaking Baekhyun awake gently. Slowly, Baekhyun’s eyes fluttered open and he sat up groggily, both Pinkie Pie and Mister Byun wrapped tightly in his arms.

“Mister Giant?” he asked, peering through the darkness of the bedroom. “Why aren’t you sleeping?”

Chanyeol smiled, fixing the collar of Baekhyun’s duck print onesie. “Come with me, I have something to show you.”

Confused, Baekhyun slipped into his teddy slippers before taking hold of Chanyeol’s hand and followed him out into the chilly lounge. Whilst Baekhyun slept, Chanyeol had assembled and decorated the Christmas tree, but it wasn’t the tree that Chanyeol had woken him up for, it was what stood behind it – Baekhyun’s eyes widened as he pointed, rocking on the balls of his feet excitedly. There, just behind the Christmas tree, with a cellophane fire and cardboard sides was what Chanyeol had spent the night working on.

“A chimmy-knee!” Baekhyun exclaimed. “A chimmy-knee!”

“A fireplace,” Chanyeol corrected, gesturing to the stockings that hung from its makeshift mantle. “The chimney is on the roof.”

“Chimmy-knee!”

Chanyeol smiled proudly at his handiwork; in the end, all it took was a few boxes, some paint and a lot of sticky tape to make Baekhyun smile. The things you do for the ones you love are often the smallest of gestures, yet they could light up their entire world - and Chanyeol was willing to do anything to see Baekhyun happy once again.

“Looks like Santa Clause will be able to find you after all, Bunny.”

Baekhyun nodded eagerly before his face fell. “But,” he said, concerned. “We need to make sure everyone else in the apartment has a chimmy-knee too!”

With a quiet chuckle, Chanyeol put an arm around Baekhyun’s shoulders, guiding him back through the darkness of the house. “Let’s go back to bed, okay?”

Baekhyun ignored him, a plan already in the works. “We’ll be the Chimmy-knee inspection crew! But we’ll still need our capes!” 

Based on a really cute Australian ad
for a retail giant.

Pixie-Tink asked if I could update on her birthday. 
Originally, the previous chapter was going to the the gift, but ...
"Oh hey, happy birthday. I killed Baek's best friend" doesn't really work well as a gift.
So time for the fluff!~~

Happy birthday to the lovely Pixie-Tink!


Yay for Christmas things!~
Does it snow before December in Korea?
I've never seen snow before. In Australia.
Christmas is in the middle of summer so ...
White Christmas' must be nice.
And cold.
I'd freeze to death. D: