AN:// Fluff based on Young, Wild & Free was not an easy task. I hope I succeeded somewhat :)

Daehyun sat hunched over the small table. One he had barely made room for when he had moved in. The kitchen was crammed already but his boyfriend and he had needed somewhere to eat aside from the floor. So Daehyun had no other choice but to borrow his father in law’s saw, and cut four inches of the length. That way they could squeeze around it while cooking. Though it wasn’t like fried rice with a side of boiled rice required much cooking nor space. Rice was all they could afford in their current situation. Even rice was a far stretch. In all honesty they couldn’t afford any food at all. 

In front of him, Daehyun had a list with the expected incomes for December and on the other side of him, a stack of envelopes with bills to be paid December 1st. On the other side laid a calculator with a big fat -5. Minus five hundred thousand won, and Daehyun still had to find money for their food. He heaved a long, depressed, hopeless sigh and placed his forehead against the table top. He was just about ready to give up.

Almost silent socked feet came into the kitchen and two warm hands rested themselves on his shoulders, giving them a soft squeeze. 

“It doesn’t add up?” A worried voice followed right after and Daehyun gave an affirmative grunt against the wooden surface. The hands picked up their work and slowly but determinedly worked through Daehyun’s tense muscles. Despite their tight situation, Daehyun appreciated his time with Youngjae. It was what kept him going.

“How much more do we need?” He asked behind him as his fingers shifted to wander underneath his shirt to get a better hold on his shoulders. 

“Three. Three hundred thousand plus food.” Daehyun said, voice swimming with remorse. It wouldn’t hurt to let Youngjae believe things were better than they were. He didn’t to worry more than absolutely necessary.

“I can ask if I can get more hours at work? And I can ask my parents if they can borrow us some money?” Youngjae suggested softly. Daehyun’s blood ran cold with the suggestions and his shook his head.
“No. No more hours for you. You’re already working full time and studying. And your parents don’t have that much money either.” He countered. His own mind was swimming with ways to perform miracles. He could take up a loan? Get more hours? Ask for a raise? A third job? He would have to call around and ask the creditor if they could wait to get their money until after Christmas. “Not to mention you’re struggling with that social science class already. You need to spend your time studying for that and not working more.” Daehyun made sure to add in all arguments against Youngjae starting to work more. Youngjae sighed but didn’t argue as he sat down next to Daehyun and placed his head against his shoulder.

“Three hundred thousand wons?” He asked. A small tremble in his voice told Daehyun he was sad and possibly scared about the future too. “What can we possibly do?” He continued as he stared at the calculations Daehyun had made for them as he went over their finances. Daehyun knew he was skimming through the calculations for mistakes that could earn them a little extra money. He had to hide them before Youngjae could realize his ‘wrong’ calculations. 

“We can search through the apartment and sell everything we don’t need?” Daehyun asked and took a look through the one-room apartment they were sharing. It was almost stripped entirely bare of everything they didn’t need – even the calculator Daehyun was using was an old one he had found in his old school bag. He knew Youngjae’s laptop was completely outdated compared to what was necessary to have when studying. But they couldn’t afford to replace it. And then they still had to figure out what to do about Christmas presents. They had already cut off their presents for each other, and their friends and closest family members didn’t expect any either. But their grandparents did expect some, and Daehyun’s sisters did too. They were too young to understand financial difficulties.

“I’ll call the creditors tomorrow and ask them if they can wait with getting their money. All in the name of the Christmas spirit.” Youngjae announced. “If we could push forward the rent until we got the money saved up it would help some at least some.” He said and reached out to hold onto Daehyun’s hand, slowly a light pattern onto the back of his hand.

“You know, we’re going to make it through this year just fine.” Youngjae said after a couple of minutes in tense silence. “When everything else is against us we have each other. Don’t forget that.” He said and pulled Daehyun’s hand to his lips and pressed a soft kiss to his knuckles before he stood up. “I’m making tea. Do you want some?” He asked. Daehyun shook his head lightly and leaned over the table. 

A good handful of minutes later, Youngjae came back with two cups of tea and placed one in front of Daehyun. The older looked up at Youngjae and opened his mouth to speak.

“Don’t. I used the same teabag for both cups.” Youngjae said and sat down in the chair he had been occupying before and blew steam off his cup. Daehyun only nodded slightly and picked up his own cup, copying Youngjae’s actions.

“What are we going to do? We need to do something. We can’t keep living like this.” Daehyun asked and turned to look at his boyfriend. He watched as Youngjae’s eyes got glassy and his lips wobbled slightly. He leaned in and pressed a soft kiss to the trembling couplets and kept it until he felt salty liquid mix between their lips. He pulled back and leaned in to hug Youngjae comfortingly but was met with another kiss again. He kissed his boyfriend back, knowing he didn’t like how much it affected him. Truth to be told, Daehyun was no stronger himself, only much better at hiding it. He would go to the bathroom and let out his frustrations when Youngjae had fallen asleep and then go back to cuddle him when he was done. For the first time since they started having financial troubles, Daehyun let go too. Seeing Youngjae that broken because of some simple numbers hurt him. It was tearing on their relationship too. He couldn’t remember when they had last just been able to cuddle up and watch a movie together without them ending up discussing finances because how amazing wouldn’t it be to be able to buy that thing on the TV without thinking about it. It would always end that way when the actor or actress bought  cup of coffee to go from some café like it was something everyone could afford. Daehyun was Jealous

Without noticing, they both curled up closer against the other until they were a messy tangle on one chair, no one knowing who was where, where one limb ended and another started. With faces buried in their partner’s necks, the couple cried out their frustrations as their teas turned cold. A messy kiss was shared, salty and wet and sloppy and just as desperate as they were for money. When they pulled apart, Daehyun turned off the heat and promised to keep Youngjae warm through the night.

Daehyun was on his way to work, ten minutes early. His mind swam with ideas on how to make more money. Or how to save the little they already had. He had to admit though, he was in a better mood today than he had been the day before. He had spent time with Youngjae which wasn’t fighting about economy. With a little optimism in his body he entered a payphone and felt for the extra change. Breaking into a wide grin, Daehyun pulled out two coins. Two thousand wons. Now they only needed four hundred and ninety-eight thousand wons plus food. But it was definitely better than nothing. Daehyun's mind worked on high pressure after that. He would make a daily proceedure out of checking all vending machines, payphones and more on his way to and from work. If he could just find some money like that in his state of financial need, everything had its right. He needed the money as he needed to protect Youngjae from any stress of getting another job while he was studying. Almost failing one class was already stressing him out more than he needed. And Daehyun wanted to be a good boyfriend and protect Youngjae too. He came to work five minutes early and started working, not caring for the last couple of extra work he put into it for free.. He hadn't been working for long when his boss came up to him. 

"Daehyun-ssi?" He asked as he came to a halt in front of his desk.

"Seokjin-ssi?" Daehyun greeted him, standing up to bow to him.

"Come with me please." Seokjin requested and Daehyun could do nothing but obey.

Standing in front of his boss' desk had Daehyun fidget nervously. He didn't like being there. And the look on Seokjin's face didn't promise good news.

"Daehyun. I know you've been serving this company for a long while now. Loyal and hardworking. But cuts in finances makes us unable to keep you working here any longer." He announced and Daehyun's world came crumbling down on him. He had just been so optimistic before he came to work.

"E-excuse me?" He croaked out ad stared at the boss in disbelief.

"You're fired." Seokjin told him again. He didn’t even have the decency to look apologetic. He knew of their financial situation. Daehyun had asked for early pay way too often for him not to know. Daehyun stood on shakey legs and bowed to his now former boss, unable to give him as much as a smile.

"I'll pack my desk then." He said, mind alerady working out a script for when he had to tell Youngjae about their new situation. Once in a while, his mind wandered off to how he would be able to affort everything next month without being kicked out of their apartment and most importantly without Youngjae working more than he already did. 

With his framed picture of Youngjae in his pocket and his favorite pencil tucked behind his ear, Daehyun walked down the street towards his home. He looked at all the windows belonging to the stores in hopes of finding somewhere they were hiring new people. What was he going to tell Youngjae when he would come home from college later and find him home before time? How were they supposed to make it through January without a job when they couldn't even get through December with one? If he didn't find a job in a couple of days, he knew they would be completely screwed in January. 

He pushed the door open to the apartment and wiggled the key out of the lock, kicked off his shoes and entered the small flat. He hadn't expected Youngjae to still be home though. But if it was possible, Youngjae looked even more surprised to see Daehyun home too.

"Why are you..?" They both started simultaneously when they saw each other. Before Daehyun had time to say otherwise, Youngjae motioned for him to start. He wasn't ready for this yet. He had thought about it all the way home, but he had also thought he had hours left to prepare in. And now with the little he had prepared, Youngjae couldn't even stick to the damn script. 

"I..." Daehyun started and swallowed thickly. It was a lot harder to say than he had first expexted it to be. "I was fired," He announced, swallowing tightly. Youngjae's face fell at the words and Daehyun could see more and more breaking off Youngjae's strong facade.

"You were fired?" He asked, voice weak and careful as he spoke as if the words he was about to speak would ruin the entire world and then some. Daehyun could only nod in affirmation.

"I'll start searching for a new job later. I just need to write some résumés I can hand out when I go ask for the jobs." He told the younger as he moved forward to envelop him in a hug.

"We're going to make it." Daehyun whispered and placed small gentle kisses against Youngjae's cheek. "I promise. Even if I have to sell my soul to the devil." He continued. "Why are you at home?" He asked him curiously and pulled back just enough to look at his boyfriend all crosseyed. Daehyun watched as Youngjae fought the smile that threatened to come on his lips but ultimately failed. Daehyun couldn't help but smile himself too. It was the small happinesses that counted in the end. Moments like this and not the numbers on their bank account.

"I am writing on a report. Classes today are for self study purposes. But honestly I haven't been doing much studying. I've been looking for another job and I've been looking through the last few things I can sell. I'm trying to sell my phone. I can buy a cheaper one for the money I'm getting instead. And...well nothing else." He trailed off and looked at Daehyun with a small smile on his lips. 

"You shouldn't sell your phone. It's already older than any other still functioning phone. You'll go back to black pixels only phones." Daehyun told Youngjae and shook his head. "And I bet, those phones are more expensive than the one you have now because they are museum artefacts." He said with a hearty chuckle. "Just leave it and we'll figure something out together." Daehyun promised and leaned in to press a soft kiss against Youngjae's lips. Youngjae kissed him back and allowed himself to be pulled further against him in the kiss. When the two pulled apart again, Daehyun nuzzled his nose against Youngjae's cheek gently. 

"Help me write my resume?" He requested and Youngjae agreed with a quick nod of his head.

"Do you want some tea while we work on it?" He asked and Daehyun nodded. 

"But o..."

"I'll only use one teabag.You don't have to remind me of it." Youngjae said and pressed a soft kiss against Daehyun's cheek before he stood up. "Go and prepare the computer. I'll be right with you." Youngjae said and gave Daehyun a gentle push towards where he had been seated before. Daehyun went over the most expensive piece of electronics they had in the apartment, and opened a word document. It took forever to open, but he had the possibility to use it so he wasn’t complaining. He started to write all the personal details about him along with personal contact information. Youngjae came shortly after and sat down next to him, placing a cup of tea next to the laptop. 

"So, what have you got?" He asked and read over what Daehyun had made. "That's just the regular." He said and leaned back in his chair. "What are you planning on writing?" Youngjae asked him and earned himself a shrug in response. "What are you good at?" Youngjae asked, sounding like he was about to give up on the other. And they hadn't even started yet.

"I don't know? I'm a good kisser? And I'm good at eating?" Daehyun suggested with a light chuckle. It only earned him a hit to the arm and a smiling boyfriend. Totally worth it if you ask Daehyun.

"Idiot. If you write that they hire you as either a or dog food tester." Youngjae laughed and leaned his head on Daehyun's shoulder. 

"You may not have the degree in finances, but you are good with numbers. You can easily work with making the economy reports for people. Might not be an advisor, but surely you can do the calculations." Youngjae suggested. Daehyun took all of it, rephrased it and put it in his application. 

"You also have experience in costumer support." Daehyun nodded and wrote that down too. "And then you have working experience with everything you've been working as until now." Youngjae reminded him. Daehyun made down a note to add that when he had gotten everything else down.

"What else am I good at?" He asked, giving Youngjae a playful look. Youngjae rolled his eyes and nudged Daehyun's side playfully.

"You're a good kisser, as you said yourself. You're a good boyfriend. A good friend too. You're good at singing. You're good at giving hugs. You're good with arguments. You're amazing with my family and you're good with your hips." Youngjae said, blushing madly at his last comment. Daehyun wiggled his brows with amusement when he heard that and leaned in to whisper something to Youngjae but settled for ling on his earlobe playfully instead.

"S-stop." Youngjae whined though Daehyun was fully aware of how much he liked that. The older kept the kiss a little longer before he kissed Youngjae's cheek quickly. He settled back in his chair and smiled accomplished at his blushing boyfriend. 

"I don't think I'll add those things to the resume." Daehyun chuckled lightly as he went out in search of the other's hand. "Will you come with me to apply for the jobs? Or do you have other plans?" Daehyun asked curiously, hoping Youngjae would, but fully understood if he couldn’t. He did have an assignment to do after all. 

"I was planning on going looking for another job myself, but I guess we can go together?" Youngjae suggested and Daehyun smiled widely in agreement. He liked that idea. 

"Let's print out some résumés and let's get going." He said and requested the printout from the laptop and connected it to their old coughing printer that wheezed to life. They got dressed as they waited for the printer to spit out the papers they had requested and Daehyun tailed in to pick it up before they left the apartment. Youngjae locked the door behind them as they walked out, hands clasped together. They turned down the street towards places they could apply for jobs. 

Whenever they saw a place where they had any chance of having qualifications to work at, they went in and handed in their resumés. They walked together until they had no more résumés left. A little more hopeful, they walked back towards their apartment. Daehyun’s hand felt warm and nice. It was clasped tightly with Youngjae’s, fingers interlaced too. Feeling in an exceptionally good mood now that they have been out and about with their resumés, Daehyun gave Youngjae a playful shove towards the traffic, his hand ready to pull him back in. The younger gave a loud shriek when he stumbled sideways only to shriek again as he was pulled back onto the sidewalk. 

“Bloody hell, Daehyun! I could have been run over!” He complained and looked at Daehyun, eyes wide with shock. Daehyun could do nothing but smile at his cute antics and squeezed his hand lightly.

“Don’t worry baby. I’ve got you.” He said and tugged his hand to prove his point. Youngjae found it not too bad anyways and gave Daehyun a shove in return. It didn't take long before they were laughing and feeling carefree for some time, simply enjoying each other's presence.

The barely warm shower water was running down Daehyun's body as he reached down for the bottle of shampoo on the floor. It was already half water in an attempt to save their consumption of shampoo and even then the bottle had emptied by now. He shook it slightly, hearing nothing move inside the bottle. 

"Youngjae babe?" He called out of the shower. "Do we have any shampoo left aside from what we have in the shower?" He called towards the living room. 

“No? Don’t we have any left?" Came the call back followed by Youngjae pushing the door open. He searched through the cabinets for any sign of shampoo before shaking his head at Daehyun before pressing his lips to Daehyun's wet ones. Daehyun savored the kiss from Youngjae as he spoke of handsome and shortly forgetting the problem at had. 

"I can offer you some dishwashing soap or handsoap. That's all we have left." Youngjae said apologetically. 

"Handsoap will do just fine." Daehyun said and made a mental note of getting a hold of more shampoo as soon as they could afford it. His boyfriend handed him the soap from the sink and left the room again.

"Don't use too much water." He reminded Daehyun sounding horribly remorseful.

"I won't." Daehyun promised and closed the stall again, rushing himself through the shower not to use too much water like his boyfriend had requested. He stepped out of the shower and wrapped a towel around himself, quickly drying himself off. He got dressed in a pair of shorts and one of Youngjae's shirts (it was the first he could get a hold of so it was not planned at all) before he walked out to sit with Youngjae on the couch.

"You look worried?" Daehyun commented as he sat down next to him. Youngjae was sitting with a pair of pants in his lap, and now that Daehyun looked closer, he could see the white dental floss carefully arranged in small stitches along a ripped part on the thigh. Good thing they had agreed not to use their floss too often.

"No. I just don't know which one of these sharpies work the best with the pants." He said and held the different shades of blue against the torn fabric. Daehyun furrowed his brows and studied he blues carefully before pointing to the one he thought came closest. Youngjae uncapped it and started to dye the white floss with the sharpie. Daehyun wrapped his arms around his waist and reasted his head on his shoulder.

"I wish we some day won't have to sew our clothes back together with dental floss and we can just buy a new pair of pants instead." He muttered and nuzzled his cheek against Youngjae's shoulder gently. 

"It's alright. We'll manage until then." Youngjae assured him. Daehyun wasn't so sure about that though. But he did hope that wasn’t the case.

If running out of shampoo wasn't enough, later that day, Youngjae discovered they were down to their last roll of toilet paper until they would get paid again. Kitchen towels and frequent showers would be on the menu for a while.

It was Christmas Day and Daehyun still hadn't found enough money to get his boyfriend a Christmas present. He knew they had agreed not to get any for each other, but how could they go through Christmas without feeling it's Christmas at all? He had turned over everything he had owned in order to attempt to sell some of the things he didn't need just to get him a small thing. But nothing. And the stores would close 30 minutes from then. Daehyun was't very happy about the situation. Desperate times require desperate measures. He pulled out his phone and dialed his best friend Himchan. He tapped his foot impatiently against the ground as he waited for him to pick up. It took a surprisingly long time considering Himchan would always cling to his phone like his life depended on it. 

"Yeah?" Came the reply finally, his best friend sounding completely out of breath - which in every way possible was against all of Himchan's principles.

"You alright?" Daehyun questioned, unable to keep the worry out of his voice.

"Yeah, I'm great. Thanks. Just working my off. You know, Christmas doesn't come on it's own." He said and Daehyun could almost hear him sit on a couch somewhere, giving out tasks for everyone else. That was more like the Himchan he knew.

"Good to hear. Himchan, I know this is bad timing and , but I really don't know what to do." Daehyun said and ran a frustrated hand through his hair, disheveling it just a bit more than it already was. 

"Take a deep breath and tell Appa Chan what's wrong." Himchan's voice sounded through the device, already now sounding a bit more normal albeit worried. Daehyun couldn't help but let out an amused chuckle at Himchan's words.

"I am broke and I don't have a present for Youngjae yet. And the stores are closing in..." Daehyun took a look at his watch. "28 minutes!" He said, voice getting more and more frantic as he spoke.

"Easy. Breathe Daehyun." Himchan said and Daehyun took a deep breath, instantly obeying to Himchan's request. "I did think you'd be broke by now. So I took the freedom of buying Youngjae a present for you. But because you're a butthead calling in the last minute, I can't give it to you before Christmas as I'm on my way to Bbang's  parents for Christmas." Himchan said, sounding genuinely apologetic for not being able to give it to him just yet. 

"I don't know what I would have done without you." Daehyun exclaimed. "If I could see you right now I would kiss you." He said instantly feeling a lot better. "I'll get you your money the second I get paid again. And I find another job." Daehyun said barely thinking about what he had said. He hadn't wanted Himchan to know about him being fired. He was convinced Himchan would go Mama Chan on him. 

"Another job? Daehyun you're already working two jobs, and Youngjae said he is looking for another job too. You're going to work three jobs and Youngjae two while studying? That's crazy! I will not allow it!" Himchan said in a shrill voice.

"No! No. Himchan. I got fired from my full time job. I need another job to make it work." Daehyun explained. There was a silence on the other end for several seconds and Daehyun could almost hear the gears spin in Himchan's head.

"Bbang! It's sinking!" He called. Daehyun had no idea what the older friend was talking about, and before he could ask about it, the line was cut. 

He stood in the middle of the street, looking at the phone in his hand for a while before he decided to go home. At least he didn't have to get a present for Youngjae anymore thanks to his best friend. He didn't even get to ask him what he had gotten him or how much he owed him. He would have to figure that out later.

With his hands in his pockets he walked back towards the apartment feeling slightly more at ease. He knew he could count on Himchan whenever got bad for him. This case was no different. If he could just find something small for Youngjae he could get in the morning he would feel a lot better about showing up. But his wallet was empty. He had nothing to buy a present for. He did have a couple thousand wons in his pocket but he couldn't get much from that. And he was meant to get toilet paper for those anyways. 

Walking up the stairs, two at the time Daehyun felt something was off. There was exceptionally much activity in the hallway of the apartment building. Slowly he went up the last couple of steps, prepared to defend himself of whatever was happening in his hallway. His heart and stomach all plummeted to the floor as he saw two moving boxes in front of the door to his apartment. Youngjae's voice was cutting through the suddenly freezing air in the hallway and sent chills down Daehyun’s spine.

"Hurry up! Daehyun can be home any second now!" He heard. Several footsteps could be heard moving around the apartment and a few words could be heard despite their hushed and muffled voices.

"No those are Daehyun's."

"Do you want me to pack these too?"

"I'll carry these boxes to the car."

"...mine yes." 

Daehyun's eyes were burning and his throat was tight. His heart had given up beating all together. Youngjae was planning on leaving him. He was moving and planning on doing so before he got home too. Probably to avoid hurting him that much. He swallowed thickly and stepped forward on wobbly legs, his teeth buried into his lower lip. Reaching the door, he came face to face with Yongguk, a box of Youngjae's belongings being the only thing separating them. There hung a heavy silence filling the air between them. 

"Uhm...Youngjae...You might want to uhm...Come here." Yongguk called over his shoulder, eyes constantly focused on Daehyun's expression. Daehyun knew he was looking something akin to a kicked puppy, but he really couldn't care less. It sounded a loud '' from inside the apartment, followed by rushing footsteps, Youngjae coming to view shortly after.

"Dae..." He started, taking in the look of Daehyun. He looked at him worriedly. Confused and possibly amazed too. The older felt like he was a special creature in a cage, for him to look at. The exhibit of the year. Yongguk quickly scrambled past Daehyun and descended the stairs. "Daehyun? What's wrong?" Youngjae asked, slowly approaching him, reaching out his hand to place it on Daehyun's arm. Daehyun flinched away from it and felt the first tears running down his cheeks. 

"You're leaving me." Daehyun said, his voice sounding way more broken than he would like to admit. Youngjae looked like he had gotten icy water dumped down his back when Daehyun's words registered in his mind. 

"What? No?! Why would you think that?" Youngjae exclaimed, sounding almost as broken as Daehyun felt. 

"Boxes. Yongguk are carrying boxes outside and I heard you talking about packing." Daehyun said stepping aside as Yongguk came back up the stairs to let him back into the apartment again.

"That's not... It's Christmas decorations and presents." Youngjae said, trying to hold back a smile. Daehyun didn't understand of what was being said and stared at Youngjae for a long while. Slowly Youngjae's words manage to weave themselves through the web of negative reality Daehyun had managed to create since he stepped off the stairs. When reality dawned on him, Daehyun couldn't hold back the sob that had wanted to escape him until then. He threw himself around Youngjae's shoulders and buried his face against his throat. 

"I thought you were leaving me." He admitted as he clung to the younger's body tightly.

"I wasn't. And I'm not going to. Never." Youngjae replied, keeping Daehyun wrapped tightly in his arms. Daehyun let himself be enveloped by the younger and took comfort in the genuine hug he was receiving. He was enjoying the other’s presence. Daehyun had no plans of leaving his embrace anytime soon. Only a rustling sound came from behind him and shook him from his thoughts. He pulled back, giving Youngjae an apologetic smile as he wiped his cheeks. He turned around and faced the two guests occupying the other end of the living room. He freed himself from Youngjae and walked up to Himchan, ready to apologize.

"Hey. Sorry, I'm still kind of freaking out." Daehyun admitted sheepishly. Himchan came over and gave him a hug.

"Take your time. Jongup and Junhong will be here too soon though." He warned him goodheartedly and left to stay in the other end of the room to give the couple some privacy as they hung up the last decorations.

"You really thought I was going to leave you?" Youngjae asked, sounding like a kicked puppy as he looked over Daehyun. Embarrassed, the latter nodded slowly. "I thought, that with me being fired and no money and everything it would be impossible for you to stay with me." He admitted. "I feared you'd want to find a more financially secure home and move back in with your parents or something." He admitted, looking down at the floor in embarrassment. "I'm sorry. I know it's stupid, I just couldn't stop myself from thinking I might lose you because we have so many struggles." He admitted and stepped forward to bring Youngjae into a tight hug, arm's pulling the younger against his chest. He buried his face against Youngjae's throat again and felt his arms circling his own in response.

"Your worrying is a waste of time. I'm not going anywhere. A place to live is replaceable, you aren't. I'm not leaving you. Not without you." He said and Daehyun felt a pair of soft lips pressing against his cheek. “And we are still young, wild and poor. I don’t care. We are young, wild and together.”

"Let's talk about this later when Mamma Chan..."

"It's Appa Chan!"

"...and company left the apartment to stay at his place." Youngjae said, lifting Daehyun's head gently to press a kiss against his lips. "The two kids should be here with food in any minute." He added thoughtfully. 

It was slowly dawning on Daehyun something was going on and he looked at the two older.

"What's going on here and why are you here with all of this?" He wanted to know. Yongguk turned around to face him and pointed to Youngjae.

"Your boyfriend wanted to surprise you, and as the good friends we are, we couldn't say no to that. So Himchan and I were in charge of decorations and presents while Junhong and Jongup agreed to bring food. You two were in charge of the house and now we are almost ready to celebrate Christmas." Yongguk explained like it was the smallest thing in the world to arrange such a thing. Daehyun nodded dumbly and swallowed his heart again. He had been sure Youngjae was leaving him just before. He was no closer to getting a new job, and he could understand if Youngjae wanted to be with someone who could provide for him. But that wasn't the case and Daehyun couldn't be happier. He gave Youngjae another kiss to his lips, squeezed his waist a little more before finally letting go. He walked up to the other guests in the room and hugged each of them in turn. It was about time to greet them anyways. When he released a very stiff Yongguk the door burst open and two younger boys stumbled inside with boxes and boxes stuffed into bigger boxes in their arms. Himchan set off to help them and Yongguk followed shortly after. 

Before Daehyun could even register what was going on in his own apartment, the small room was filled the steaming smell of Christmas food, the walls and windows decorated with more christmas decorations than Daehyun had seen ever since he last spent Christmas at his parents’. The atmosphere in the room was wonderful, nice and relaxed and Daehyun couldn't remember last time he had had chances of becoming that full. He had during December lost a good handful of pounds if not two because they had to cut down on food. 

"Alright, food is served. Dig in." Himchan encouraged. None of the six people on he floor area needed to be told twice. They all dug into the food, pulling food onto their plates like their lives depended on it. Daehyun couldn't help but look at the friends that surrounded him, and found himself eternally thankful for having such amazing people in his life. 

After a round of kai bai bo, the dishes had been taken and put back in place the group of friends settled back on the floor. They were all lounging and leaning against their respective partner. Jongup had Junhong's head in his lap and his fingers threaded through the younger's hair repeatedly. Yongguk was sitting between Himchan's legs, leaning against his chest and Himchan's hands were resting on top of Yongguk's stomach. Daehyun looked to his side and found Youngjae's face resting on his shoulder looking more content than he had through the entirety of December. For once their fridge was filled to the brim with food, food they had been allowed to keep.

"I do think we should cheat the Christmas tradition and hand out the presents tonight so the two boys can get to enjoy each other's presence?" Himchan suggested, instantly earning agreeing cheers from the others. "I take it it's a deal." He chuckled. "Let me go get them then." Yongguk said and pushed himself out of Himchan's hold and disappeared out of the apartment. He came back shortly after with boxes filled with colorfully wrapped presents. They were quickly handed out by Junhong and Daehyun looked at the packages he had gotten. A thin rectangular present and a small box identical to one in Youngjae's pile consisting of two packages. Youngjae got a bigger rectangular box too. 

"Alright Junhong, you start." Himchan stated and the youngest started. Soon it was Daehyun's turn and he reached for the small box. Himchan came with a strangled sound and Daehun dropped the box, looking at him in shock.

"Not that one." Himchan stage whispered and Daehyun gave him a funny look before picking up the rectangular package. He opened it and pulled out a stack of papers. Confused, he started skimming the first page and came to realize it was a contract. Widening his eyes, Daehyun read more closely and felt his breath disappearing. 

"What? What the hell?" He asked and flipped the page, almost fainting when he saw the pay. Flipping another page he saw it was signed by the boss of the company, whose signature Daehyun instantly recognized. 

"Yongguk, you shouldn't. I... I...wow." He said, unable to breathe properly. He felt like crying from relief. He finally got a stable job and a good pay.

"There's another page." Himchan noted excitedly and Daehyun flipped it with trembling hands.He wasn’t ready for more surprises. He read over the page and threw his hands into the air and laughed from the overwhelming relief. 

"ing hell! A vacation?!" He exclaimed and let his arms come to tangle around Youngjae's body. Okay, maybe he could.

 ”We're going to Jeju!" He said, laughing almost manically as he pulled the other closer against his body. “Oh my god we are going on a holiday!” He continued to blabber. 

It took several minutes before Daehyun was even remotely close to relaxing again. He kept bouncing in his seat. Then it was Youngjae’s turn to open his present. Daehyun was pretty close to being just as excited as Youngjae was and bit his lip, watching closely as Youngjae carefully opened the wrapper. Any other time, Daehyun would have approved of him saving it so it could be used again, but today, he just wanted him to rip it off all together. His future looked brighter now with a stable income and all, so he really wanted to celebrate that, by - for once - to not care whether or not something as simple as wrapping paper was reusable - simple things mattered.

A gasp brought Daehyun back to reality and away from his thoughts. He looked down at the present in Youngjae’s lap and gaped widely. Youngjae was no better off himself and the older couple were laughing their asses off at their reaction.

“It’s a new computer.” Youngjae said, stating the obvious. 

“The computer you have now, is threatening to commit suicide any second. So fire it up tomorrow and get all your documents transferred so they are safe. And for crying out loud, you really need to get some internet soon too.” Himchan said, giving Daehyun a look. Daehyun could only nod in agreement, still not over the shock. With their future looking this bright, he would make sure Youngjae wouldn’t miss a thing. 

“Alright, last present.” Himchan said and motioned to the identical boxes in front of the poor couple.  “After this year, I expect humongous presents next year.” Himchan chuckled and waited patiently for them to open their presents. They had been instructed to open them simultaneously and so they did. Simultaneously, they both reached into the box and pulled out a key each. Attached to them, a six digit code was attached and the couple blinked confused at each other before looking at Himchan. Himchan only shrugged and pointed towards the two younger men on the floor. 

Jongup was grinning and practically bouncing with excitement, Junhong no better off himself. 

“What’s this for?” Youngjae asked and held up the identical keys. 

“They are keys.” Jongup started and looked at his taller boyfriend who continued. Daehyun gave him an are you ing kidding me - look. 

“Keys to your new apartment. We are going to prepare it before New Year so you can move in and start anew in January. It’s a two bedroom apartment. One bedroom can be Youngjae’s study, you get a livingroom and a bedroom too. A separate bigger kitchen too.” Junhong explained but none of the words registered with Daehyun. It was all entirely too much for Daehyun who broke down in his boyfriend’s arms, sobbing his heart out from happiness. 

They were finally young, wild and free



AN:// 6900 words of word vomit xD I hope you all enjoyed it :)