You woke up refreshed and warm. You began to stretch but then stopped because of the body beside you.

"Good morning." You whispered.

"Good morning." He replied. He still had his arms around you.

"How long have you been awake?" Your curiosity got the better of you.

He glanced at the time on the clock. "About half an hour. I didn't want to wake you, you seemed so peaceful."

You smiled at him, still not moving. "Thank you for the extra sleep, but you could have moved if you wanted to."

He didn't respond, but the look in his eye gave you the impression that he really hadn't wanted to.

The two of you stayed there for a little while until you heard a soft knock on the door.

"Maddie, dear? Are you awake?"

You sighed lightly. "Yes, mom. I'm awake."

"Your friend isn't in his room. We were worried about him. Do you know where he's at?" 

Heechul looked shocked at the idea of them worrying about him, then he turned toward you. Your face had flushed with embarrassment.

"What should we tell her?" He whispered into your ear.

You quickly decided on the truth, hoping that your mother would understand. "He's in here, mom. I had another nightmare, and he stayed to comfort me."

She paused for a moment. "Alright, darling. I didn't know you were still having nightmares. I'm glad he could help." The two of you heard her footsteps fade down the hall.

"We should probably get up. I'm sure they'll be waiting for us." You sighed as you finally rolled out of his embrace.

He sat up, stretched, and watched you head to the closet for your Christmas clothes.

"I'll go get dressed." He headed toward the door.

"Alright." You gathered your shower supplies and left to take a shower.

Heechul took his shower after yours, and by the time he got downstairs, you were already helping your mother prepare food.

You noticed Heechul as he walked into the room, and finally realized that you hadn't seen your father since the night before.

"Mom, where's dad?" You ask cautiously.

"He's just gone to do some last minute things for me, he should be back soon." She smiled at you.

"Oh. Alright." You continued to stir the potatoes.

Heechul slid into a chair and watched the cooking for a while. Suddenly, you heard the door open and then close again a few minutes later. 

"Maddie!" Your dad shouted from the entryway. "Would you mind helping me with this?"

You glanced at your mother, then hurried off to help him with whatever he needed. Stepping around the corner, you saw what he was working with. He held one large suitcase in each hand, and had a duffel bag slung across his shoulder. Behind him stood two people that you hadn't expected to see this year.

"Grandma! Grandpa!" You yelled, running past your father to hug the visitors. You greeted each one happily, telling them how much you had missed them. Your father stood behind you, grinning from ear to ear.

"And who is this young man?" Your grandfather asked. You turned around quickly to see that Heechul had just walked out of the kitchen.

You begin the introductions. "This is Heechul." They reached out to shake his hand, which he politely accepted, understanding the cultural differences. "These are my grandparents. I haven't seen them since I visited last summer."

"Nice to meet you." He spoke slowly in English.

"Nice to meet you, too."

"You take care of my granddaughter, alright?" Grandpa told Heechul.

Heechul smiled at him. "I will."

That seemed to satisfy him because he turned back to your father to scold him some more. "I told you that I could carry the bags. You didn't have to call Maddie to help you."

Your father chuckled as your grandmother linked your arm and went to the kitchen with you. Heechul was about to follow when the other guys asked him to stay.

An hour later, Christmas dinner was on the table. Your family liked to have the large lunch so that the leftovers would be eaten at supper and you wouldn't have as much left after the guests departed. The meal was traditional for you. There was ham, candied yams, mashed potatoes, green beans, corn, homemade rolls that your mother had baked two days earlier, and even a tossed salad.

Throughout the meal, the chatter was light, most of the talk was about how different Korea was from Australia and how they had gotten used to the new language. You chatted with Heechul to make sure that he didn't feel left out, and he would even answer some of the questions that your grandparents asked. 

After dinner, dessert was served. There were two kinds of pies, and the cookies that you had made while waiting on the potatoes to finish cooking. Most of the desserts were put back because no one had room for anything else after the huge meal you had.

Soon, all of you moved to the livingroom. Presents were sorted, then you waited for your mother to return to the room. When she did, she was carrying some more presents that your father helped her place on the floor. They then began to hand out the presents, one by one. We waited until the gift was opened before handing the next one out. Your grandparents opened the first one, your parents each opened one, then you did.

"Heechul, this one's for you."

He looked up from my present, clearly shocked.

Your father chuckled. "You didn't think we'd let you have Christmas here without giving you some gifts, too, did you?" He handed the wrapped box to him.

You waited until he opened it, and he was happy to find his favorite candy inside. He glanced at you.

"I... texted Donghae yesterday." You admitted sheepishly.

After that, the presents seemed to be passed out quickly, and with each gift Heechul recieved, he seemed to be even more happy than he was before. The last gift was the one you had given to him, and you held your breath as he tore the paper off of the box. He slowly opened it to reveal a glass figurine. She was beautifully sculpted, and you knew once you had seen it that it was perfect for him.

Carefully, he lifted the glass Anna out of the box. "Wow. This is amazing! Thank you so much!" He beamed at you. He slowly placed her back in her resting place, and set the box aside. 

Shortly after that, the card games started. First, you played a round of Hearts, but that was difficult for you, and worse for Heechul who didn't understand the instructions they were giving him. After that, your grandmother brought out a game that she had brought with her. Phase 10. The instructions were simple enough, and you were able to explain it to Heechul in Korean. After nearly an hour and a half, the game finally ended with your grandfather winning and Heechul was actually a close second. The next one was your grandmother's favorite, and yours, too. This time, you didn't even have to explain anything about the game to Heechul since he had already played it. Several rounds later, the cookies were brought out to where everyone sat in the living room, and pie was offered again. 

An hour later, everyone ate supper. After that, the festivities began again with board games, and by the time you were ready to leave, it was already after ten o'clock.

"Why don't you stay another night? It's this late already, and we don't want you getting hurt on the way back to campus." Your mother pleaded with you.

"But this house only has three rooms. There are too many of us." You stated low enough that your grandparents and father, who were still on the couch, couldn't hear you.

"Nonsense. Heechul can sleep with you just like last night."

Your face flushed at her words. "I don't think he would want to do that, mom."

She turned toward him. "What would you like to do? We want you to stay here, but you would have to share a room with Maddie. Is that alright with you?"

He slowly nodded. "That's fine."

"You're okay with that?" You asked him, shocked.

"They really want us to stay, and you said yourself that you haven't seen your grandparents in over a year. It would be nice for you to spend more time with them."

You sighed. "Alright. We'll stay."

"Great!"