With his backpack stuffed full of gingerbread men and sweet Christmas-y treats and his body covered almost entirely with thick, winter clothing, Baekhyun trotted down the frost-covered streets happily. However Chanyeol, who walked a few paces behind him did not reflect Baekhyun’s excitement. Instead, Chanyeol’s gaze was trained to the icy ground, his hands stuffed into the pockets of his warm winter jacket.

He couldn’t quite understand why Baekhyun wanted to attend classes so badly – was he that bored at home? Chanyeol didn’t know what he was supposed to do whilst Baekhyun was away, but he did know that he did not want Baekhyun to go.

Chanyeol had tried everything that morning to persuade Baekhyun to stay home, to explain to him that he was perfect just the way he was – there was no need for him to go to these classes. Words alone were not enough for Baekhyun. Instead, with his bag already packed, Baekhyun would hold up his hands to silence Chanyeol whenever he tried to persuade him.

“But I want to remember,” Baekhyun would try and reason, and each time he did, Chanyeol would feel his heart ache.  “Please let me remember.”

With a shake of his head, Chanyeol chewed on his bottom lip as he watched Baekhyun skip ahead excitedly, his gloved hands wrapped tightly around the straps of his backpack, as though afraid it might fall off without his knowing.

 Chanyeol couldn’t remember the last time he had seen Baekhyun so genuinely excited about something and, with Bear’s passing still fresh on his mind, no amount of home distractions or Christmas movies were able to really make Baekhyun happy. With an outward sigh, Chanyeol allowed his shoulders to slump in defeat. This was what Baekhyun needed.

Following Baekhyun in silence, Chanyeol felt his heartbeat quicken when they came to a halt in front of a tall building, Kris, waiting a short distance away; his arms folded and a scowl on his face. Baekhyun’s eyes lit up the moment he saw Kris and waved enthusiastically.

“Baek,” Chanyeol breathed, taking hold of Baekhyun’s wrist gently. “You don’t have to do this, you know that, right?”

A small smile played across Baekhyun’s lips as he twisted his wrist out of Chanyeol’s grip, only to wrap his arms around the other’s waist in a tight hug.

“Please,” Baekhyun whispered, burying his face into Chanyeol’s chest. “Please let me remember, Mister Giant – I want to remember for you.”

Leaning heavily against the kitchen bench, Chanyeol closed his eyes, listening for any faint sound of footsteps or Baekhyun’s voice. It was eleven o’clock and usually around this time Baekhyun would have lined Pinkie Pie, Mister Byun and Mister Ducky up on the coffee table and snuggled himself up on the couch, ready to watch the newest episode of My Little Pony.  But now, the house was silent, eerily so.

Originally, Chanyeol had planned to spend the time that Baekhyun was in class working on his canvas; it had been so long that he had gotten a chance to paint. Peace and quiet used to be something Chanyeol would yearn for; he was unable to paint anything without complete and utter silence. But now, Chanyeol couldn’t think properly without Baekhyun there.

Glancing once at his untouched canvas, Chanyeol pushed himself off the kitchen bench and wandered into the bedroom. Pinkie Pie lay on one side of the bed, Mister Byun on the other. Gathering both of the plushies, Chanyeol made a quick detour to the bathroom to collect Mister Ducky before heading back out into the lounge.

One by one, he placed them on the small coffee table, making sure they were facing the television before fiddling with the remote; almost instantly, the shrill voice of Pinkie Pie reached his ears. With a small sigh, a smile played across Chanyeol’s lips. There, that was much better. Now, the only thing missing was Baekhyun.

Lunch time came and went, leaving Chanyeol to worry. He had prepared two sandwiches, as per his usual routine, one plate, and a small punnet of strawberries – Baekhyun’s - remained untouched on the kitchen table.

Was Baekhyun eating at this time, too? Did he have enough to eat? Was he eating the right foods? Chanyeol frowned as he cleared his own plate away. Did Baekhyun even bring anything aside from sugary Christmas treats with him?

Arriving outside of the building more than forty minutes early, Chanyeol wrapped his arms around himself to ward off the cold. Leaning heavily against the fence that lined the front of the building, he scuffed the frosty concrete with the toe of his shoe.

Chanyeol wasn’t exactly sure why he had left so early to go collect Baekhyun, nor did he know why he had walked so quickly through the city, arriving far earlier than he had planned. But, what Chanyeol did know was that he could not wait to see Baekhyun once more.

“Mister Giant!” Baekhyun cried, flinging his arms around Chanyeol, his backpack sliding from his shoulders, the straps catching at his elbows. “I missed you!”

That was more than enough for Chanyeol. Wrapping his arms tightly around the other, he returned the hug, refusing to let his Baekhyun go. Nuzzling his face into Baekhyun’s hair, Chanyeol could not hide his smile.

“I missed you too, Bunny.”

Wriggling his way out of Chanyeol’s grip, Baekhyun swung his backpack around to one side, digging around inside of it for something, his eyes narrowed and his tongue poking through his lips in concentration.

Pulling out a folded –and slightly crumpled – piece of paper, he laced his fingers with Chanyeol’s.

“Guess what I did today?” he asked and, without waiting for Chanyeol to respond, plunged into his story. “Kris and I – “

Chanyeol listened politely, just glad to have Baekhyun back with him for the remainder of the afternoon. Just having Baekhyun by his side, their fingers entwined, was more than enough for him.

“- and then, Kris – “

The corners of Chanyeol’s lips twitched as he listened carefully.

 “- Did you know that Kris – “

Chanyeol let go of Baekhyun’s hand, instead wrapping an arm protectively around his shoulder. Baekhyun didn’t seem to notice.

 “- Kris was – “

Chanyeol wasn’t sure how much more of this he could take.

“- Kris – “

Chanyeol cut Baekhyun off mid-sentence with a quick kiss to the forehead. “Bunny,” he breathed, determined to stop the other from continuing with his story. “Let’s go out for ice cream.”

“Kris likes ice cream,” Baekhyun beamed. “Can we invite him, too?”

“No,” Chanyeol said quickly. “He isn’t coming.”

Baekhyun pouted, his eyes searching Chanyeol for an answer. “How come? Is he sick? Oh no! Poor Kris!”

“He’s not coming,” Chanyeol growled quietly, “because I don’t want to share you with him. Or anyone else, for that matter.”

At this, Baekhyun’s eyes lit up and he remembered the folded piece of paper he had clutched in his hand. Drawing in a sharp breath, Baekhyun held it out to Chanyeol.

“We had to write a letter to Santa today,” he explained as Chanyeol took the letter carefully. “I don’t need Santa to bring me what I want for Christmas though.”

“And why is that?” Chanyeol asked, unfolding the piece of paper carefully. Messy Christmas trees decorated the corners of the letter, but it was what was scrawled messily in the center that made the breath catch in Chanyeol’s throat.

All I want for Christmas is Mister Giant.  

Dedicated to all of you who requested to see a jealous Chanyeol.
There's too many of you to count, really. Enjoy!~
It was a long time coming.


Today has been a very difficult day for all Australians.
To those hostages who lost their lives in the Lindt cafe,
Australia won't forget you. To their families - be strong.

♥