"Have you even thought about what to get him?"

Chanyeol nods frantically at his best friend. He had forced Jongdae out of his stuffy college dorm just two hours earlier, and now they're standing in a cosy home decor shop. Big snowflakes are falling outside the large windows, the dull shine from the Christmas decorations lighting up the crowded street outside.

"Of course I have! Although he'll never admit it, I know he's cold all the time, especially now during the winter months. So what is better to get him, than candles and a blanket?" Chanyeol exclaims and drags his friend towards the scented candles section.

Jongdae rolls his eyes but follows his over-excited friend. "You act like a 40 year old married woman, I swear to God."

Chanyeol ignores the comment and begins to smell the different types of candles. Ever since he was a child, Christmas has been his favourite holiday. Nothing beats opening the gifts on Christmas morning, drinking hot chocolate with tiny marshmallows, decorating the apartment with miniature Santas and watching the Grinch on his small TV.

Which is why it's kind of funny that Chanyeol is dating Baekhyun. Because there's no one else in the whole wide world that hates Christmas as much as his boyfriend does. Baekhyun doesn't really have any reasons for why he detests it so much; ‘He just does,’ as he always reminds Chanyeol every so often. But after four years of dating and two years of living together, Chanyeol has decided to make this holiday memorable for the older of the two.

"What about this one?" Jongdae asks and holds a red candle under Chanyeol's nose.

He only needs to take one short sniff before he knows that Baekhyun will absolutely hate it. "It's cinnamon apple, Dae. How many times do I have to tell you that he doesn't like anything that smells warm," he sighs and continues to eye the many candle jars.

"Well, I'm sorry for not knowing Baekhyun like the back of my hand like you do, Mr Snuggle-Puggle," Jongdae huffs and puts the candle back on the shelf. "And how exactly do you know if something is warm-smelling, as you call it?"

"I don't expect an unintelligent college student like you to know the difference between a cool and a warm smell." Jongdae gasps dramatically at his friend's insulting statement.

A label on a white candle jar grabs Chanyeol's attention. 'Clean Cotton' it reads. It smells just like the small laundry room in Baekhyun and his apartment. According to his boyfriend, the fresh smell of washed laundry is the best thing a human can inhale. That's why he puts the white jar in the shopping basket and also grabs a light yellow one while he's at it, this one labelled as 'Crisp Lemongrass', which is also a scent Baekhyun will most certainly approve of.

Next up, the two friends move towards the corner in the shop where blankets are folded neatly on top of each other, and pillowcases in diverse colours are lying scattered on a big mahogany table.

"Time for the blanket," Chanyeol says and cracks his fingers, getting ready for the task of choosing the perfect one for his boyfriend.

Jongdae grabs a thin, black blanket and gives Chanyeol a questionable look. "This one is nice and simple, and it'll go well with your light grey sofa."

Chanyeol stares at the other in complete disbelief. "It's way too dark for Baekhyun, and way too thin. How do you expect that one to keep him warm when it's almost as thin as a regular jumper?" He takes the blanket from Jongdae's hand, folds it and puts it back at the same spot it laid before.

"I don't ever know why you dragged me along with you, Chanyeol. Seriously, you just get annoyed whenever I show you something," Jongdae whines and crosses his arms over his chest like a child. Chanyeol can't help but laugh at his two months older friend.

"Sorry, Dae," he says and ruffles the other’s hair, which earns him a small hit in his side. "I just want to find him something that he'll love to death, so that I can make him hate Christmas a little less.

"Apology accepted, you ugly giraffe."

They go back to inspecting and feeling the different blankets. It takes some time and dwelling before Chanyeol finally chooses an extremely thick, quilted one. It's baby blue with small moons embroidered into it. Very childish, just like Baekhyun himself, which is why Chanyeol knows he's going to love it.

He and Jongdae leave the store and eat dinner together, just like they always do on Saturday nights. It's been two years since Chanyeol moved out from the dorm he shared with Jongdae, but they still have two classes together and they always meet up on Saturdays to go over everything they'd missed in each other’s lives while being apart. It also helps that Jongdae and Baekhyun get along so well so that all three of them can hang out together. Although it sometimes seems like they are too close because they always team up on Chanyeol whenever the three friends are in the same room.

When the owner of the small restaurant comes up to their table to tell them that it's almost closing time, they pay and begin their walk towards the subway. It's Christmas Eve so there are not a lot of people outside this late at night. Once they reach the subway, they part ways and wish each other a 'Happy Christmas' since they won't be seeing one another for a few days.

Once on the subway, Chanyeol plugs in his earphones and plays his favourite Christmas album with Michael Bublé. It’s a fifteen-minute ride to his stop, so hopefully he'll arrive at home before 11 pm. Then he'll have half an hour to wrap in Baekhyun's presents before his boyfriend gets home from his late night game session with his friend Minseok.

As if the Gods have heard Chanyeol's prayers, the apartment is empty when he steps through the door and shakes the snow off his broad shoulders. There's a pink post-it note stuck on the refrigerator.

'At Minseok's place. Back before 1 AM. There's beer in the fridge. Don't miss me too much - Baek.'

It's impossible for Chanyeol to stop the big smile growing on his lips while reading the elder's note. He hurries to wrap all the gifts in shiny, red paper and writes something - according to Jongdae at least - cringe worthy love confessions. In the end, there are three packages lying under the plastic Christmas tree in their living room. Two being the gifts he'd bought today in the decor shop, and the last one being the most special one, the one he thinks Baekhyun will like the most.

Chanyeol returns to the kitchen and opens a can of beer, which Baekhyun had bought with him in mind. Chanyeol's not really that much of a drinker, but he loves drinking on special occasions, such as on Christmas.

The TV is showing some old drama when Baekhyun finally arrives home at early midnight, Chanyeol trying his best to not fall asleep while sitting on the couch.

"Why are you still up?" the older asks and puts down his bag on the floor. He walks up to where Chanyeol is half asleep and ruffles his hair. "Let's go and brush our teeth and go to sleep, yeah?"

The younger yawns but nods and follows his boyfriend to the bathroom. Baekhyun whispers something about him being a 'big old baby', but Chanyeol knows it's his way of showing affection.

Ten minutes later, they're both getting comfortable in their shared bed. Although Chanyeol is the taller of the two, it's Baekhyun who's spooning him this time. It's almost completely dark in the room, the only light coming from the doorway, where the Christmas decorations are lighting up the whole living room.

"Did you have fun at Minseok's tonight?" Chanyeol mumbles tiredly.

Baekhyun nods even though the younger can't see him. "Yeah, I finally won over that er in one of the most difficult maps in our favourite game. That's when he decided to call it a day and kick me out," he answers and grins delightfully.

"Luckily for you, you have the world's most desirable boyfriend to get home to whenever you get kicked out," the younger teases and shuffles closer to Baekhyun's chest. It earns him a light kick on his leg.

"Watch it," Baekhyun warns but Chanyeol just smiles into the darkness. "What about you? You had a nice time with Jongdae or was he annoying the out of you like always?"

Immediately, he's more awake than just seconds earlier. "It was so cosy, Baek! Everyone was buying Christmas gifts and there were even a choir singing carols down the shopping street! Did you see the presents under the tree? Did you?" Without realizing, his voice rises in volume and he probably sounds like an over-excited kid.

He can sense how Baekhyun rolls his eyes like he always does whenever the Christmas topic is brought up.

"There, there," the older says as he pats the other's shoulder. "Let's not get too excited. A big baby like you has to sleep as much as possible, okay?"

"You're just trying to put me to sleep because you don't want to hear me rambling on about my favourite holiday all night," Chanyeol states and he knows he hits spot on because Baekhyun just sighs.

They lay in silence for a while, the only sound coming from the heavy traffic outside.

"I'll make you remember this Christmas, Baek," Chanyeol whispers in the end. "No matter how much you have always hated it, I will make it the best one ever."

Then he falls asleep, not witnessing the way his boyfriend's lips twitch before he too closes his eyes and hugs the boy in his arms even harder.

It's still dark outside when Chanyeol wakes up like it always is during the winter months. Going into stealth mode, he untangles himself from Baekhyun's embrace and tiptoes towards the kitchen.

He fills a kettle with water at puts it on the stove to wait for it to boil. While waiting, he begins to fry some scrambled chilli eggs - Baekhyun's favourite - and some bacon. Not really having a great appetite during the mornings, he decides to just pour himself a glass of orange juice and chops up some fruits.

A loud shriek from the stove tells him that the tea is done, so he puts it on the small dining table and goes to check on his boyfriend.

Baekhyun is still fast asleep when Chanyeol opens the door to their bedroom. It's already 9 am and he can't wait any longer, so he sneaks up beside the bed and jumps onto Baekhyun. He's welcomed by a kick in his crouch.

Blinded by pain, the younger rolls of the bed and onto the carpeted floor. A shadow rises from the bed and towers over him.

"You ing idiot," Baekhyun yawns and walks over Chanyeol without looking back to see if he's okay.

The younger pretends to play dead for several minutes, but once he realizes that his boyfriend isn't coming back to check on him, he jumps up and jogs towards the kitchen. A sleepy Baekhyun dressed in a pastel yellow pyjama is sitting at the table, already munching on his eggs and bacon. Chanyeol stands in the doorway for a while, just appreciating the way the other's messy powder pink hair contracts to his pyjamas. Pink and yellow actually go pretty well together, believe it or not.

Baekhyun raises his left eyebrow when he notices Chanyeol staring. "Are you going to stand there all day or what?" he asks with a mouthful of food.

The younger snaps out his frozen state in the doorway and joins his boyfriend by the table. His eyes are boring into Baekhyun like he's waiting for him to do something. It seems like Baekhyun notices too because he puts down his fork and leans back in the chair.

"I won't say it, no matter how much you try to use your puppy eyes against me," he challenges.

Chanyeol leans forward on the table, crossing the border to Baekhyun's personal space by at least four inches. "Say it, say it, say it!" he pushes and smiles when his boyfriend breaks their eye contact. 1-0 for Chanyeol.

"Never in a million years, Yeol dearest," Baekhyun chides, trying his best to imitate a British accent.

Damn. Chanyeol knows he will never win over Baekhyun when it comes to this. So he shows his signature teeth rich smile and pinches the elder's cheek.

"Merry Christmas, Baek! Merry, merry, merry Christmas!" He sings and his voice cracks when he screams out the last word.

To his dismay, a piece of oily bacon is thrown at his face, the salty fat quickly making its way down his favourite pyjama shirt. With a low growl, he puts the bacon in his mouth and grabs some tissues to wipe the stain off his shirt.

"Damn you, Baek. This is my favourite shirt, you know that," Chanyeol complains and throws the dirty tissue into the full bin beside the doorway. He misses it by a few inches and it falls miserably to the floor in slow motion. It actually looks kind of sad.

”If you’re lucky, the white-bearded man maybe will give you a new shirt or two,” Baekhyun proposes and looks up in the ceiling in a not-so-innocent way.

The taller gasp so loudly that Baekhyun almost chokes on his tea. ”The white-bearded man?! You don’t mean Santa, do you?” he asks while staring at his boyfriend.

He can’t recall Baekhyun ever so much as implying on something Christmas related, so hearing him mentioning Santa Claus out loud is almost as chocking as him admitting to appreciating Minseok’s friendship - which he has never done by the way.

As he sits there and thinks all of this, Baekhyun rises from the chair and puts his dishes in the sink. He reaches for a black apron hanging on a hook, puts it on and ties a knot in the back. Humming silently, he then proceeds with washing the dishes.

”You know very well who I mean and you also know very well that I’ll never say his name out loud,” the older declares after a while. The answer doesn’t really take Chanyeol by surprise if you put it like that. ”Now give me that glass and plate of yours and let me do the dishes while you go and change.”

It’s more of a demand than a request, so Chanyeol - being the perfect boyfriend that he is - obeys and drags his feet towards the bedroom. He lies down on the bed and closes his eyes, suddenly feeling tired again. From the kitchen, the muffled humming from Baekhyun can be heard through the paper-thin apartment walls. Although Chanyeol tries his best not to fall asleep again, his eyelids don’t obey his brain and not long after, he’s sleeping soundly to his favourite lullaby.

He awakens some time later and sits up in complete disbelief. How could he allow himself to fall asleep when he’s supposed to celebrate Christmas with Baekhyun? With a heavy sigh, he pads to the wardrobe to change the shirt, which Baekhyun had urged him to do before he accidentally fell asleep. Since it’s Christmas, he searches for his ugly Christmas jumper that is buried under a ton of clothes. After a long look in the mirror - he’s Park Chanyeol after all; he opens the bedroom door and walks out to find his boyfriend.

Baekhyun is nowhere to be seen and the apartment is empty except from Chanyeol himself. Wondering where his boyfriend could’ve gone off to, the taller walks to the kitchen to see if the older has left a note about his absence. As expected, there’s a familiar pink post-it note stuck on the fridge and the clean dishes are stacked in a pile on the kitchen sink.

’Since you fell asleep I figured I had time to run some errands w Minseok. Will be back before 5 pm - Baek’

The clock on the wall is indicating that it’s nearly five hours until Baekhyun will be back. How could he leave Chanyeol like this on Christmas Day, all alone in their tiny apartment? Though, this is actually quite perfect. Now, Chanyeol has all the time in the world to decorate the Christmas tree and put forward the entire mini Santa collection and the other Christmas novelties that his grandmother had bought for them last year.

He finishes decoration the tree in no time and continues to place the other ornaments around their small flat. When he’s finished, there’s a star-shaped lamp standing on the window shield and together with the lights from the tree, it’s illuminating the whole living room. A red cloth is covering he coffee table and three bowls filled with different snacks and nuts are standing on top of it. Chanyeol spared some space on there though since he bought candles for Baekhyun and as soon as he opens his presents, the table will be all set.

He switches off the light and turns on some random Christmas CD from his year-old collection, then he continues onward to the next room, the kitchen. There’s not really that much to fix in there, but he wipes the table and puts a similar cloth to the one in the living room onto it. He and Jongdae had bought some fake snow when they were out the other day, so he sprinkles some of it on top of the cloth and puts another star lamp on the window shield. Now it’s really getting Christmassy.

Their bedroom is the only room left undecorated so that’s Chanyeol’s next task. A newly bought comforter set lies in one of the shelves in the wardrobe so he takes that out and proceeds to change the old ones into the new set. It’s Christmas-looking, but not as obvious as the other decorations in the other rooms, since he figured his boyfriend should at least have one room where he doesn’t have to be reminded of his worst holiday wherever he looks.

Maybe it’s more winter looking than Christmassy-looking, which is a good thing. The bedspreads are cotton white with light grey snowflakes embroidered onto it, and the pillows are single coloured in both grey and white. Baekhyun will love this for sure, not to mention the blanket, which is currently waiting for him inside a wrapped present under the plastic pine tree. To finish his masterpiece, he hangs a string light over the bed and another one around the window frame.

All that’s left to do now is to bake some pastries so that’s what he does. Neither Baekhyun nor Chanyeol likes the taste of ’warm’ spices as they usually call it. Warm spices as in ginger, pumpkin spice, cardamom and so on. So there will be no typical Christmas cookies in this apartment tonight, or ever.

Chocolate though. Everyone loves chocolate! What’s better than making some Rocky Roads and muffins? Chanyeol doesn’t like to brag - okay maybe he does - but he’s actually a pretty decent cook and baker. That’s why he’s finished baking in less than an hour, and even the dishes are made once again. Everything has to be perfect for when Baekhyun comes back home at 5 pm.

Feeling accomplished after a successful decorating-day, he decides to take another power nap. He doesn’t know how he can be so tired all the time. Maybe this is just what Christmas does to you.

”I deserve to take a nap since I’ve been working all afternoon,” he murmurs to himself and walks towards the living room, lays down in the sofa and falls asleep immediately, not even thinking about setting his alarm.

Chanyeol wakes up a while later when someone lifts his legs, a weight sitting down on the end of the sofa, and puts his legs back on familiar thighs. He turns his neck and is met by a fond smile.

”It amazes me how tired you are all the time, Yeol,” Baekhyun sniggers and starts massaging the younger’s skinny calves with his slender fingers. Since they’re sore, Chanyeol moans and drops his head back onto the cushion. ”You’ve actually decorated the place rather cosily, I’ll give you that.”

A smile plays on the younger’s lips as he keeps his eyes close, just focusing on the amazing massage he’s getting.

They sit in silence for a couple of minutes, just listening to the low singing voices flowing out from the CD player. That’s until Chanyeol opens his eyes and catches a glimpse of the Christmas tree.

Instead of just three gifts - Baekhyun’s gifts - there are now two other ones lying under the tree. He sits up faster than lightning and embraces his boyfriend.

”You bought me Christmas presents! I can’t believe you actually bought me frickin’ Christmas presents this year!” he sings into the other’s ear and squeezes him harder than ever before.

Last year, Baekhyun hadn’t bought him anything since he’d been pissed off at Chanyeol for dragging him along to his parent’s house where they celebrated Christmas like Americans. It had been fun for Chanyeol, but Baekhyun hadn't forgiven him until a week later when the younger had taken him out for dinner at their favourite restaurant.

”Just think of them as normal gifts for being kind of cute sometimes, but only sometimes,” Baekhyun mutters and looks away. It’s almost funny how bad Baekhyun is with showing affection, but Chanyeol thinks it’s one of his many charms.

”Let’s open them now! I’ll just go and get a few things in the kitchen first.” Chanyeol jumps up and kisses his boyfriend’s forehead, then runs off towards the kitchen.

He takes out a wooden tray from one of the cream coloured cupboards and puts a couple of muffins and Rocky Roads onto it. He then grabs a package of milk from the fridge and pours it into two large mugs. A teaspoon of his homemade coffee syrup is then added into both mugs and lastly, he puts them in the microwave until they get hot enough.

Baekhyun hasn’t moved from his place on the couch so when Chanyeol walks in with the tray a few minutes later, he tells him to join him on the floor.

”But I want to drink your coffee milk first,” the older whines as the drags himself off the sofa, onto the carpeted floor. His eyes stop at the tray. ”You made Rocky Roads!” he yells like a little child and immediately eats one. His eyes roll back into the back of his head, making him look like a demon of some sort, a rather cute demon. ”Oh my God, please have mercy on my innocent soul,” he whispers to the ceiling like a prayer.

Chanyeol rolls his eyes but sits down next to his boyfriend, trying his best to sit comfortably by crossing his long legs over each other. He eyes the new presents hungrily, and Baekhyun probably notices because he huffs and crawls on all fours to grab the two presents and hands them to him. Then he sits down again, now sitting right in front of him so that they’re facing each other.

He points on the smaller of the two gifts and pouts like a puppy. ”Open that one first. And remember, this is not a Christmas gift, okay?”

It earns Baekhyun another roll of the eyes, but Chanyeol obeys and begins to tear the silver wrapping apart. His eyes widen in chock when he sees what’s in it.

A collection of black plectrums are scattered about in a small box. To anyone else they would’ve probably just looked like ordinary plectrums, but Chanyeol notices the little white signature on every one of them.

”How did you get these, Baek?” he asks in disbelief as he picks one up to inspect it closer. ”They are from the BlaCk#1 collection which were only sold a decade ago!”

”I have my ways,” the older answers and wiggles his eyebrows at him. ”No, but you know my work colleague Yixing, that guy from China? His grandpa collects plectrums and guitars, so I was able to buy some from him.”

Chanyeol opens his mouth wide. ”How much did they-? Or as in a matter of fact, I don’t even want to know.” He puts the plectrum back into the box and looks at Baekhyun. ”Thank you, I’ll use them well.”

Baekhyun smiles and nods, but then motions for him to open the other present. It’s bigger than the other one, almost the size of a small stereo, but it’s heavier than what a stereo weighs. Not that Chanyeol has lifted many stereos in his 23 years of life. He grabs the present and begins to unwrap it, being careful not to tear the whole wrapping apart.

He’s disappointed at first. It’s just a brown cardboard box within the wrapping, but he proceeds to open the box. Inside lies something that looks like a mixture of a lamp and some kind of projector. Letting out a confused huff, Chanyeol takes the lamp-looking thing out of the box and puts it down on the carpet between Baekhyun and him. While Chanyeol looks confused, Baekhyun smiles proudly.

”It’s great!” Chanyeol tries his best to sound convincing, but Baekhyun just laughs. ”But what it is? A lamp? A movie projector?”

Baekhyun reaches for the gift and takes out a couple of batteries from his jean pocket, then inserts them into the projector. Rising to his feet, he walks over to the light switch and then presses the button. Now it’s only the lights from the Christmas tree that’s lighting up the room. But Baekhyun switches them off too, and the room is now completely dark, so dark that Chanyeol can’t even see when Baekhyun sits down beside him. A sound of a button is then implying on being pressed.

Suddenly they aren’t in their small living room anymore. They’re floating around in space. Wherever Chanyeol turns his head, he’s met with thousands of stars and planets hovering over him. He’s staring into the galaxy, which is illuminating the whole room, illuminating his boyfriend who isn’t even looking at the miracle that is happening around them, his eyes stuck on Chanyeol’s profile.

Chanyeol is completely speechless, mouth hanging wide open as he stares into space. The stars are continuously moving and the planets slowly come and go, always being replaced by others as they disappear from the black room, going back to the projector from where they came.

Baekhyun has granted Chanyeol’s biggest wish. Baekhyun has given Chanyeol the stars.

As he continues to stare onto the ceiling and the walls, the moon suddenly makes its graceful appearance. It slowly makes its way over the walls, displaying an almost perfect representation of the moon cycle. This beats everything Chanyeol has ever gotten as a Christmas present, or any present in over all.

”You gave me the stars, Baekhyun,” he’s able to stammer forward after long minutes of silence. He isn’t sure if the older is able to make out the tears that are running down his face. ”You gave me the whole galaxy and I don’t know how to thank you. It’s perfect.”

A delicate finger - which isn’t his own - wipes the tears away and Baekhyun shuffles closer so that their shoulders and hips are squeezed together. The smaller leans his head on the other’s shoulder, and Chanyeol leans his head on his boyfriend in return. Chanyeol tries his best to stop the tears from running from his nose. His nose always cries more than his eyes do and it’s actually quite embarrassing, making him look even more like an over-sized baby.

”I’m happy that you like it. It cost me a fortune, but I figured it’d be worth it.” They watch as the moon turns into a dark red colour. Chanyeol can’t believe he’s witnessing an accurate representation of an eclipse in his own home. ”I would’ve given you the real moon and all the stars in the whole universe if I were able to,” Baekhyun continues.

Chanyeol sniffles loudly and wraps his right arm around the smaller’s shoulders. ”You can’t say stuff like that and then make fun of me for crying when we’ll switch the lights on again in a few minutes,” he hulks and senses the way Baekhyun freezes beside him.

Baekhyun releases himself from the giant’s embrace and moves away so that he’s sitting in front of Chanyeol instead. Sirius is just making its way over Chanyeol’s forehead and the smaller smiles fondly.

”Let’s stop crying now, yeah? You’re supposed to be happy, not cry like you just found out that your mother’s dog died of food poisoning,” Baekhyun jokes and squeezes the younger’s shoulder, but his smile is soon replaced by a frown. 

”Oh my god! What if Pungie will die of the potato I gave him two days ago under the table when no one was looking!” Chanyeol is now crying even harder and Baekhyun wants to laugh as much as he wants to cry over how pathetic his boyfriend is.

”I promise you Pungie won’t die because of a potato, okay? He’ll die when he’s grey and old in your mother’s lap and go to dog heaven and live happily ever after with my grandpa's old dog.” This seems to make Chanyeol calm down because he’s not hulking and gasping for air anymore.

Chanyeol needs a few minutes to calm down, so they sit there in silence for a while, just looking out in space. Then the younger comes back to his senses and grabs Baekhyun’s gifts under the tree. He hands him the two presents he’d bought with Jongdae a few days ago. Although it’s still quite dark in the room, he can still see the way the older eyes the gifts nervously.

”Just think of them as early - very early - birthday gifts if the thought of Christmas gifts bothers you that much,” Chanyeol reassures and the former smiles weakly, but it’s an honest smile.

”It’s okay,” is all he says before he begins to tear the wrappers apart. To Chanyeol’s glee, he lets out a loud sound of approval. Baekhyun’s nose scrunches cutely as he sniffs the two candles like a puppy. ”Just how I like my candles! Thank you, Yeol!”

Baekhyun loves the blanket more than he loves the candles, and he makes it quite obvious.

”This is the fluffiest, warmest, cosiest and most snuggly blanket I’ve ever owned! I love it, I love it, I love it!” He jumps onto Chanyeol like a small child, pressing the soft blanket to his face. Chanyeol’s face is then smothered with hundreds of kisses, every kiss as light as a feather’s touch, so he soon becomes extremely ticklish.

”Stop, Baek! I’m suffocating here!” he presses forward between laughs and hiccups. The weight of Baekhyun leaves him a second later and he sits up to see the former curled up with his new favourite blanket. Well, at least he likes it and that’s what important to Chanyeol.

Now there’s only one package left to be opened, the one Chanyeol is the most nervous about. It’s more personal than the other gifts he has gotten Baekhyun this Christmas, so hopefully, his boyfriend won’t be disappointed. So with a hesitant smile, he takes forward the last present and hands it to Baekhyun.

Delicate fingers open the wrapper and reveal a simple card that doesn’t look too extraordinary. He throws Chanyeol a questionable look but continues to open the gift card. At first, Baekhyun seems kind of disappointed when he notices that there are no money nor concert tickets inside the card, but as he reads the Chanyeol’s sloppy handwriting his whole expression changes.

”No, you didn’t…” Baekhyun whispers and reads the words over and over again; just to make sure he’s not imagining things. The elder’s reaction makes Chanyeol smile widely and he shuffles over so that he too can read his own handwriting.

”I know it’s not much, but you’ve talked about doing something like this ever since I met you. What do you think?”

Baekhyun hits him lightly with his elbow.

”Chanyeol, you idiot,” he sighs and puts the card back in its envelope. ”I love it. I didn’t think we would actually go through with it.”

Even though Chanyeol can’t read the words anymore, he still remembers what’s written on the card.

’Since you hate Christmas albums, let’s record our own - Park Chanyeol’.

Ever since they met all those years ago, Baekhyun has pestered him about recording their own mini album. Chanyeol would do the harmonizing and play the instruments, while Baekhyun would sing with that angel voice of his. That’s why he’d called a recording studio downtown and asked them if they were allowed to rent the studio for a day or two, and the owner had happily accepted Chanyeol’s money.

”We have a whole month until we have to record it, so we should be able to come up with a couple of songs until then, don’t you think?” Chanyeol asks as he grabs one of the mugs and sips the coffee milk. The beverage warms his whole body as it makes its way down his throat.

Baekhyun nods eagerly and steals the mug from Chanyeol, not bothering to drink from his own. ”Of course! Writing songs is our-”. A pointed look from Chanyeol. ”Okay, your speciality, so the songs will be finished in no time. God, I’m so excited. This is the best Christmas gift I’ve ever gotten!” Baekhyun exclaims, puts the mug down so that it won’t spill over the carpet, and once again jumps onto his giant boyfriend.

”Baek?”

”Yes, Yeolie dear?”

”You just admitted that you were given a Christmas gift,” Chanyeol teases and laughs when Baekhyun tries to get out of his tight embrace. After some struggle, he finally releases the smaller from his grip.

”It was just a slip of the tongue. I really just thought of it as an early birthday gift,” he defends and Chanyeol is too fond of him to press on the subject.

They sit a few feet away from each other for a while, just looking at the stars while sipping on coffee milk and munching on the Rocky roads. It’s already 7 pm and Chanyeol’s stomach doesn’t think it’s enough to live on sweets for a whole day. That’s why neither he nor Baekhyun is surprised when the former’s stomach growls loudly. Way to ruin the mood.

”Let’s feed the baby giant and then watch some good old’ telly?” Baekhyun suggests and rises to his feet.

He stumbles over the dark floor and tries his best to find the light switch. Seconds later, the stars are gone and their living room is back to its light ordinary self. Chanyeol follows his boyfriend to the kitchen and smiles as Baekhyun stands on the tip of his toes to reach the plates on the top shelf. Not long after, he’s able to place two plates on the kitchen sink.

Since Chanyeol is the cook in the family, he takes on the task to cook a simple dinner. There’s no point in cooking something Christmassy since there’s no chance in hell that Baekhyun will as much as smell the food. So he decides to fry a pair of sausages, chops them and mixes the sausage pennies with some rice and bell peppers. Simple but tasty, Chanyeol’s motto.

He shovels the food onto the two plates, which Baekhyun then take and puts down on the low living room table. They always eat in there whenever they’re celebrating a special occasion, and Christmas is definitely a special occasion even though the older will never admit it.

When they’re finally seated on the sofa, Baekhyun turns on the television.

’The Grinch’ is playing as soon as the black screen turns on.

Chanyeol glances nervously at Baekhyun out of the corner of his eye and notices that the latter is staring at the TV like the TV has committed an awful crime. The younger grabs the remote and is just about the switch channels when a familiar hand is put over his own, the one that holds the remote.

”It’s okay, we can watch it.” Chanyeol almost wants to look around to see if there’s anyone else in the apartment, but it’s obvious that Baekhyun was the one who’d uttered the words.

Baekhyun probably notices the chock that’s written over the younger’s face, because he giggles and rolls his eyes. ”I don’t want to ruin the whole…” He seems to have an inner fight with himself about whether it’s worth to say the word or not. ”Christmas experience for you, Yeol. It can’t be that horrible.”

”I promise you, Baek. You’ll love this movie! Maybe you’ll actually relate to the Grinch in the end?”

The older just huffs but makes himself comfortable, throwing his legs up on the table and resting his head on the taller’s muscular shoulder. In response, Chanyeol rests his left arm over Baekhyun’s shoulders and leans his cheek on the top of the other’s pastel pink head.

’Nothing beats this,’ he thinks just as Lou Who sings about the lost Christmas.

It’s a miracle that neither of them fell asleep during the movie, a straight-up miracle. Baekhyun shuffles besides him, drag his legs up to his stomach and faces Chanyeol, to which Chanyeol raises his eyebrows at him.

”So?” he begins. ”Was it torture or did you manage to survive?”

Baekhyun looks anywhere but at his boyfriend. ”It was actually quite… good.” Chanyeol gasps exaggeratedly and covers his own mouth with his large hand. “I guess the Grinch and I are pretty alike after all?”

”Yes hello? This is Earth calling Mr Byun Baekhyun. Has he gone out of his mind or did he legit just admit that he liked a Christmas movie?” It earns him a light slap on his cheek.

”Stupid oversized baby,” Baekhyun whispers under his breath but he’s not able to stop the smile that’s growing on his face.

After the movie, they decide to play a few games on the PS4 (Chanyeol may or may not have lost on purpose so that Baekhyun wouldn’t turn into a grumpy piece of meatloaf). As always, the more fun you have, the faster time moves. In the end, Baekhyun won four times over his boyfriend, so it’s with a satisfied sigh he lays down next to Chanyeol in their bed an hour later.

The clock addresses that it’s almost 12 pm, which means that Christmas is over soon.  Chanyeol couldn’t have asked for a better Christmas, celebrating it with his favourite person on earth and getting the best gifts ever. He has moved the galaxy projector into their bedroom, so he’s actually looking into space right now.

A small body presses itself onto him like a leash, but Chanyeol invites the smaller into his embrace without any complaints. Baekhyun rests his hand over Chanyeol’s abdominal and he can literally hear the way the smaller breathes in Chanyeol's scent.

”Are you satisfied with the day so far?” he asks and quickly presses his lips to the top of the other’s forehead. Baekhyun’s head moves up and down next to him.

”It wasn’t horrible at all. It was actually quite a perfect way to spend this holiday,” Baekhyun admits surprisingly easily. ”And thank you again, for the gifts you got me.”

”I thought Christmas ? At least that’s what I’ve heard from you ever since I met you,” the taller teases but squeezes the other closer to himself.

”I guess Christmas doesn’t as long as I get to spend it with you.”

And just like that - the clock now showing 00.01 am - Christmas is over, and Chanyeol couldn't be happier. Baekhyun seemingly appearing to be in a pretty good mood, Chanyeol decides to give it a try.

”Merry Christmas, Baekhyun,” he whispers and closes his eyes, not really expecting a reply from his boyfriend.

A small yawn from beside him.

”Merry Christmas, Chanyeol.”

The two of them fall asleep with faded smiles playing on their lips, just as the moon begins its journey over the ceiling once again.

- - - - - 

Credit

Merry Christmas!