“I can’t really be the only one who believes in Santa, right?”

“What?” Tiffany asks. It was hardly an appropriate response but Tiffany was taken by surprise. The question was so out of the blue and rather childish since the said question came out from a twenty year old woman’s mouth. A fully grown women asking about the existence of a childish folklore.

A tint of pink touches Taeyeon’s cheeks as she repeats her question, “Do you think Santa is real?”

“Um…no?” says Tiffany, attempting to not offend her best friend.

Taeyeon rolls on the white sheets of her bed. “But do you have any evidence that Santa is real?”

“Well, I’ve never seen him in my twenty years of existence.”

“That’s not proof.”

“You don’t have proof, either,” Tiffany retorts.

Taeyeon tilts her head in a peculiar way and puffs her cheeks out that makes Tiffany’s heart beat faster. “Real until proven otherwise.”

Tiffany shrugs. The conversation over nothing was going on for too long. “Okay, okay. Santa might be real.” Tiffany seats herself on Taeyeon’s bed and notices a slip of paper hanging off from a closed book. It was too big to be a bookmark and her incurable nosiness didn’t help either. Tiffany slips the paper out of the book.

She reads the words “Christmas Wish List” before the paper is whipped out of her hands. Tiffany looks up to see Taeyeon kneeling with the mysterious paper clenched to her chest.

An unmistakable red invades Taeyeon’s face. “You didn’t see anything, right?” Taeyeon sputters.

Dazed by Taeyeon’s violent reaction, Tiffany manages to say, “…No?” She quickly turns her confusion into a smile riddled with mischief. “But will you let me?” Tiffany stretches her arm out, grasping at the air in front of Taeyeon.

Taeyeon backs away from her dangerous friend. “Not over my dead body.”

“Aw. Why?” Tiffany pouts. She knew Taeyeon would always succumb to her cuteness.

Apparently, it didn’t work this time. Taeyeon shakes her head vigorously with her blush reaching a brighter color than the last.

“Aish. Okay, I won’t read it,” says Tiffany wanting to spare her friend from any further embarrassment.

Taeyeon breathes a sigh of relief before loosening her grip on the crumpled paper. Tiffany whips her arm across, aiming for Taeyeon’s hand. Taeyeon yelps and falls back on the comfy bed with the paper practically locked into her hand. Tiffany can’t help but chuckle at her friend’s antics. Taeyeon was so irresistibly cute when she was flustered. Taeyeon glares at Tiffany. “I swear. If you read it, I will kill you.”

“I do like danger in my life,” Tiffany smirks before a pillow smacks her face. “Ouch! Aw, Taeyeon. I was just kidd-Hey! Stop! Stop!” A laugh escapes from Tiffany’s mouth as Taeyeon pelts her with various pillows and stuffed toys. “I won’t read it. Seriously!”

“Today that is,” thought Tiffany.

Taeyeon’s doorbell rings and she forces herself to get up and get the door. When she pulls the knob, she sees a giant body of red covering the door. Out of instinct, Taeyeon slams the door before the red suit could whisper a word. “Ah. Sorry.” It was a force of habit she’s always done when a stranger would come by her door. She reopens the door to face a body dressed in a red suit.

“Ho! Ho! Ho!” a rather feminine voice calls out.

Taeyeon, the firm believer of Santa, is less than amused. “Tiffany, what are you doing?”

“Tiffany? Who’s that? Your girlfriend?” Tiffany slaps her friend on the back. “I’m Santa.”

“It’s two days before Christmas. Why is ‘Santa’ here now?” asks Taeyeon in a disgruntled tone.

“Santa decided to go on a personal trip to his best fan.” Tiffany walks into Taeyeon’s house and immediately begins searching for the wish list, pacing around the room at an impatient speed.

“Hey! What are you doing?” Taeyeon latches her hand on the back of Tiffany’s suit.

As she examines the whole room, Tiffany answers, “What do you want for Christmas?”

Taeyeon almost constructs a coherent answer but it is reduced to a mess of mumbles.

Tiffany escapes from Taeyeon’s grip and turns around to face the shorter woman. She looks at her straight in the eye. “Santa couldn’t hear you, dear. Need to sit on my lap?” A bright smile radiates from Tiffany’s face. It’s hidden by the mess of artificial hair covering the bottom half of her face imitating the classic Santa beard. However, Taeyeon can see Tiffany’s eyes crease and elicit happiness in its own special way. “Come on! Come on! Tell me your Christmas wish list!” urges Tiffany.

Taeyeon blushes. “You look really nice in that suit.”

“Oh. Thanks!” Tiffany turns smug knowing all along that she looked attractive in the suit. “Hey! Wait! I am Santa. I should look good in my usual attire.” Tiffany stares into Taeyeon’s glossy coffee-colored eyes. “You didn’t answer the question.”

Taeyeon’s cheeks are painted with the familiar rose pink. She bites her lip and mumbles, “It’s too embarrassing.” Then in a louder voice, she says, “W-Why are you so curious anyway?”

Tiffany hesitates to answer. Why did she go to the trouble to wear a warm – more like ridiculously hot – suit to search for a measly wish list? “Because I want to make you smile. These days, you’ve been kinda depressed and mulling over something that I don’t know about. It’s almost Christmas, Taeyeon! …Actually, I’m sorry. This was stupid. I don’t know how acting this way could possibly make you feel better. I was just in the moment.” In embarrassment, Tiffany covers her face with her hands.

Tiffany hears an exasperated sigh and then footsteps walking away from her. After hearing the shuffle and clatter of assorted items, Tiffany lifts her head from her hands to see Taeyeon back in front of her with a crumpled piece of paper clenched in her fist. The petite woman pushes the paper onto Tiffany’s chest, her face glowing bright red.

Tiffany unravels the paper and attempts to smooth out the crinkles. She makes out the same “Christmas Wish List” from yesterday. Below the header was a list – well, there was only one thing on the list that was crossed out with multiple lines. It was almost unreadable but Tiffany manages to make out the all too familiar word. “Tif…fa...ny?” Heat rises in Tiffany’s body as she tries to make sense of what just happened.

“Don’t say it aloud, you idiot,” Taeyeon mutters. She ruffles her hair. “Argh. I can’t believe I wrote that.”

“No! No! Taeyeon, I wrote the same on my Christmas list!”

“Really?” her voice croaks.

Tiffany lets out a smile. “Uh…No?”

“Wha-”

“I didn’t write a Christmas list! But I totally would put your name on it…if I did.” Blood invades her facial features developing to the same color as Taeyeon’s flushed cheeks. “I love you, Taeyeon.”

Taeyeon moves herself into Tiffany’s arms, wrapping her into a tight hug. This was no strange occurrence. The two best friends would always hug each other so tightly that they were almost inseparable. But this hug was different. There were no restraints. No fears that they could potentially lose the one they found the most important. Tiffany did not want to let go.

“Can Santa give you a kiss?” Tiffany whispers in Taeyeon’s ear.

“No.”

“…How about Tiffany?”

There was no response so Tiffany took it as a yes to lean her face closer to her lover, her best friend, her life.

A/N: I hope you've paid close attention to these gifs SK. :) Merry Christmas! I hope you enjoyed this gift for you (given by Soshi hehe). Thank you for being such a kind and sweet friend. Even though you haven't been on lately due to exams, I still love you as much as the others from LSU. I hope you have a great Christmas with your friends and family.

To Tyson: I dedicate this oneshot to you as well in case your secret santa doesn't give you anything. Hope you have a merry Christmas.

                                                                                                                                                                                               -Secret Santa