“Coming cugh,” Yerin’s muffled words could be heard as she walked over to Eunbi with two mugs of hot chocolate and a bag of marshmallows clamped between her teeth.

“Would it kill you to make two trips?” Eunbi laughed as she reached out to get the bag and the mug that was offered to her.

“Lazy,” was all the older replied and Eunbi shook her head with a smile. Yerin placed her mug onto the coffee table and went into the study to fetch her laptop as well as her bag.

“Are you Santa Claus?” Eunbi jested when she saw how stuffed Yerin’s bag was.

“I might as well be at this point. Lemme give you a little what’s-in-my-bag, alright? First, a bottle of wine that I picked up at Moscow during a stopover on the way home, some chocolates for the kids, some knick-knacks, and oh! This is for you,” the photographer handed Eunbi a little paper bag amongst the pile of souvenirs.

“Mmm?” Eunbi peered inside and pulled out a fluffy white whale plush.

“There’s was this whale watching spot near my accommodation. I got some cool pictures of whales but I wanted to bring one back for you too,” Yerin said as she sat down beside Eunbi on the couch.

“Aww… It’s so cute, gosh,” Eunbi cooed as she gave the whale a few pats on the head.

“Now to show you the photos I took,” Yerin beamed as she opened her laptop. She began talking Eunbi through each photo and little stories about her day.

“We should really go there someday,” Yerin said, turning to look at Eunbi who was staring at a picture of the Northern Lights. “I don’t think these pictures do the place any justice.”

“One day. When I’m feeling up for an adventure and also sticking my to my seat for hours at a time, yeah?” Eunbi laughed and placed her whale on her stomach.

“Sure,” the photographer ruffled her wife’s hair. “Whatever you say.”

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“Why are we doing this again?” Eunbi asked as she leaned against the rack while watching Yerin contemplate between two balls of yarn in her hands. The latter had Brought Eunbi out to the mall after staring at the Christmas stockings hanging above their TV console, saying something about how they should knit some hats.

“Because,” Yerin looked up at Eunbi and her lips twitched into a slight smile. “It’ll be fun.”

“But I don't even know how to knit!” Eunbi grunted.

“Neither do I, but that’s why it’ll be fun,” Yerin said and tossed both balls of yarn into the basket at Eunbi’s feet. With a smile, she picked up the basket and intertwined her hand with Eunbi’s, pulling her to the checkout counter.

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“This… Under…” Yerin mumbled under her breath as she stared at her laptop screen, slightly moving the two needles in her hands to follow the motion.

“This is going to take forever,” Eunbi sighed. Yerin looked over at Eunbi who was lying on the floor, both legs stretched up against the wall as she played with a ball of yarn.

“It’ll be fast once I figure this out,” Yerin laughed and took the ball from Eunbi’s hand, causing the girl to whine in protest. “You’re like a cat now, you know that?”

“I hope I’m a cute one.”

“Of course you are,” Yerin said and turned her attention back to the little square that she had knitted. “Look, B.”

Eunbi looked at the little square that Yerin proudly held up and raised an eyebrow.

“Doing great sweety,” Eunbi sniggered and received a ball of yarn to the face. “Hey!”

“Don’t you mock the hat that I’m knitting for you,” Yerin grumbled in mock annoyance, only to elicit more sniggers from the younger girl.

“Alright, alright,” Eunbi rolled her eyes with a smile. Interlocking her fingers, she rested her hands on her stomach and closed her eyes. With the soft hum of the heater in the background and the occasional taps of Yerin’s knitting sticks, Eunbi was fast asleep before she knew it.

Eunbi woke to the sensation of something being placed snuggly onto her head and a pair of lips pressed onto her forehead. Eyes fluttering open and squinting to adjust to her surroundings, her gaze met a pair of gentle brown orbs and a lopsided smile.

“At last, the princess has woke from her hundred-year coma,” a voice singsonged.

“Ugh, shut up,” Eunbi rubbed her eyes and sat up. She realized that she was no longer on the floor and instead was on the couch with a blanket up to her waist. Looking around, she realized that the sun was setting and the only light source was the twinkling lights around the tree. “How long was I out?”

“Two and a half tops. I finished the hat while you were asleep,” Yerin smiled. The older took a seat beside Eunbi and the latter felt her head get heavy. She scooted closer to Yerin and let her head down gently onto Yerin’s shoulder.

“You should have woke me,” Eunbi said, voice still husky.

“It’s okay, you were probably better off sleeping than watching me knit. That’s boring to watch, I got to admit.” Yerin chuckled and took Eunbi’s hand into hers. “I’m sorry, today turned out to be less fun than I thought it would be.” 

“Don’t worry, it’s still quality time spent with you,” Eunbi smiled as she played with Yerin’s fingers. She looked up at the older girl and pressed a kiss on her jaw. The action caused the hat that Yerin had placed on Eunbi’s head to slide off but the latter quickly pressed a hand to her head to prevent that. Pulling it off, she looked at the simple beanie. It wasn’t much and it definitely had some areas where it looked like it was knitted too tight but Eunbi loved it.

“It looks great,” Eunbi smiled as she put it back on her head.

“Really?” 

“Yeah. Now I feel bad for falling asleep when I could have knitted you one too,” Eunbi pouted.

“Nah don’t worry about it. If death by frustration was possible I think I would have dropped dead long ago. I’d rather have you not fight with a ball of yarn and wooden needles.” Yerin mused and patted her wife’s head.

“If you say so…”

“Dinner? It’s almost 7.”

“I’ll go freshen up,” Eunbi smiled and pulled Yerin in for a kiss before disappearing into their room. When she reappeared, Yerin saw that the beanie was still on Eunbi’s head and she decided that all that silent cursing and air boxing was worth it.