Youngbae had been waiting for Teddy to finish up his work at the studio all day long. He’d passed the time by baking Christmas cookies and singing along loudly to a CD of Christmas songs that he had made a few years back.

It was the first Christmas he was spending with Teddy and he had asked the older man if they could go shopping for decorations. Teddy agreed only because Youngbae was smiling so damn angelically that he had no other choice.

“I’ll be here a while. We’ll go tomorrow when I get home, okay baby?” he had said on the phone when Youngbae called the day prior to ask him if he was almost done at the studio.

Youngbae fell asleep waiting; he was curled up on the couch with a plate of cookies in front of him and a tall glass of milk that was half full.

Teddy kissed his forehead softly, rubbing the back of his head to wake him up.

“How long have you been home?” he asked sleepily.

“I just got here. Are you ready to go?” he asked as he sat down next to Youngbae.

“Yeah, let me just get dressed,” he said as he got up and scurried to their bedroom.

He came out donning a black beanie and face mask along with a scarf that could double as a blanket and his long black Balmain coat.

Teddy chuckled at how bundled up he was, “I think we’ll be safe from paparazzi.”

~

They drove a while to find a place that sold Christmas trees, because Youngbae insisted on having a natural one.

“Let’s get this one!” he moved his mask down and exclaimed with excitement as he pointed to a tree that was just a bit smaller than him.

“It’s cute,” Teddy smiled at him, “and you can put the star on top without a ladder,” he said playfully.

Youngbae scrunched his nose at Teddy and then pouted cutely, “don’t make fun of our tree.”

“I’m not,” Teddy started as he stepped closer to Youngbae, “I said I think it’s cute,” he poked his boyfriend’s nose.

They paid for the tree and had it loaded into the back of the SUV, Youngbae grinning from ear to ear on the car ride to the nearest department store.

“Let’s watch a movie when we’re done decorating. I baked cookies,” he said with an eyesmile.

“That sounds perfect,” Teddy replied, “I could really use some cuddling.”

“After we decorate,” Youngbae reminded him.

“Yes, dear,” Teddy said with a cheesy grin as he held Youngbae’s hand with his right and drove with his left.

~

They’d bought more ornaments and decorations than Teddy even knew existed and he was ready to pass out snuggled up next to Youngbae, but they still had to decorate the apartment.

Youngbae threw his coat, beanie, and scarf off upon opening the front door, kicking his shoes off before pulling Teddy by the arm over to the dining table.

Teddy set down a few bags and Youngbae immediately started digging through them, organizing the contents into neat sections.

“Let’s go get the tree!” he exclaimed happily.

He ran outside in just his socks, shivering at the cold of the concrete against his feet. Teddy laughed at how excited Youngbae was, “okay, you grab the base I’ll grab the top.”

They carried the tree into the apartment, Teddy out of breath and Youngbae not even breaking a sweat.

“Okay babe, come help me set it up,” he said as he grabbed the tree base and the red velvet cover they'd bought for it.

They got the tree up and Youngbae stood back, gazing at it in sheer awe, “it’s so pretty, and it’ll look even better when we have all the decorations on it.”

Teddy grabbed Youngbae’s hand in his and lovingly placed a kiss to the back of it, “let’s get started.”

They put the big ornaments on first; they were bright reds, greens, and whites and covered in glitter and small pictures of snowmen and stars.

Youngbae got the lights out and ran cutely, wrapping them around the tree. He was like a child, an innocent excitement burning in his smile and audible in his laugh.

Teddy put up the Christmas lights on the outside of the apartment while Youngbae was busy replacing all of their home décor with Christmas themed decorations.

He bought snow globes and figures and a million and one scented candles, and he placed them everywhere around the apartment until he was satisfied with the transformation.

They plugged in the lights for the finishing touch and stood in awe as they saw the apartment really come alive. Everything glistened and twinkled and it made Teddy’s heart warm. “Wanna get the movie started?” he asked Youngbae, “I’ll make the hot chocolate.”

Youngbae kissed him a brief goodbye as he walked to the living room to set up the DVD player and find the movie he wanted to watch, “How the Grinch Stole Christmas.”

Teddy came back a few minutes later with a big blanket and two giant mugs of hot chocolate, extra marshmallows for Youngbae.

They got into their favorite couch position, Youngbae sitting in between Teddy’s legs and resting his back against his chest. They drank their hot chocolate and watched the movie, Youngbae speaking along to all the parts he knew the words to and Teddy watching him enjoy himself, thinking about how much he loved him. He loved his smile and his bright eyes, the way his voice sounded when he was excited, his hearty laugh and the sound their lips made when they kissed. In that moment when Teddy was watching Youngbae smile, holding his close to his chest and feeling the laughter vibrate through his body, he felt so lucky to call him his.

The movie was almost over when suddenly, the TV turned off along with all the lights in the apartment.

“!” Teddy exclaimed as he squeezed Youngbae closer to him.

“It must be a short power outage from all the Christmas lights,” Youngbae said as he shifted in his spot, getting ready to stand up and check it out.

“N-no, don’t go,” Teddy said with an audible whimper.

“Babe, are you… are you scared of the dark?” Youngbae asked as he gently placed his palm on Teddy’s face.

“No, I just… a little bit,” he meekly admitted.

“Aww, it’s okay,” Youngbae said in a sweet voice as he pressed himself to Teddy’s chest, “the power should come back soon,” he placed a reassuring kiss to Teddy’s lips.

“Come on, let’s light some of these candles,” he said as he stood up and grabbed Teddy’s hand.

They used the light from their phone screens to make their way to the kitchen, where the matches were. Youngbae expertly lit the matches and handed them to Teddy so he could light the candles.

They lit about 10 before returning to their spot on the couch, Youngbae laying on top of Teddy this time and peppering him in kisses to distract him from the dark.

Teddy pulled the blanket over the two of them and slipped his hands under Youngbae’s shirt, causing him to giggle cutely against his lips.

Teddy lightly ran his fingers up Youngbae’s back, the younger man wriggling in a fit of laughter.

Just as soon as their kisses started to get deeper and Teddy could feel Youngbae start to make soft gratified sounds, the lights suddenly , startling them both. They jumped and laughed at the sounds they'd made from being scared.

Youngbae moved the blanket and reached for the remote control, getting the movie back to the scene where they’d left off. He fixed the blanket again and snuggled himself back into Teddy’s chest, holding the elder’s hand in his as they finished the movie.

Teddy almost fell asleep with how comfortable he felt with Youngbae pressed tightly to him. The younger man turned himself around to face Teddy, he placed a finger to Teddy’s lips as he bit his, “now, where were we?” he smirked.

Teddy pulled the blanket over them again, “I think it had something to do with this,” he said as he kissed Youngbae slowly.