It has been eight years since Baekhyun last saw his group of friends as a whole. He meets some of them in some of his breaks from work but never all of them at once. It has really been quite some time and so when he read the announcement banner in their Kakao group chat, he practically screams. He misses seeing all of them. He misses talking to all of them.

Their high school is his treasured memory. They get into trouble together but nevertheless, they excel together too. They are known across campus for being the most talented, brightest and most respectful group of friends. The teachers and staff love them despite the random stupidity and trouble they bring here and there. Thinking about it brings a fond smile on his face.

They decide to meet shortly after Christmas, giving ample time for each of them to spend time with their families first before meeting each other. He gets the name of the person who he should be giving a gift to through an online drawing. It's instant! The moment he sees the name, he knows what he will be giving the other. Something to bring smiles on all of their faces and fortunately, this particular friend is a person who he is comfortable of pulling this act (prank) to, if not the only one who is. Baekhyun can only laugh at himself. He misses their jokes and moments back in high school. He really misses all of them.

Baekhyun is really excited to meet his friends and he can't possibly not give each of them a gift too. Or so he convinces himself. He isn't feeling biased at all. Just being equal like how he loves each and every one of them equally. His gifts will just serve as a reminder to his friends of a certainBaekhyun as they go on continuing their lives after their reunion, that's all. He is giving them all a gift because he wants to and not because he wants to give one to a certain person. Not an excuse, just love. Equally . He just wants to be extra sentimental this Christmas, especially that they are reuniting as a whole again after such a long time. Baekhyun has to convince himself more to this thought.

It's the deciding that is excruciating. What could he possibly give to each of his friends without giving the same thing twice or without looking as if it's a last recourse gift? He wants each of it to be meaningful and telling that it came from him.  He doesn't want it to be burdensome to his friends too and make it look like he expects something in return because he doesn't. Why do their friend circle has to be so huge? Ugh. 

His mind is on this train of thought when Yeri, his four year old toddler student, poked his nose with her tiny tiny fingers. "Baekkie, what are you so bothered about?"

Baekhyun's smile is his signature sweet and kind smile when he scoops up the child and places her in his lap. "Nothing Yeri-ah."

Yeri shakes her head to this, "I don't believe you."

Baekhyun makes a shocked face and clutched his chest dramatically, "Why not? Baekkie is hurt Yeri-ah" He tries a pout on his lips while still looking at the child on his lap.

"No. Yeri should be hurt. You are bothered by something but you won't tell Yeri." The child huffs and crosses her arms in front of her tiny body, sitting straight on Baekhyun's lap. He couldn't help but boop.

Boop. 

"Tell Yeri Baekkie please! I'll help you. I promise."

Baekhyun tilts his head as if he is thinking about it. "Alright. Will you help me if I tell you?" Yeri nods her head enthusiastically, a bright grin plasters on her face. "Hmm... Actually Yeri-ah, I'm having trouble on what to get for my friends this Christmas."

"Christmas! I love Christmas."

Baekhyun can't help the fond smile on his lips. He pinches the cheeks of the little pup on his lap. "I do too, pup. Very much."

"Heh heh.." Ahh, Yeri's giggle is even cuter. Baekhyun has to pinch her cheek again, very lightly. "Yeri will help you choose! Can I see their faces? So I can choose the gifts better." Yeri's smile is a beam.

Sometimes, Baekhyun has to think too just how much he forgets that these little litter he deals with everyday spouts wisdom every now and then. This is one of those moments.

Baekhyun hums and fishes out his phone. With this, the six other toddlers playing across the room hurries to Baekhyun and Yeri's side yelling, "Phone! Baekkie is playing! Phone!" while they cross the room. They always seem to sense when electronic gadgets appears in the room. Baekhyun likes to call it the Weird Electronics Radar and he insists it's prominent amongst the children these days.

Baekhyun falls on his back when the children tackles him. He only laughed, securing his arms around Yeri as she fell over with him and his fingers grip around his phone. These puppies can be a handful but all the same, Baekhyun is fond. He has to exercise caution around their small frail bodies though - careful not to pinch too hard, not to grip too hard, not too cuddle them too hard. It's hard for Baekhyun not to really, but not impossible. It just takes a whole lot more of effort.

"Yah! Everyone. Baekkie is not playing. Baekkie wants Yeri to help him choose gifts for his friends," Yeri yells amidst the chaos.

"Jaehyun wants too!" Jaehyun exclaims on Baekhyun's side, throwing his hand up as though he was reciting in class, eager to answer. All of the others follow suit, throwing their hands up and exclaiming "me toos" as well around Baekhyun.

Baekhyun laughs and pinches every of their cheeks. "Calm down puppies. I'll let all of you help me. I need all the help I can get," he kisses each of their cheeks and they all beam at him after he does so.

Baekhyun opens his phone again and tries to look for pictures of his friends. He doesn't need to look so much though. Amidst his selfies, he found the first picture. He vividly remembers this picture when he bumped into his Yifan hyung in the cafe he frequents to - Universe Cafe. He was trying to get his quick fix of caffeine before he started his day. He insisted they take a picture because, "Hyung, I never see you and I want to at least remember your face, you know." Yifan only lightly pushes him on his arm, laughing as he said, "Don't you dare forget my face Byun!" 

The kids around him stares at the picture and smiles. Jaehyun raises his arm again. Baekhyun looks at him and smiles, "Hmm... any suggestion Jaehyunie?"

Jaehyun scrunches his nose and smiles at the nickname. "Yes, yes! I think he likes Spongebob," Jaehyun states confidently. The boys among the bunch express their agreement by exclaiming "yes, give him Spongbob, Baekkie," while the girls grunt their disagreement, shaking their head as some of them shove the boys and cover their mouths to stop them from siding with Jaehyun.

Baekhyun only laughs lightheartedly at this. He makes them calm down, "Calm down, pups. I can't give him Spongebob but I'll find something close to it, okay?" Jaehyun only nods as he smiles, satisfied of being able to contribute first.

"Baekkie, I'm the one supposed to help you." Yeri pouts at Baekhyun.

Baekhyun smiles at Yeri and taps the tip of her nose. "Okay, you help me with the next one, yeah?" Yeri smiles her affirmation.

Baekhyun digs his phone for another picture. He finds the next - one of him and his tall, tan friend, Jongin. They took it from their last gathering from a year ago.Their group of friends weren't complete in the trip but they still pushed through and went to the beach to celebrate their Christmas.

He shows the picture of him and Jongin to the children. In the picture, his hand s on the waist of the taller man while Jongin's was around his shoulder. If Baekhyun can hear the picture, he will hear loud laughs from them two. He remembers vividly how Jongdae commented about their look and Baekhyun had to burst out laughing, Jongin following suit shortly. It was a candid picture indeed.

"What does he do, Baekkie?" Yeri snaps Baekhyun out of his reverie.

Baekhyun has to pause and think what likes does Jongin have. "Hmm... He really likes dancing," Baekhyun says after a moment of thought.

Ten, the smallest among the boys shoots his hand up, "I really like dancing too, Baekkie!"

Baekhyun has to smile. He is so cute. "I know bub. You will be a very good dancer like him when you grow up," Baekhyun pecks his forehead. Ten smiles sweetly at the gesture, happy to have their teacher's attention on him and doubly so with the compliment.

Yeri pokes Baekhyun's cheek to get his attention. "I think he would love to watch ballet, Baekkie."

Genius Yeri, indeed. 

"That's a great idea Yeri-ah! I'll get him a ballet show ticket. Thank you, pup." Yeri croons at the compliment and endearment. Baekhyun only giggles and taps the tip of his nose. Again.

The rest of the gift-choosing is a series of banter among the boys and the girls, with boys wanting to gift cartoon characters and superheroes and the girls wanting to shove the boys because "Baekkie needs to buy the gifts at the mall, he can't buy Iron Man, stop it!" . Baekhyun was able to think up gifts for his friends, except for the ones which he has something thought up for already. He has something in store for them.

---

The party will be at held at Junmyeon's house as he insists that it's better to stay at home than rent a place out. The circle of friends has no complaints to this as Junmyeon and Yifan's place is spacious and has many rooms so they can stay the night if ever they get too drunk or too tired after the party.

Yifan and Junmyeon has been together since they were in high school so when they moved in together, their friends were not surprised. Instead, they often visited the couple's place to hang out. The couple is, after all, the pillar of their group. Just like how a mother and father is in a family.

Baekhyun worries how he will bring all the gifts he bought without getting an earful from his friends and so he settles with coming to Junmyeon's place early with the excuse of helping him prepare for the party. He is sure the elder won't be alone when he arrives. Kyungsoo would probably be helping him with the cooking, which makes Baekhyun more nervous than he already is. He will get scolding from the two for breaking the rules of only giving one gift but it's better having two people scolding him than all of his friends so he rings the doorbell with struggle from all the gifts he is holding.

Kyungsoo answers the door and his eyes widen with the image in front of him. "Baekhyun, what is all of this?"

Baekhyun only smiles sheepishly at him.

"Why do you have so many gifts?" The black-haired male's eyes remain wide behind his round glasses. He is still wearing a dark blue apron over his faded denim pants and baby blue sweater.

The elder lets out a small nervous giggle, "I bought a gift for everyone."

If before Baekhyun doesn't think Kyungsoo's eyes can go wider, he believes it can now. The younger's eyes widen a bit more in surprise but it immediately softens as he sighs and gives a fond smile to Baekhyun. "Yah, Byun Baekhyun, you didn't have to do this. You broke the rules."

"Psh, just say thank you that at least you're going home today with more than one gift in hand" Baekhyun teases the younger male.

Kyungsoo laughs and ruffles Baekhyun's blonde hair. "I am thankful, yes but you really didn't have to." He helps the elder by getting some of the gifts and places them underneath the Christmas tree in the living room.

"Baekhyun? Is that you?" Junmyeon's voice rang out from the kitchen.

"Yes, hyung! I'll come over!" Baekhyun responds as he hugs Kyungsoo's arm, strutting their way to the kitchen and whispering to him, "Please help me out when hyung scolds me."

"Never."

Baekhyun only whines.

---

It is starting to get dark outside when their friends started arriving. The first one to arrive is Jongdae.

"Yah! Yah! Yah! Who didn't follow the rules? Why are there so many gifts here?" Jongdae yells in the living room while Baekhyun, Junmyeon and Kyungsoo prepares the dining table.

Baekhyun visibly cowers to which the two males only smirked. The blonde man eyes the two across the table as if asking them to not say a word. Thankfully, they keep their mouth shut and only their lips smiling.

"So who among you didn't follow the rules?" Jongdae eyes the three of them when he joined them in the dining room. None of them answered and so he sighs. "Okay, whoever you are, I'm thankful, yeah. But if, heaven forbid, I was your drawn name, I swear to you, I'm asking one more gift! It's not fair everyone else gets to receive two gifts while I only get one. Otherwise, then thank you." Jongdae giggles and saunters back to the living room.

Baekhyun swallows on nothing and when he hears the TV turning on, he releases the breath he is holding.

Maybe he needs to spend a little more after this party after all.

---

They gather in the living room. No matter how big the room is, they always make it so cramped, all the more so now that they've all bulked up.

They've all settled down in their chosen places, some sitting on the floor, back resting on other's legs, while some on the velvet sofa set. Baekhyun musters his courage and steps in the center. "Okay, guys. Before you all speak up, I'm turning myself in. I'm the reason why there's so many gifts. I bought you all one."

Baekhyun closes his eyes as soon as he hears Jongdae's yells, "I knew it! Baekhyun stop breaking the rules, will you?!"

Everyone laughs at Jongdae's outburst and the blonde man opens his eyes only to find himself being dragged to the sofa by Kyungsoo. "Just say 'thank you', Jongdae."

"I will. But I'm telling you Baekhyun, if I'm your drawn name, I swear I'm asking another gift." The group only laughs at Jongdae's outburst.

Junmyeon mediates the group, "Baekhyun, you give the rest of your gifts at the end. Let's finish our actual secret santa first, okay?"

"Of course, hyung." Baekhyun makes himself comfortable beside Kyungsoo, hugging the other man's arm as he watches his friends give and receive gifts excitingly.

It is Sehun's turn to gift and everyone in the room already has their cheeks aching from all the smiling and laughing the entire time since the exchange gift has commenced. Sehun, clad in his red sweater and denim pants, picks a small black box from under the tree and approaches the center of the room.

His voice is deep when he spoke, "I actually had a really hard time thinking what to gift for this person. He seems to like everything and I can't give him everything, obviously--" Sehun pauses and the group of friends smiled at the comment, "--because he'd want more next year!" This time, they laugh altogether loudly. Their maknae hasn't changed after all. He's still as he is ten years ago.

"But I gave so much thought to this. I had to reminisce a lot and I hope you like it--" Sehun turns his body towards his right and looks at Baekhyun in the eyes, smile fond for his hyung, "--Merry Christmas, Baekhyun-hyung."

Baekhyun's eyes widens as a huge smile spreads on his face. "Oh! You picked me?" he asks, his rectangular smile as bright as ever.

"Uhm, not necessarily, the draw site picked you for me" Sehun teases, causing everyone to laugh again.

Sehun is the same, still playful as ever , Baekhyun notes in his mind. "Shut up, just say you did." Baekhyun runs to Sehun's arms, hugs him and accepts the gift. When they part, Sehun returns to his seat and Baekhyun opens his gift in front of everybody. When he opens the box, he saw a gift card.

"It's good for one year, hyung" Sehun comments from his seat.

"Oh wow!" Baekhyun lifts the card from the box and shows it to everybody. "He still remembers my love for bubble tea! It's a gift card, availing bubble tea for one year in my favorite store too!" The elder runs to Sehun and hugs him again, this time tighter. "Thank you, Sehun! I love you."

Each of their friends is complaining to Sehun about how he's never done such thing for them and Sehun answering with Baekhyun is my precious hyung so I must give something he really likes . Jongdae chimes in amidst the noise of their group, using full advantage of his high pitched voice, "Baekhyun take me with you if you're getting one later!"

The blonde man giggles, "Okay. Just please, don't be angry at me."

"Why would I be angry at you? Don't tell me--"

Baekhyun gets a small box from under the Christmas tree and walks to the center of the room. "Just know that no matter what, I love you, Jongdae. You are always in my heart and I hope you accept this wholeheartedly." The blonde man strides towards Jongdae's part of the sofa and hugs him warmly. When they part, Baekhyun hurriedly returns to his seat and clasps Kyungsoo's arm.

"Without even opening this, I already know I'm gonna kill you."

"Just open it Jongdae!" Kyungsoo commands, albeit the soft gaze and smile on his lips.

"Alright, sherlock. Just know I'm demanding a second gift later, Baekhyun."

Jongdae opens the box and finds another box inside.

"This is one of those gifts where there are at least twenty boxes inside," Chanyeol comments as he laughs, clapping his hands enthusiastically.

"Yah! Is that really what you did?" Jongdae asks Baekhyun as he continues to open his gift. At least two boxes later, Jongdae opens to a picture turned upside down. "I'm your greatest gift. Baekhyun."

Baekhyun shoots right up from his seat. "I'm yours, Chen!"

"YAAAAH!" Jongdae screams but laughs good-naturedly when Baekhyun clings on to him. "Don't call me Chen, will you? That's my stage name. It's weird when you use it."

The blonde man hugs Jongdae's side, clinging for dear life before Jongdae has any thoughts of hitting him because of his gift. "I'm yours, Jongdae. Take me!"

"STOOOOP" Jongdae whines and peels off Baekhyun from his body. "Yixing take your man, will you?" He calls across the room.

Yixing laughs but comes forward. "He's not mine anymore. But okay, I'll take him." He pulls Baekhyun off of Jongdae and sits him on his place beside Kyungsoo. "Baekhyun, you owe Jongdae a proper gift."

"You owe me a big one, Baekhyun. My second gift too."

Baekhyun lets his head fall on Kyungsoo's shoulder and whines, "It's Yixing's fault Jongdae is now demanding for two gifts."

"You really do owe him a proper gift, babe." Yixing's smile is still soft, just as he remembered it. They still make him feel warm. He smiles at the endearment.

"Shut up, Xing, I know."

They all laugh at the banter, except for one who just smiles quietly as he listens.

---

Baekhyun takes the center of the room again. He clears his throat and smiles at his friends. It's finally the time for him to give out his extra gifts. He hopes they will like them, especially since it is a joint effort of him and his students. He smiles at the memory of his pups thinking hard of what he could possibly give as gifts. Their cute expressions as they think is a memory that brings a smile on his face every time.

"Before I give you your gifts, I just want to tell you that these are thought up by my students. If you don't like it, think of how my little toddlers thought hard of this so maybe that will stop you from complaining." Baekhyun good-naturedly warns his friends. He laughs when they roll their eyes.

"Way to go guilt-tripping, Baekhyun." Yifan speaks in his low voice, "We thank you enough."

"Those kids are very cute, I guarantee you. Their gifts would be as precious as them," Yixing comments and smiles at Baekhyun, nodding his head to motion him to start giving out the gifts.

Baekhyun scrunches his nose and grins. He approaches the Christmas tree and gets one of the gifts. "Okay, first off. Since the pups gave me a vague idea, I took the liberty to choose what to give. This one is for you, Yifan-hyung."

Yifan skips to the center of the room to receive his gift and hugs the shorter male. "Thank you, Byun. Do I have to open it here?"

Baekhyun nods and watches as Yifan rips the gift wrapper open. Yifan laughs loudly when he sees the gift. He holds it by the garter and stretches it up to show it to everyone.

"This one is classy. I'll wear it tonight" Yifan laughs, looks at Junmyeon and wiggles his eyebrows at him.

Junmyeon whines at Baekhyun. "He has so many Spongebob boxer briefs already! Why are you fueling his addiction with Spongebob briefs, Baekhyun?"

Baekhyun laughs loudly at the remark and just hugs his hyung again. He takes another gift from under the Christmas tree. "The kids said you look like a unicorn and I agree with them so I got you this."

Without Baekhyun saying a name, Yixing approaches him and hugs him. The black haired man kisses his cheek. "Tell them, I'll visit them again soon. Thank you Baekhyunie"

"How did you know that was yours? Baekhyun didn't even mention a name." Luhan questions.

Baekhyun giggles, still in Yixing's arms. "The kids have met him and they call him unicorn."

Luhan inquires further, "Why unicorn?"

"Maybe it's my smile? It's healing," Yixing suggests.

Baekhyun only smiles and pushes Yixing off of his body. He instructs Yixing to open the gift which the elder did. He giggles when he sees the gift. He pulls the white unicorn hat, the horn a swirly white akin to soft ice cream, the soft pink ears standing proudly and the back decorated with strips of cloth in rainbow color. Yixing wears it and hugs Baekhyun again.

"I don't think I can wear this out but thank you. Thank you to the kids too." He kisses Baekhyun's cheek and goes back to his seat.

Baekhyun approaches the Christmas tree again and gets another gift. This time, he takes a small envelope.

"I'm sad for whoever gets this gift." Jongdae murmurs from his seat.

"Why? It could be something expensive like my gift," Sehun comments as he munches on his food from his place on the floor.

Baekhyun side eyes Jongdae before speaking. "The kids were really genius with this. I had no contribution to this idea, just them. I hope you love this, Jongin."

Jongin's eyes widens. "Oh, it's mine?" Jongin excitedly walks towards the center of the room when Baekhyun nods at him.

"Open it."

Jongin opens the envelope and he exclaims when he pulls the card inside. "HYUNG!"

"I'm glad you like it, Jongin-ah!" Baekhyun's smile is fond when Jongin pulls him in for a hug.

"I want to thank the kids too. I hope I can meet them soon enough."

"They will be happy to see you! I'm sure one of my students would be especially delighted. He wants to be a good dancer just like you."

"I'll meet them. Next year when the classes resumes, hit me up so I could come to your school." Jongin's beam is bright and Baekhyun mirrors it. Jongin pulls him in for another bear hug. "Thank you, hyung. I've been wanting to watch this ballet show for quite some time but couldn't get the ticket. Thank you, I love you!"

Baekhyun pats his back and when the younger goes back to his seat, he gets another gift from the Christmas tree.

Baekhyun clears his throat to announce the owner of the new gift he is holding. "The pups said you look like a prince and I don't know how this gift coincides with that idea but I hope you like it nonetheless. Come here, Minseok hyung. This is yours." Baekhyun makes a come hither motion with his index finger to Minseok.

Minseok struts leisurely from his seat to Baekhyun, giving the man a hug when they meet up. Minseok wastes no time and opens his gift. He plucks a book and reads the title, "The Little Prince."

"You look like the drawing, especially when you dyed your hair blonde," Baekhyun laughs when Minseok pushes his arm lightly.

"Thank you, Baek. I've been wanting to get into reading these days. This is just perfect."

"It has cute drawings too! It suits you."

Minseok hugs Baekhyun again and goes back to his seat.

Baekhyun gets a smaller box from the gift pile. "This gift is fitting for this person. I hope he keeps being generous. Come here now, Junmyeon hyung."

Junmyeon walks towards the center. "I think I know what this is."

"Open it and see if you do." Baekhyun hugs his hyung from the back.

Junmyeon opens the box and sees a black wallet with a fancy skull design on one of it's sides. "I knew it! What did your litter say about me?"

Baekhyun snuggles on his shoulder and murmurs, "They said you look expensive. You indeed look rich, hyung. I hope you feed this fancy wallet well," Baekhyun gives Junmyeon one more tight hug and releases the elder so he could go back to his seat.

The next gift is one is a huge box.

"Baekhyun's bias is leaking." Jongdae comments again.

Baekhyun rolls his eyes yet again. "I swear to the gods Jongdae, if you don't stop with your side comments I won't buy you your gifts later."

Everybody laughs when Jongdae shoots both of his hands up in an act of surrender. "Okay, okay. I'll stop. You owe me a big one."

"I'll have nothing to owe you if you don't stop--"

"Okaaaaaaaay~ Baekhyun, who's next?" Kyungsoo cuts off the two-thirds of the beagle line before their banter gets any longer.

"Kyungsoo's always siding with Jongdae." Baekhyun pouts. He can't help but notice the bias especially that whenever he and Jongdae banters, Kyungsoo always seems to in. This makes him more nervous. But what has been done was done. There's no turning back now.

"You're blind" Jongdae laughs as though he finds the remark funny.

"I'm not--"

"Baekhyun." Kyungsoo cuts the blonde man firmly.

"Okaaaay." Baekhyun drags his word just as he drags the big box to the center of the room.

"This guy likes fancy things and since I've never given him something fancy ever since this friendship started, I decided to give him one now for a change."

He eyes Tao and the look on Tao's face morphed into a shock. The younger man bulges his eyes wide open and his mouth agape. It's evident how shocked the tan man is. He is having a hard time believing.

"Are you serious hyung? Really?!"

"I don't know if I should be happy that Tao is finally getting something decent this year or  I should be sad that all these years, he has been bearing the brunt of Baekhyun hyung's pranks." Sehun states quietly at the side.

Tao ignores Sehun's remark and approaches Baekhyun. "I'm scared that this might be just another useless gift."

Baekhyun holds his chest, acting hurt. "I'm hurt you no longer believe me when I say the truth."

"Try being in my place and get pranked all the time. Let's see if you don't develop trust issues."

"Shut up. You know I love you no matter what. Now, open it please. And love me with all your might."

Baekhyun pushes Tao's arms towards the box. The taller male opens the box hastily and finds a furry material inside. He pulls the material out of the box and reveals a long coat. The coat is black, the furs adorning around the neckline to mid-waist are black with white streaks. The coat is soft and Tao seems to love it.

"Do you like it? The kids took notice of the bags under your eyes. I debated with myself long enough whether to prank you again or not and decided on the latter so I bought you the black coat with white streaks. Because, hey those are panda colors. I hope you like it" Baekhyun rambles and bites on his bottom lip, watching Tao's expression.

"I love it. Thank you for not pranking me this time hyung." Tao hugs the smaller male and skips back to his place, bringing with him the large box his gift was kept in from earlier.

Baekhyun scrunches his nose, "Maybe I should prank other people next year too," he laughs while the others groan in disapproval, Jongdae throws a quick, "just not me again, please."

The next gift is a paper bag. Baekhyun motions to the center and speaks in a giddy tone. "This person is full of sunshine and smiles. The kids really like how bright you are even just from the picture. He deserves the world. I remember vividly how likes cute things and the pups think I should give him a cute gift too so I hope he likes this too. Luhan hyung, I hope you like this gift."

Luhan skips happily to the center of the room and accepts the gift gratefully. "No matter what this is Baekhyun, I'm thankful." He opens the gift and pulls a fluffy blue hat. "Oh! It's a stitch hat too! Thank you Baekhyunnie!" He hugs Baekhyun tight before he leaves the younger male to go back to his seat.

"The next receiver of the gift is quite tall." Baekhyun announces. The group of friends take their guesses between Chanyeol and Sehun, two of the remaining people in the group who hasn't received their gifts yet. "The pups asked me to buy you this to keep your ears in place - their words not mine!" Baekhyun clarifies even as he sees Chanyeol stand abruptly, yelling his disapproval in a deep voice.

"Yah! My ears are in place! Tell your students, Baekhyun." Chanyeol's voice is happy despite his statement. He hugs the shorter male and accepts the gift. He comments as he rips the wrapper open, "I'll visit them one of these days and show them my ears are cute and they are in place ." The taller man emphasizes the latter part of his sentence by ripping the last of the wrapper harshly.

Chanyeol opens the box and pulls a pink headphones, two pink ears protruding from the solid band. His eyes widen as he touches each of the ears.

"These are trendy these days, it's cute isn't it?" Baekhyun practically rocks on his heels as he watches the taller man's reactions.

Chanyeol controls his emotions, pulling a neutral face, "I guess it's cute." He then smiles widely - his cheeks bunching up and his teeth showing, and hugs the shorter male. "I'll use it the next time I find time to play games."

"Do invite me, the next time you do!" Baekhyun returns the hug, albeit finding it hard to. A decade of friendship and Chanyeol can't still hug him properly. Typical Chanyeol.

Baekhyun plucks the second to the last gift from under the tree. He smiles at Sehun and the other rolls his eyes before approaching the center of the room.

"You can't even bother to have a speech about me and this gift, can you?" Sehun mumbles as he accepts the gift. Their friends only laugh lightheartedly at their maknae's remark. The two have always been close. Their banters are basically the norm in their friendship but needless to say, the two have the softest spot for each other as well. They got each other's backs always.

Sehun opens the paper bag and finds a pink soft material. He pulls the material out and he gasps. Baekhyun's smile is so wide beside him and he even leans forward a bit to see the younger's full reaction better.

"You did not!" Sehun's eyes are wide as he glances to Baekhyun and back to the gift in his hands.

"Oh yes, I did." Baekhyun grins at the younger as he answers, crossing his arms in front of him. He suddenly finds himself wobbly and out of balance when Sehun throws himself on the elder. He hugs Baekhyun really tight and when he releases him, Sehun raises up the gift mid-air to show it to everyone.

"Even though I'm against you using Vivi to stop me from pulling sass on you but maybe you have succeeded with that. Vivi will love this so much!" Sehun shows the pink peplum dog jacket. Two black buttons adorn the underside, allowing the jacket to accommodate the adjustments, depending on the size of the dog. Another one adorns the back which adjusts the underside part of the jacket. The collar is styled with black short furs that goes very well with the soft pink color of the jacket as a whole and the lower part extends to a ruffle.

Baekhyun beams proudly at his choice of gift. "When I told the kids you own a sassy dog, they instantly suggested a pink dog jacket. Luckily I was able to find something that perfectly suits Vivi."

Sehun hugs Baekhyun again, he hugs him tight and whispers to the elders ear his most sincere thank you. Sehun loves his dog so much.

A small bag remains underneath the Christmas tree and after Baekhyun retrieves it, he goes straight to Kyungsoo to hand him the gift.

The smaller male smiles as he receives his gift and speaks in a deep voice, "Thank you, Baekhyun."

Kyungsoo opens his gift and plucks a small but thick notebook from it.

"Wow. That's the most half-assed gift, even compared to mine." Jongdae comments as he laughs.

Baekhyun stutters when he speaks, avoiding any eye contact with Kyungsoo, even though it's hard as they are seated beside one another. "N-No! Shut up Jongdae! I-I thought it's practical. Kyungsoo likes taking notes of recipes and he likes making his own. This is perfect for him."

Kyungsoo laughs beside him. He begins to open the notebook and Baekhyun stops the younger male by holding his hand, quite firmly at that.

"It's practical, right? You can check it when you're alone." Baekhyun's smile is overly bright and Kyungsoo raises his eyebrow at the elder's action but he obliges.

The shorter male squeezes Baekhyun's hand and looks at him straight in the eye, "Alright. Thank you for this, Baekhyun. I appreciate this a lot."

Baekhyun only smiles, releasing the breath he didn't know he was holding when Kyungsoo shifts his eyes to the center of the room as Junmyeon approaches it and started talking. He tries to calm his breathing, willing his heart to stop beating so loud.

He has always been showing his affection openly. He loves his friends to the moon and back and he shows that especially with his actions. But for this one person, actions are no longer enough. Maybe written words will free up some of Baekhyun's emotions and so, what has been done is done.

There's really no turning back now.

---

Baekhyun finds himself sipping on a mug of hot chocolate in a cafe, waiting for Yixing as the man suddenly called him up early in the morning asking to meet him at the cafe near his house. Baekhyun sips the sweet liquid again, letting the warmth of it spread through his body. He loves hot chocolate. It invigorates him, keeping him awake and at times that he doesn't really need his caffeine fix, he goes straight for the hot chocolate. This is one of those days.

A few minutes into enjoying his drink, Yixing enters the cafe, boxes and paper bags in hand. Baekhyun spots the elder and hurries to help him carry some of them. When they get to their table, the elder plops down on the chair, depositing the boxes and bags on the table. Yixing smiles at the younger and pulls the mug to himself, sipping a good amount of the hot chocolate from it.

"Yah! That was mine!" Baekhyun whines as he grabs the mug to himself again, emptying the contents of it to stop the elder from stealing it again.

Yixing only laughs at Baekhyun and waits for him to finish his mug. He smiles at him when he does so, his chin on his hand as he watches the younger fondly.

"Why'd you have to finish it in one go?" Yixing chuckles at the cute pout Baekhyun is sporting in front of him.

"You might steal it again." The younger's pout still remains despite Yixing booping his nose and pinching his cheek. "What did you call me out so early for anyway?"

Yixing chuckles yet again. Yixing pushes the boxes and bags in front of him towards the younger male. "Please give these to the kids."

Baekhyun's eyebrows scrunch up, "Christmas gifts?"

"Yeah."

"Really, Xing? You could've just brought these to my house or maybe brought these personally in school when the classes resume." Baekhyun huffs, clearly in disbelief with how he had to cut his sleep short because he thought the elder has an emergency.

Yixing yet again just chuckles with Baekhyun's disbelief. "I got too excited to give them. Just accept them, baby please."

Baekhyun huffs, "Alright alright. I will. Anything else that needs my attention?"

The elder looks curiously at Baekhyun as he asks the younger in a calm voice, "Actually, I've been dying to ask you about Kyungsoo."

Baekhyun freezes up on the mention of the name. He doesn't know why exactly but he can't meet the elder's gaze. His hands start to fidget in front of him so he brings them on his lap, below the table. "W-what about Kyungsoo?" Baekhyun curses himself for stuttering.

Yixing chuckles yet again. This man loves to chuckle, or maybe with Baekhyun, he does. "You're so cute when you're nervous."

"I- That's not cute. Stop~" Baekhyun whines and huffs in front of Yixing to which the elder only laughs.

"It's just me who noticed, don't worry. I noticed that you are rather fidgety around him, that is if he focuses his attention on you though. And what's with the gift? It's not you to give half-assed gifts."

Baekhyun bites at his lips, clearly anxious. He debates in his head on whether to come clean to his hyung or not. Yixing is, after all, his most trusted friend, despite them being ex-lovers. The 'exes can't be friends' doesn't apply to them.

Even though they have broken up, he still has a soft spot for the man. He will always have a special place in his heart. He was thankful that they parted voluntarily and that they did it peacefully. At least, he was still able to salvage their friendship. Before they were lovers, they were first friends and he doesn't want to lose that friendship that easily. They only built stronger friendship from that.

"I may or may have not wrote a confession inside... So it's not that half assed, you know-" Baekhyun looks elsewhere, avoiding the elder's definite judgmental stare.

"You did what Baekhyun?!"

The younger closes his eyes for a moment and looks at the elder. He pulls the other's hands and grips them hard. "What if he has already read it and finds me weird hyung? I'll lose Kyungsoo. I'll lose this friendship! I wasted a decade-long friendship!"

Yixing giggles at the younger's reaction. He grips the other's hands back, in an act of comfort. "Calm down, babe. I know Kyungsoo is not like that. Maybe he hasn't found and read it yet. If he did, you know he would've probably called you up by now, or maybe at least sent you a text message."

Baekhyun plops his head down to the table. "I'm starting to regret what I did."

"Your cheesy mind still hasn't changed." Yixing smiles fondly as he pets the other softly by his blonde hair.

Baekhyun only whines at the remark but he stays put and let the elder continue petting him.

"What do you suggest I do? I'm scared." Baekhyun asks when he pops his head back up, seriously looking for advice as he is anxious of what the consequence of what he has done might be.

"Wait up for him to finally contact you because he will, for sure, when he reads your cheesy confession letter." Yixing pulls away his hand from Baekhyun before the other pinches it, and laughs, "And if he finally does, confess personally. Whatever happens from there, I'm sure Kyungsoo will not drop you out of his life. I'm betting on the opposite, even." Yixing winks at Baekhyun's anxious face and just smiles.

The elder leans forward to pet the younger again on his head, "You'll do fine, don't worry."

And somehow, Baekhyun doesn't question Yixing.

---

Baekhyun finds himself in the same cafe again, this time at dusk. He holds the cup of hot coffee in his hands, trying so hard to stop them from shaking. He needs the caffeine boost this time. He needs all the courage and boost he can get, from whomever and whichever that might be.

Kyungsoo sent him a text last night. A simple text that made him drop everything and made him go into panic mode for almost 24 hours now.

Kyungja (8:32 PM) 

Baekhyun, can we talk? Let's meet at Universe cafe near your house tomorrow at 6PM. 

Baekhyun can't stop himself and arrives an hour early. He is so nervous.

Has Kyungsoo read his letter already? Is Kyungsoo going to tell him off? Is Kyungsoo meeting up with him to tell him that they can't be friends anymore because of his confession?

Baekhyun knows for sure that these are petty concerns. He feels like a teenager again but he can't stop himself. He's had this huge fat crush on Kyungsoo since heaven knows when.

He has always admired the man's passion, voice, kindness, and warmth. He is quiet and the opposite of the blonde male but there's this something the people say how opposites attract and maybe that's what made Baekhyun get so attracted to the shorter male.

He has always shrugged his feelings as just "a measly crush" and convinces himself that he has it because Kyungsoo is indeed admirable. But he doesn't know what has gotten to him that it grew to be so big and that he even wrote a damn confession letter.

Baekhyun sighs and brings the cup to his lips, eyes cast downwards as he sips the bitter liquid into his system. He needs the warmth in his shaking, nervous body.

He startles when he sees someone settle in the seat in front of him. His eyes widens when he fully registers who it is and he stutters when he speaks, "H-hi, Kyungsoo."

"Hi, Baekhyun." Kyungsoo is always calm and collected. Baekhyun always has a hard time reading the man and that says something because Baekhyun is good at reading people. Maybe that adds to the attraction? The challenge that Doh Kyungsoo is.

"So... What do you want to talk about?" the elder lets out a nervous laugh. He wants to drag this as long as he can, maybe. This might be the last he is ever going to talk to the man.

Kyungsoo just stares at him and for a few moments, Baekhyun thinks he didn't hear the question.

The man speaks after some time though. His voice is deep, a rumble amidst the deafening silence that Baekhyun's mind chooses to process, refusing to take in the light chatter and the soft instrumental music in the cafe. "I read the letter, Baekhyun."

Baekhyun covers his mouth just as a gasp escapes it. He suddenly has taken interest in the fine lines of the wooden table between them and chooses to not meet the man's gaze. "O-oh." The elder forces a chuckle.

Kyungsoo continues to look at him and the blonde male fidgets on his seat. When the elder can't take it anymore, he decides to speak, taking a deep breath before doing so. "Look, Kyungsoo. I know you find that weird, surprising and i don't know, uncomfortable? You can just pretend that you didn't see it, really."

Kyungsoo's gaze at him remains to be the same, his face unreadable and Baekhyun actually begins to feel nervous that maybe he has really done it and ruined their friendship. When the younger moves the slightest in his seat, Baekhyun was ready to hear the word 'goodbye' but what he hears next snaps his head up to meet the younger's eyes.

"I like you too."

Baekhyun blinks once, twice, many times.

Is he hearing this properly? Is he actually sure that he is not just imagining this?

He lifts his shaking hand to his face and pinches his cheek. This causes the younger to chuckle and Baekhyun's eyes actually widens. "Am I imagining this?"

Kyungsoo's smile is warm when he shakes his head. "No, you are not."

"Are you actually saying you like me too?"

"I am."

"You are not going to cut me out off your life?"

"No Baekhyun, I am not. And even if I don't feel the same way, I am not gonna do that."

The elder rises up from his seat so quickly that his head spins a little for a moment. He quickly moves from his seat though and goes to kneel beside Kyungsoo.

"Do you really mean it?" Baekhyun's voice is just above a whisper. He clasps the hand above Kyungsoo's lap, gripping it gently.

"I do." Kyungsoo scoots closer to the elder and holds the elder's hand in both of his own. "I knew I like you for a long time. When I read your letter, I just had to laugh because you beat me to it."

Baekhyun giggles at this. "Are you saying you are planning to confess to me?"

Kyungsoo bumps his forehead to the elder when the other moves slightly forward. His voice is soft and gentle, a low register when he speaks, "I am. I was planning to surprise you once your classes resume. I want to see you with your pups."

Baekhyun giggles at this. He closes his eyes and sighs. Out of all the possible outcome, he is betting the least to this. He is ready for the worst but alas, the heavens granted his prayers - not losing their friendship and even a bonus of having the man actually like him as well.

"You can always surprise me still," Baekhyun grins when he speaks, his breath hitting the others lips.

The younger just hums.

"I'm not dreaming, right?" Baekhyun pulls back to look at the younger in the eyes. "You actually like me, right?"

Kyungsoo shakes his head and smiles. When he leans forward, Baekhyun's eyes widens momentarily but when the other is just centimeters apart from him, he pushes himself forward and meets him.

His lips is plump and soft and the blonde man smiles to it. Kyungsoo pulls him up and on his lap, uncaring of the people around them suddenly silent. The instrumental music still plays in the background and still this time, Baekhyun's mind refuses to take it in. Kyungsoo is already so much for his mind to actually process.

He slings his arms around the other's neck. He kisses him, pouring his confession - now on his lips, not on paper.

They break their liplock after a few moments, "So, what are you getting for Jongdae's second gift?"

Baekhyun only whines.

---

A/N:

Apologies for grammatical errors. English is not my first language >.<
Thank you so much for reading, it means a lot.
Please do tell me what you think about this <3

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