Archive of Our Own

“why does it look like santa sneezed christmas atrocities everywhere?”

it’s finally december, and jisung really, really couldn’t wait to deck out his favourite ugly sweater and blast christmas music from the shop’s speakers. he may have gotten a bit carried away this year, he has to admit, with all the decorations he’s bought to the shop with him this morning. sue him, but he loves christmas. since he’s started working here, he’s always been in charge of putting up the ornaments, kicking them up a notch each year with crazier and more eccentric stuff each time. 

after being caught up with all the decorations and bublè songs, hearing minho’s voice almost makes jisung fall over from his precarious spot, perched on top of a chair to try and hang up a garland in the perfect place. if he could just reach a bit higher…

“hyung! come here, you’re taller than me. see if you can reach the ceiling, i’ll pass you the t–”

he doesn’t even get to finish the sentence before minho is storming off, brushing against his side a bit too aggressively to be accidental, and jisung almost falls off the chair again. 

“absolutely not. i am not taking part in any of this christmas bullshit. just– piss off.”

jisung is left with his mouth gaping open, shiny garland still clutched in his right hand. he’s shocked; minho is always the kindest, with his tough act that disappears as soon as he thinks nobody is looking his way. he always sports a warm smile with customers, high-fiving the kids that come to buy colourful glitter pens, going out of his way to help out colleagues and denying all accusations whenever anyone points him out. jisung doesn’t think he’s ever seen minho honestly pissed off. he always regards mad customers with his usual no-nonsense approach, never really getting worked up and most of the time not even listening to their complaints. 

in the few months since he’s started working at the shop, jisung thinks that the only time he’s ever heard minho snap was when changbin was being annoying—like always—and was unlucky enough to bother minho on the wrong day, pushing and pushing until the older had enough and stormed off, barely remembering to grab his bag before the door to the shop was slamming closed. 

the next day, minho had gone over to the record shop next door to apologise to changbin, gaze pointed to the floor as he explained in hushed tones that it had been a long day and he really hadn’t meant to snap. changbin had simply sent a warm smile his way, and had invited the older out for a cup of coffee at the end of their respective shifts to apologise for being insufferable—his own words—and to take minho’s mind off, sure that he had only snapped because he was stressed out. the next day, everything was back to normal, and changbin was back to bother the two of them during his lunch break, gesturing wildly with a sandwich in his hand and sending bread crumbs everywhere. 

now, though, jisung doesn’t think he’s done anything wrong. sure, he ambushed minho as soon as he entered the door, but that’s not really anything new for them. jisung is more than used to minho coming inside the shop’s doors and not even bothering with an hello before launching himself into a deep rant about the book jisung recommended the previous few days, and jisung himself has to admit to the many times he’s barged in yelling for minho and ready to explain the whole plot of some dystopian movie or conspiracy theory series he’s watched over the weekend. 

so, they’re both guilty of sneaking up on each other daily, and jisung doesn’t understand why minho got so mad at him. he only asked for some help with the christmas decorations, nothing more, and he feels off-kilter, used to minho and he getting each other perfectly and never having to explain their thought process to one other. often, jisung has found himself thinking about a little job that needs to be done, something that needs to be fixed around the bookshop, and found minho already doing it when he walked around the corner of the shop. sometimes it’s almost uncanny, the way they are almost mentally connected, so it’s weird having no idea why minho stormed off like that.

they spend more time together than apart by now, if he has to admit. if jisung sees an ad for a fair in the town next to theirs, minho is the first he asks, and he never fails to wake up or go to sleep without a picture of dori or a stupid text from minho. so, he knows minho enough to know how unusual this behaviour is.

jisung carefully climbs down from the chair, setting the garland down in the back of it. he notices a box of ornaments lying on the ground, a few glass shards scattered around it. did minho kick his decorations? okay, something is definitely wrong. 

“hyung? are… is everything alright?”

jisung doesn’t get an answer. he walks around the shelves, not finding minho anywhere, and deciding that he is probably hiding in the storage room, for some reason. and jisung knows from experience that you can hear everything that’s going on in the shop from there, so there’s just no way minho hasn’t catched jisung’s question.

fine. if he wants to hide in the damn back room, jisung isn’t going to stop him. 

they still have some time before the shop opens, so jisung puts his whole soul into hanging up that garland. sure, it’s a bit crooked, but he still finds it perfect. 

he looks around to find himself surrounded by a million decorations and ornaments, and curses himself and his eagerness for christmas time. sure, it’s only the first day of december, but jisung thinks that eleven months is already enough without christmas, and was impatient to finally put up the decorations. that’s why he had told minho to come half an hour earlier, that way they could hang up everything together and decorate the bookshop to their liking.

but fine. if minho doesn’t want to help, he’ll do everything on his own, and who cares if minho finds annoying the obnoxious set of reindeers that he is planning on putting next to the register. 

in the next few minutes, just before opening time, jisung manages to scoop up from the floor the broken pieces of the ornament—the red sparkly ball, one of his favourites —and push the rest of the boxes into a corner to let customers come inside.

he’s just in time, running over to turn the sign to open when he sees a curious face peeking in to see if the shop is open yet. he spends some time chatting with the teen that comes in, recommending a few titles according to the books she’s looking at, and when he goes back to the counter to ring her up, minho is already there, nose buried in a book to avoid acknowledging jisung. 

he rolls his eyes before scanning her books and handing them to the girl, who puts them in her tote bag before going out with a smile. jisung turns to minho, asking if he would like to help with the lights, at least, but when he gets ignored once again, he just goes back to his boxes and starts ripping out pieces of tape to hang the lights out into the shop’s window.

the rest of the day continues in a similar way; jisung finishes putting the decorations up in between ringing up customers, and minho keeps his nose buried inside his book the whole time. he would almost be pissed off, but he’s annoyed and too restless to really put much thought behind it, and morning shifts aren’t busy enough to demand his constant attention behind the counter. it’s also a tuesday, so not many people come in. he usually loves early shifts, more often than not spent with minho, both of them hanging about the whole morning and joking around. 

but now, with minho gloomily sitting in his chair and slowly turning the pages of his book, jisung can’t seem to calm down. his nervous energy is all over the place, and when he’s done with decorations and the last customer he helped out has gone out of the door, he finds himself with nothing to do and thinks he might go crazy if he doesn’t find something that can keep him busy in the next ten seconds.

so, he pushes his hand out and blindly pulls out the first book he touches, not even caring about the title. he sits down, probably a bit too aggressively if the way his back pops is any indication, and opens up the book. 

during the first chapter, he risks a few glances towards minho, only to find him with furrowed brows and a scowl on his lips. he almost wants to ask minho if he’s okay, but he’s scared the older will just up and leave if he asks again, so he just turns the page and keeps reading.

soon, a few customers come in, and jisung goes to help them choose, but a few minutes later he’s back to the counter with his own nose inside his book. by the time he turns the last page, it’s almost time to close down the shop for lunch break. he glances back towards minho, only to find him barely fifty pages into his own. sure, jisung is an extremely fast reader, something minho never misses the chance to tease him about, but this is weird even for minho’s slow reading standards. 

jisung gets up just in time to see changbin coming towards the bookstore, keys to the record shop clutched tightly in his fist. he shyly waves at him, rounding the counter to pick his coat up from the back room. 

“hey guys! nice work on the christmas decorations, they’re looking good.”

changbin’s voice booms inside the small shop, but he’s not even done before jisung hears the bell on the door ring. he comes back to the shop to find minho’s chair empty and changbin standing in the middle of the room, mouth hanging slightly open and brows furrowed. 

“did i say something wrong?”

jisung just shrugs, picking his tote bag up and checking that his wallet is still inside. 

“no idea. he did the same with me this morning. told me to piss off and everything, i don’t think i’ve ever seen minho angry with me.”

there are a few moments of silence while jisung locks the shop.

“you two fought about the decorations, didn’t you?”

jisung turns around at the speed of light, absolutely affronted at the accusation.

“what? we didn’t fight! i’m very good at decorations, and collaborating. i would never fight hyung over this.”

changbin just stuffs his hands into his pockets, taking them out a second later to fix his hat.

“sorry, sorry. i just know that you’re very… passionate about christmas. and i know how you get when you put your head up to something.”

well, changbin isn’t wrong. he does tend to get a bit worked up about things he’s passionate about, and there’s no denying that he’s absolutely gone for christmas. you can’t really blame him, can you? it’s the best time of the year, with all the lights, and happy people, and presents, and decorations, and family dinners, and–

“well, he didn’t even give me time to get worked up. i only asked him if he could help me hang up a garland and he got all pissy. i don’t know. i really don’t think i said anything wrong.

changbin looks at him, a thoughtful expression on his face.

“oh. maybe he just doesn’t like christmas time?”

but before jisung can dwell on it, changbin is already pushing him away, bribing him with an offered meal at their favourite meat restaurant. 

it’s only when their bellies are full of warm meat that jisung checks his phone. there’s a single text from minho’s telling him he isn’t feeling well and that he wouldn’t come for the afternoon shift. jisung texts back immediately, telling minho to recover quickly and asking him if he needs anything. 

he gets left on read.

❅❅❅

the next day, when they’re supposed to go out together for lunch like every other wednesday, minho doesn’t show up. he doesn’t answer jisung’s texts, not even bothering to read them this time.

on thursday, their schedules don’t match. jisung always does morning shifts, coupled up with a few afternoons spread out during the week. thursday is not one of those days, and minho always meets up with his dance team on thursday mornings.

jisung considers sending one of his colleagues a message to ask if minho showed up to his afternoon shift or if he’s still sick, but he feels too pathetic.

in the evening, minho posts a new dance cover on his instagram. he’s definitely not sick. 

he’s definitely avoiding jisung.

❅❅❅

when friday morning rolls around, jisung fully expects to get a text from his manager telling him he will have to do the shift alone, or even to simply get left on his own and wait for minho to never show up. 

as a little treat for the fact that he’ll be alone the whole day, jisung stops by at the cafè inside the mall, grabbing a cup of some sort of caffeinated sugary concoction that the barista suggests. jisung just hopes he won’t get poisoned while he offers her a smile that’s just a bit forced. 

he makes his way up the stairs and towards the bookstore, sipping on his drink. well, maybe the barista had a point. whatever it is he’s drinking, he already knows he’s going to get a sugar high and start reorganising the shelves when he runs out of things to do. if he runs out of things to do. god, he really hopes it won’t be a busy day. 

but when he pushes his key into the socket and tries to turn it, it doesn’t budge. he tries the door, and it’s already unlocked. did the closing staff forget to lock up last night?

but as he makes his way over to the register, clutching a copy of the priory of the orange tree high over his head to use a weapon in case he stumbles upon a thief, he’s completely caught off guard when he catched the sight of minho sitting in his usual chair, hair falling onto his face and body slouched over. 

he lowers the tome and reaches out towards minho. but the older just says that he’s still a bit sick, that he shouldn’t worry. he stutters through an apology for having ghosted jisung over the last few days, but jisung barely hears him. 

because jisung, as much as he insists that it’s just because he’s a writer during lost time, is first thing first a people-watcher. and he’s watched his fair share of minho in the time they’ve worked together. they’ve seen each other almost every day for many months, and jisung has learned to read minho. he knows what sick minho is like. and sick minho doesn’t refuse to meet his gaze. sick minho doesn’t have shaky hands, and doesn’t come to work with a sweater full of cat hair.

this minho is someone jisung knows. this minho is struggling through something, this minho is hurting. and jisung doesn’t want him to hurt alone. he pushes aside the annoyance that was starting to grow towards his friend, deciding that he’s just going to try and figure out what’s wrong, or at least be here for minho instead of just bitching about some random christmas decorations. 

he’s still a bit mad about the shattered ornament, but he’s simply going to ignore that for now.

still, the morning passes by slowly. jisung is simply glad. that way, minho doesn’t even have to get up, jisung can manage the customers on his own while reorganising the shelves and leaving register duty to minho. at least, he does that until the older starts dozing off, head leaning against the counter. there’s only about twenty minutes left before the shop closes for lunch, and jisung knows he won’t have any problems closing up on his own. so, he simply lets minho rest, and nobody is there to judge him when he stares for a moment too long, heart growing with fondness.

it’s only when the register has been closed down and the lights turned off that he approaches minho, both of their coats in his arms. both minho and him have a free afternoon, and even if jisung had other plans, seeing minho all sleepy and disoriented would be enough to make him drop everything and help him get home.

well, maybe changbin is right, and he is getting a bit too soft.

still, he softly shakes minho’s shoulder to wake him up, giving him the time to stretch, and he reaches a hand out to give minho his coat as soon as he is upright. it’s a normal act by now, coming from months and months of working together, and minho doesn’t even have to think before he’s automatically moving to put it on. he sends a small smile to jisung, and he thinks they might be okay.

still, jisung wants to make sure that minho gets home alright. he walks the trek towards minho’s place with him, and his plan is to cook them both some quick lunch, but minho kindly refuses, telling him he’s way too tired and that he’s just going to sleep for a bit. so, as minho makes his way towards the bedroom, jisung moves into the kitchen. 

he’s been around so many times that this place almost feels like a second home, and he doesn’t even have to think for a second before he reaches out towards the shelf where the cat food is stored, taking some out to fill the bowls of the little pests. hearing the sound of their bowls being filled, three fluffy blurs immediately run into the kitchen, and only soonie stops to brush against his legs to thank him. ungrateful bitches. 

he opens the fridge to make sure minho has enough food to cook himself something before he steps out of the apartment, softly closing the door behind himself to make sure he won’t bother any sleeping men or cats.

it’s only as he’s out for a walk that his phone vibrates. he takes it out of his pocket to find a selfie from minho in front of the stove, a concerningly stuffed sandwich heating up inside a pan. his hair is all mussed up, and his cheeks are soft in a way that shows he’s just woken up from a long nap. 

jisung can’t help but smile and send a picture of himself taken from under his chin. only a peek of his eyes is visible, half of the frame taken up by his red beanie. the rest of the screen is covered with branches full of snow, a few stars shining between the gaps.

yeah , jisung thinks. we are okay again . 

❅❅❅

saturday rolls around slowly, and jisung gets out of the house a whole fifteen minutes earlier just to stop by a local bakery that’s a bit out of his way and buy croissants. sue him, he wants something warm to start the day with, and since he’s already here, he’ll just grab one for minho too.

when he reaches the bookshop, he’s a bit more alert than yesterday, and notices that the lights are on before he starts to dig around in his pockets looking for the keys. 

he makes his way inside, pushing the door open with his shoulder. he reaches the counter, and he stops dead in his tracks, a croissant in each hand. minho is mirroring him, staring at jisung with two coffees, looking like a deer caught in the headlights. 

they stare at each other for a few moments, before promptly bursting into laughter. 

jisung sets his things down before making his way towards minho, offering a croissant and receiving a coffee cup in exchange. their breakfast is a quick affair, but it’s a pleasant start to their day. they spent the whole morning chatting, and jisung is glad they’re back to normal. minho teases him, and jisung whines at him. nothing is changed, and jisung feels balanced.

during the afternoon, when there’s a comfortable lull in their conversation, minho speaks up quietly. 

“i’m sorry about the other day. i didn’t mean to brood for the whole shift. you just caught me off guard.”

jisung feels the subtle change in the air, knows that minho is trying to tell him something serious. and minho is not good at serious conversations, so jisung tries to make it all lighter. 

“ christmas caught you off guard? damn, and here i thought you enjoyed horror movies. getting scared by christmas, my scaredy-cat-hyung.”

he reaches his hands out to fluff minho’s hair and try to bunch his cheeks, and that manages to make minho laugh, eyes lighting up with that mischievous grin.

“stop that! no, but seriously. i’m sorry, i’m not exactly… a big christmas person.”

jisung has a feeling that this is probably deeper than simply not enjoying a holiday, but if minho doesn’t feel like elaborating right now, it’s fine. they will have all the time to talk about it, if he wants.

“that’s it. lee minho! i, as a professional christmas enjoyer, will make sure you have the best christmas ever this year, and even if you don’t change your mind about it, i’ll still make sure you have a damn good time.”

minho looks away, but his body stays close to jisung’s. when did he shift so close?

“sure, jisung-ah. make this christmas good for me, and i might just tell you that you were right.”

❅❅❅

when jisung comes to work on monday, he tries to pretend that he isn’t shaking down to his bones with excitement. he sees changbin stepping out of his car just as he’s about to approach the doors to the mall, and he tries to wave at him, completely forgetting the cups of coffee filled to the brim that he’s holding in his hands. the fact that he doesn’t end up with coffee all over himself is simply proof of the magic of christmas.

changbin, as usual, just rolls his eyes at him. they walk inside together, making small talk about the weekend—that changbin spent with his parents while jisung binged a new thriller book that just came out—and commenting on the few decorations that are slowly appearing in some corners of the mall. none of them nearly as good as jisung’s, of course. 

when jisung reaches the front door of the bookshop, he realises that his keys are still in the pocket of his jeans, and he is about to bend down and lay one of the cups on the floor, or even better, whine until changbin comes back and holds them for him, when the door opens i front of him.

“sung-ah! i just got in, perfect timing.”

minho is stunning. his face is bright, eyes sparkly as he grins, clad in a light pink sweater that hugs his form just right. it looks so comfortable, jisung is torn between wanting to steal it and just pulling the older into a hug so he can bury his whole face in it. 

he ushers jisung in, and his grin gets even brighter when he notices the coffee that jisung is holding out for him, thanking him like they don’t constantly bring each other food. they still have a few minutes before they need to open up, so they bask in the silence while they sip on their drinks. 

it’s minho’s turn to choose the music today, so as soon as he’s done he’s taking his phone out of his back pocket to connect it to the aux cord. a moment later, some chill indie tune is spreading through the whole shop, and jisung slurps up the last few drops before making a beeline for the front door and slipping the sign to open , throwing their empty cups in the recycling as he goes. 

the morning is busier than the last few months have been;the town is starting to fill up with tourists, and jisung can see many people coming in with luggages and trolleys on tow, signalling their recent arrival from the train station just across the street. jisung prepares himself for the holiday season that is just starting.

during the day, as he’s walking across the shop to find this book or that, he steals a few glances at minho. while he still makes a point to ignore all of jisung’s attempts at making the place fit for the holidays, he seems like he’s back to himself. he jokes around with the customers, and he’s still shy in front of ajummas that try to suggest that he would be an amazing date for their daughters. 

the few times they pass by each other, they can’t help making dumb faces to make the other laugh, or try to sneak up when the other isn’t looking. minho manages to land a slap on his ass, and jisung turns completely red from the shocked expression of the man that he’s helping out at the moment.

the day folds out smoothly, and by the time closing hour is dawning on them, they’re comfortably tired, a small smile on their faces as they gather their bags and head out. jisung holds the door open for minho, bowing like a real chapeur as minho rolls his eyes. 

“god, my feet hurt . i have no idea how you come to work in doc martens every day and manage to keep your feet still functional. i do it one day and i can barely walk.”

jisung laughs as he interlaces their elbows to pull minho along him on the sidewalk.

“and i have no idea how you manage to come to work in converse shoes every day. aren’t the soles of your feet completely flat by the end of the day?”

sure, he thinks that minho’s pair of red converse are the coolest he’s ever seen, but he doesn’t understand how they can be comfortable. 

by the time they get to jisung’s apartment, their bellies are starting to grumble, and minho doesn’t even bother putting his shoes on their place on the shoe rack before launching himself into the kitchen to put a pot of water on the stove. rolling his eyes, jisung does it for him, putting them on their own place on the rack. 

jisung had gone shopping the day before, and he’d bought ingredients for a quick dinner, knowing that a full day of work would leave them both too tired to put too much effort into cooking. 

hanging up minho’s work bag near the entrance, he shuffles beside minho, who is trying to decide how many spaghetti he should boil. he takes the onion and pancetta out of the fridge, starting to slice them up as minho drizzles some oil into a pan. they work in tandem, jisung browning the onion and letting the pancetta sizzle as minho rummages inside the cupboard to find some tomato sauce. when they sit down, they’re both hungry enough that the first minutes are filled with just slurping sounds and appreciative comments.

when they finally end up on jisung’s couch for their usual movie, jisung throws his legs into minho’s lap and refuses to get up when they realise the remote is on the coffee table. it takes some bribing, but minho convinces him to let him go with the promise of popcorn and the choice of the movie. 

jisung, as always, takes a century to browse through all the titles, and when minho gets back with a gigantic bowl of steaming hot popcorn, he still has no idea about what he wants to watch. minho plops down next to him and throws his own legs onto his lap, and jisung doesn’t even register his hand rising to find its natural place on minho’s knee, slowly rubbing circles into it while he focuses on all the titles in front of him.

“do you want to simply go for some ghibli?”

jisung hums, barely acknowledging minho’s proposal. he knows that minho must still be stressed, and he wants to choose something that he will enjoy, that will let him wind down after these last few hectic days. he’s still stuck whirring his brain for something nice to watch when he feels minho’s knee tense under his hand. he glances at the screen, confused, before realising what minho must have noticed. inside the mind of a cat . a kitty is staring at him from the screen, and jisung thinks that nothing could be more perfect.

“look, hyung. inside your mind. maybe i can finally understand what’s going on up there.”

minho grumbles something that sounds extremely close to as if you don’t already , the tips of his ears red as he looks away. but jisung doesn’t think it’s the time to tease him any further, not today, so he simply clicks onto the title, letting the kitties fill up the screen. 

honestly, the documentary isn’t even that good. there aren’t really many facts about the animals or any science behind their behaviour, but the kitties constantly shown on screen totally make up for it. they’re so cute, and he can’t help but coo every time a new one gets introduced to the screen. minho isn’t faring much better, and jisung is cross between watching the cats play and staring at minho while he watches. his eyes sparkle in the dim light of the room, and his lips are perpetually caught in a little, shy smile. his wonder is child-like, no matter the fact that he has three cats of his own.

he’s still staring at minho when he lifts a hand to grab a few more popcorns, but his lack of care means he misjudges the distances and his hand ends up planting into minho’s own, right next to the bowl, his actual target. but minho doesn’t even seem to realise his mistake, tightening his hold on jisung’s hand when he tries to pull away embarrassedly, interlocking their fingers together.

so it’s like that, minho’s legs splayed across jisung’s lap, their hands intertwined, that they find each other two hours later. it’s almost midnight, and they both need to get up early tomorrow

still, jisung can’t help the fond smile that stays on his lips while he falls asleep.

❅❅❅

it’s a few days later when jisung, closing down the shop for lunch, suggests that they go somewhere to get something to eat. minho doesn’t seem to think much of it, and simply shrugs, tagging along with him towards the metro station. as always, jisung has forgotten his gloves at home, and he’s about to stick his hands in his coat’s pockets when minho’s own hand brushes against his own. jisung moves to interlace their fingers with a smile on his face. 

when they’re climbing down the stairs towards the trains, jisung starts to hear some distant music, and he immediately lights up when he recognises the notes of rocking around the christmas tree , speeding up his pace and dragging minho behind him. 

when they reach the ticket machines, he can’t help but be drawn towards the little crowd that’s already gathering there. sure, street musicians aren’t rare, but the saxophone player is very skilled, and a few people are dancing around already. jisung thinks that the christmas spirit is getting to people, and he can’t help but be pulled in as well. 

he uses the hold he has on minho’s hand to spin him around, grabbing his other hand in what he hopes is a smooth way. minho is a good dancer, knows how to move his body in just the right ways, and jisung is shameless enough to pull him into a jamming session in the subway without getting embarrassed, only looking for a good time. 

“what are you doing?”

minho’s voice is barely above a whisper, but jisung isn’t looking at anything other than him, so he has no problem catching what he says. still, the small smile on minho’s lips is unmistakable, and he makes no move to pull away.

“don’t worry about others. they’ll all be looking at me stomping on your feet, you don’t have to worry about being gracious.”

not like minho needs to even try to be. his feet move effortlessly, and he’s softly swaying his hips to the sound of the music. jisung really can’t help but bask in him, spinning him around a few times.

sooner than he’d like, the song finishes, and their hands separate to clap for the sax player. the crowd starts to disperse, and the two of them hurry along as well after jisung reaches over to throw a few bucks into the musician’s case. their good mood remains for the whole trip, and jisung catches minho’s shoulders swaying along to a soft beat only he can hear in a moment when their conversation lulls to a comfortable stop.  

lunch is a quiet affair; jisung has some canederli left in his freezer from the last time he cooked them in bulk, so by the time it takes to boil them the table is set, minho has already borrowed a pair of sweatpants from jisung’s drawer. 

he gets minho to set up the moka while he turns on the tv, and when minho sets down two cups of coffee on the little table in front of the sofa, the movie is already up and ready to play. jisung reaches over for the blanket that’s lying on the back of the couch to drape it over their legs, trying to ignore how heavy minho’s gaze feels on him.

“jisungie?” 

his voice is saccharine, laced with a fake sweetness that has jisung grimacing while he turns to face the older.

“why are we watching how the grinch stole christmas when we have thousands of movies to choose from?”

jisung splutters, trying to look for an excuse. sure, he has watched the movie hundreds of times with his family during the holidays, but it doesn’t mean he shouldn’t watch it yet another time. and besides, it’s a christmas landmark, they really have to watch it.

“listen! listen,” well. he doesn’t really have a point to make. “are- are you really going to deny me? i thought we had something going after our sweet dance off at the subway!”

minho rolls his eyes. if jisung didn’t know any better, he would almost mistake his smile as something fond. but he’s too focused on starting the movie before minho riots against it, and besides, he’s a bit too used to receiving those kind of glances from minho, so he doesn’t really put much thought behind it.

so, the movie starts, and minho, as usual, slings his legs onto jisung’s lap. and really, the grinch is an absolute banger, and by the time the movie is finished, even minho is smiling a bit, almost melting into the spot he’s claimed leaning against jisung’s side. he looks like he’s almost falling asleep, comfortable under the warm blanket that’s covering them both. jisung feels bad making him move, and indulges them both for a bit, softly pushing his nose into minho’s hair.

“will you let me sleep here if i pay you well?” 

well, apparently minho hasn’t fallen asleep completely, but he’s not too far off, if his tone is anything to go by.

“nope, c’mon. we’re going to bake now. i even bought you cinnamon.”

minho snorts, but he slowly disentangles himself from jisung’s body. “cinnamon in han jisung's house? is this a christmas miracle?”

jisung gasps affronted as minho uses his legs as leverage to get up. “it’s not my fault you always finish up all the jars i buy with your frappu-latte-cappuccino-whatever shit you always insists on doing when it rains! i don’t even like cinnamon that much!”

“and that’s your own sin, jisungie.” 

jisung is left alone in the living room, eyes rolling as he hurries to follow after minho. he pulls down the notebook where he writes down all his recipes, blatantly ignoring minho’s teasing smirk, finally finding the page he was looking for. huh, maybe he should organise this thing. he sticks the yellow bookmark into the right spot, and throws a knife on top of the notebook to prevent it from closing, just for good measure.

“ jisung . we’re not baking gingerbread houses.”

“yes, we’re not! we’re making cinnamon houses, i don’t like gingerbread. hey, put that spoon down, i know you like cinnamon more than anything, you freak, so stop threatening me!”

  it takes a moment, when it looks like minho is debating whether he’s up for bickering with jisung, but he must decide it’s not worth it, and a second later he’s leaning on the counter with his arms crossed over his chest and a warning that i know what you’re trying to do, han . 

still, he doesn’t put up much of a fight, and a few minutes later they’re back to being a single, coordinated unit like they always act while they’re in the kitchen. minho measures out the brown sugar and jisung undoes the bow at the back that holds up minho’s god-awful bright pink apron, jisung heats up the butter and minho tickles his sides until they’re interrupted by the smell of the butter almost burning. 

jisung tries to ignore how nice minho’s arms look while he’s kneading the dough, and minho teases him for how uneven he’s rolling it out on the kitchen counter. together, they put their best efforts into cutting the right shapes, ignoring the fact that they accidentally cut five walls instead of four and deciding to turn the extra one into a fence. 

minho, like the perfectionist he is, sets to work carving out tiny holes for the windows, and jisung decides to start whipping up the sugar cream. he’s still at it when minho deems his work enough, sticking the pan in the oven and setting a timer. 

and minho, like the perfect house husband he is, immediately sets to work to clean the kitchen up. honestly, they haven’t made much of a mess and he only needs to clean up the bowls they used, and when jisung decides that the sugar cream is solid enough, he can’t help himself. he places the bowl down on the counter, careful not to accidentally splatter cream everywhere, and waddles up to the sink where minho looks so inviting. he softly wraps his arms around minho’s middle, slotting his chin on minho’s shoulder. 

“your apron is really ugly, did you know that?” he says, just to be a little shit. 

“you got flour all over your nice jumper, did you know that?” minho replies, just to be a little shit. 

jisung rolls his eyes, but doesn’t move away from the spot he’s claimed. he’s comfortable, and minho is warm, alright? he closes his eyes, and he starts to pout when he hears the water being turned off, but minho simply pulls him away enough to turn around, enveloping jisung in a warm hug mere seconds later. hmp. 

honestly, jisung gets a bit distracted. when the times rings, he’s almost forgotten where he was, and he jumps in minho’s hold. the fucker simply laughs at him, moving away to pull the trays out of the over.

from then on, the kitchen truly becomes a mess. by the time they actually manage to have a house that stands up on its own, after tens of times the walls have collapsed on each other, there are splatters everywhere, jisung’s sweater is more white than its original burgundy colour, and he’s threatened minho at least three times of licking the frosting from where he’s managed to smear it on the tip of his nose. jisung thinks that he hasn’t wiped it off simply because he wants to see if jisung is daring enough to actually lick it off. oh, he’s in for a surprise. 

so, as minho finishes piping the last ones of the tiles on the roof because, as previously stated, he’s a perfectionist maniac, jisung leans back to watch their good work. minho pulls away as well, and they have just enough time to admire the result of their hard work.

before the house collapses again.

there’s a moment of silence, and then they’re bursting out in hysterical laughter. jisung is clinging to the hot-pink apron, minho is almost folded in half, and the house stares at them pathetically from where it crumbled on the counter. 

well, cinnamon and sugar frosting always taste good no matter the shape, right?

❅❅❅

sunday mornings are always a blessing to jisung. he gets up early and has all the time in the world to tend to his house, to go out for groceries, to facetime his mom whenever she actually hears her phone while she’s watching tv with the volume way too high. 

still, when he knocks on minho’s door at 11:17, a whole seventeen minutes later than they had agreed to meet up at jisung’s place, he has to let himself in with his spare key, because minho, like the absolute disaster he is, is still in bed, splayed out in a bretzel-like position—really, doesn’t he wake up with cramps?—with his mouth open.

jisung takes one look at him before he’s jumping on top of the bed, screaming in his ear.

“good morning, sleeping beauty!” 

a second later, he’s on his ass on minho’s floor. considering the strength he used to push him off, jisung almost suspects that the older was already awake, but a mere glance upwards is enough to confirm that minho was actually still asleep. his hair is a whirlwind, and he reaches a hand up to rub his eyes. 

jisung simply laughs at him, getting out of his room to allow minho some privacy to dress up. 

“remember to wear something warm!”

he steps into the living room, adamant to hunt down the cats and get some cuddles. not like it’s hard to find them, once he notices their food bowls are empty. as soon as they hear the sound of a can being opened, the three little gremlins are rushing into the kitchen, and they seem to tolerate him enough today to let him stroke their backs as they eat. doongie must still be sleepy, because when he’s finished eating he plops down in jisung’s lap, curling up to try and steal as much body warmth as he can. dori wanders out of the room a second later, but soonie is loyal enough to stick around, allowing jisung to pet him while he plays with a threat that’s sticking out of his sweater. let’s be honest, it was probably soonie who pulled the thread out in the first place. 

and that’s the way minho finds him a few minutes later, with jisung surrounded by cats while sitting on the kitchen floor. minho’s hair is tamed and his face is freshly washed and free of makeup. jisung thinks he might pass out.

the older offers him a hand to get up, and a moment later they’re heading towards the door, letting dori wander outside when the little gremlin tries to smuggle into jisung’s tote bag. jisung leaves the door open for a few more seconds to see if the others want to go out too, but they look too comfortable in the warm spot that jisung just left on the kitchen counter. 

so, jisung shrugs, locking the door behind himself and putting his hand on the elbow that minho’s offering him. they pass in front of jisung’s apartment on their way to the subway station, and jisung is relieved when he glances up and notices he remembered to close his window before going out.

the train is full when they get on, but minho manages to find them an empty seat, and jisung doesn’t hesitate for a second before plopping into minho’s lap. 

it simply takes them a few stops to reach their destination, and when he has to get up jisung already misses the warmth of minho’s hand on his waist. thankfully, their destination is just out from the metro station, and he doesn’t need to pull a grumbly minho along with him for long.

“sung-ah. you said you were taking me out for lunch .”

jisung wouldn’t be able to tamper down his grin even if he tried, but with a glance at minho himself, he sees that under the exasperation in the older’s eyes, there’s a hidden layer of mirth, of hidden fun. maybe he can convince minho to still enjoy today.

“and i am! look, there are stalls over there with food for later. but you just woke up, and we have to consume some of the energy we stored yesterday before we stuff ourselves again.”

the evening before, jisung had gone over to minho’s place uninvited, only to find minho inside his kitchen surrounded by a thousand side dishes, phone in hand ready to call jisung over. it’s useless to say that they had eaten until they had to basically roll towards the couch, and when jisung had left, he was drowsy from all the food he’d consumed. 

he knows that going to get food right now would be a nightmare too, with the rush from all the working people on lunch break, so waiting is truly the best idea. for now, since minho hasn’t grumbled—too much, at least—jisung takes his hand and drags him towards…

“fuck this, i’m out. this is where our friendship ends. bye, you are not taking me to the skating rink.”

“but hyuuung, it’s fun! come on.”

jisung employs his best puppy eyes, but he’s sure that minho would have agreed nonetheless.

“sure. sure, whatever. you’re paying my hospital bill when i fracture my tailbone, though.”

jisung snorts. “as if. you’re all graceful and light, my perfect little dancer. you’ll do flawless axels while i’ll be the one to fall on my butt.”

still, a few minutes later, they each have a pair of blades on their feet and they’re stepping into the rink. it’s still morning, so it’s not full of kids and middle schoolers like the afternoon would be, which means they’re able to take up some space on the almost-empty ice.

after a few careful steps, jisung finds that he still has the balance he’d worked so hard for during highschool, and after a few laps he’s already gearing up for his full speed. he watches minho’s amazed grin as he runs around the rink, sharply turning at the last second to avoid the others on the ice. he must admit that he’s showing off a bit when he stops just a few centimetres away from minho, drenching him in ice shards, but he couldn’t resist it.

“fucking hell, i knew you played hockey back in school, but i hoped you would have forgotten something by now.”

jisung grins, spinning around minho once just to prove his point. now that he notices, though, minho hasn’t moved much since they’ve stepped onto the ice. he starts a new lap, but minho doesn’t follow after him.

“are you coming, hyung-ah?”

minho mutters something awfully close to i’m working on it , and jisung grins. he does a full loop, keeping his eyes on minho, and he’s only proved right when he sees the older slip and almost fall on his ass. he sweeps in to wrap an arm around his waist. keeping them both upright and continuing to skate forward. 

“maybe i was wrong. maybe not all dancers can be pretty on ice.”

he lets go of minho so he can catch the disgruntled expression on his face. still, he offers his hands and starts to slowly drag minho along with him. 

like this, minho is quick to gather confidence, and soon he’s skating on his own, movements just as graceful as jisung had expected of him. when it looks like minho isn’t going to fall on his ass again anytime soon, jisung steps sideways, twirling and catching minho’s hand in his own. he blames the blush spreading over minho’s cheeks on the cold of the ice.

after a bit, they’re getting a bit tired, and jisung informs minho that the best part of the skating rink is the hot chocolate that one of the stalls offers. he knows from previous years that the rink has a deal with the bar that has a booth tight next to them, and they hurry to get to the counter where they got their skates to order two giant cups of hot chocolate. jisung gets whipped cream on top of his, while minho orders one with cinnamon—as expected.

a few minutes later, a waiter comes in with their drinks, and minho has to physically restrain jisung from going into the rink with his full cup. he ends up stealing some whipped cream, and jisung laughs his ass off when some ends up on the tip of minho’s nose. 

they end up skating some more, minho using his newly acquired confidence to do a few twirls. he looks so pretty on the ice, hair fanned out around his flushed cheeks as he spins around, and jisung can’t resist pulling him in and making him twirl a few times, as if they were on a dancefloor or in jisung’s kitchen late at night. 

still, soon their feet start complaining from the cold and the stiffness of the skates, and they get out. jisung’s plan seems to have worked out perfectly, since the stalls are almost empty now. jisung tells minho that he can choose what to eat, and they soon end up sitting on a table with a huge plate full of roasted potatoes and beef, two glasses of red wine on the side. 

after all that running around—or better, skating around—they’re both hungry, and they don’t wait a second before digging in. the food tastes just as good as jisung had imagined, and he can’t hold back a groan of satisfaction. soon, their plates are clear, and although jisung would still have some place for dessert, he decided that if minho is full and drowsy he’s more likely to start grumbling, so he pulls him up for a trip around the stalls.

and—damn. 

jisung knows that he loves christmas, enjoys anything christmas-themed, but christmas markets will never fail to bring him a certain giddiness that not many things are capable of making him feel. all the lights, the smiling people, the music, the loving atmosphere–it’s all so perfect. 

he gets lost for a few minutes just looking around, taking it all in, but when he notices he’s stopped just after the entrance, it doesn’t look like minho has nothing to complain about. he’s just looking at jisung, a small smile on his face.

so, jisung pulls him along, slowly looking at each and every stall, often making small talk with the vendors. they both make weird comments on the objects displayed, jisung stops to smell all the candles and salt baths, minho examines all the scarves he sees on display to see if any is worthy of being added to his personal collection. when they reach the end, jisung has a pastry filled with dark chocolate in his hands and minho is clutching a sweet bretzel in his own. 

they make their way to the subway with linked arms and warm smiles on their faces. 

❅❅❅

when christmas morning rolls around, jisung is running around the house, trying to gather all the presents that are spread around his apartment, hoping he hasn’t gotten any of the labels messed up. surely his sister wouldn’t appreciate unwrapping a drill.

still, he thinks he still has some time to get everything ready, but then the doorbell rings, shattering all his hopes. when he opens up, a present in his hand and a comb in the other, minho is wringing his hands in front of himself, biting his lip nervously. he’s clad in a white dress shirt, a red cardigan on top of it; for once, his hair is parted, and… is that lip gloss?

he doesn’t even have the time to stare properly, damn it. instantly, he’s pulling minho inside the house, launching himself back into his spot on the carpet to finish up wrapping the last of his gifts. in his defence, he had thought he’d wrapped them all up in time—for once—but then while he was gathering up all presents he noticed one of his aunt’s presents missing and had torn yet again his house upside down to search for it. now, he only had to finish wrapping the scarf up, and he was good to go.

they made quick business of it, coordinating with the glittery tape and holding down the neatly folded edges. soon, all gifts were wrapped up and placed by the door, and he could get a moment to breathe. glancing at the clock, he noticed that it was actually pretty early, meaning minho must have showed up before their agreed meeting time. was he really that nervous?

honestly, it had taken a lot of convincing from jisung’s part. as the final part for his grand christmas scheme, jisung knew he had to make minho experience a good christmas, surrounded by happy people and in a good atmosphere. from what he’d gathered, minho doesn’t have the nicest relationship with his family, so when he heard that he wasn’t going home for christmas, jisung jumped at the opportunity to invite him to his own family gathering.

at first, minho’s deadpan response had been a hard no. why would he ever come to a family gathering with jisung's family, who he didn’t know, and most importantly, to jisung’s italian family home, when he didn’t even know a word of italian. 

jisung had reassured him that their family has been living here for decades and that he won’t need to know italian, that his brother and sister both have significant others over, that his small cousins will be more than happy to have a new pretty boy to doll up with the hairdresser kits and nail salons they will inevitably get as presents. still, minho wasn’t convinced, and it was the promise of his mother’s homemade lasagne that broke the deal.

so now, a few hours away from lunch, jisung still can’t believe he managed to convince minho into this crazy scheme. and honestly, he knows his family will absolutely adore minho. he’s just enough nerdy to appeal to his more cultured side of the family, especially the korean one, and he’s perfectly witty and charming for his mother’s italian side. and jisung is sure he’ll make the perfect impression with the way he’s dressed.

“you look good, hyung-ah. you look really good.”

jisung himself is simply wearing a pair of his nicer jeans and a random white sweater; he’s sure he’s going to get warm soon, especially with all the wine they’ll be serving him—he’s never been the best with alcohol. still, he thinks minho complements him nicely, adding a pop of colour to his duller outfit. he reaches towards the coat rack to snatch up a red scarf, wrapping it around his own neck before pulling his jacket on.

“there. now we match.”

minho, still blushing a bit, helps him get all the presents to his car— seriously, sungie, do you have a family that’s so big you need all these presents? to be honest, he doesn’t, he simply enjoys making presents for other a lot more than he likes receiving them. it’s the highlight of his day, seeing all their faces light up in the most gorgeous and unfiltered smiles. 

so, connecting his phone to his speakers to blast out his better christmas hits, jisung pulls out of his parking spot and drives towards the highway.

despite having grilled him for the past four days at work, minho still asks more about his family— i need to be prepared! —but eventually runs out of questions and the car ride turns into a christmas karaoke. 

with his family living kind of far away, jisung can’t really visit them every time he wants, but he still feels lucky to be able to spend the holidays with them after just a few hours’ drive. and with minho here with him, the drive is even nicer than usual. in no time, they’re getting out of the highway and driving towards the village, a road that jisung has imprinted into his brain like second nature. minho had offered to drive, but jisung thought it was more trouble to direct him around that driving himself would be. maybe on the way back, he’ll allow himself some time to stare at minho, illuminated by the passing streetlights, but for now he focuses on getting to the house in time.

when he parks in the driveway, house already surrounded by a few cars, jisung is quick to get out of the car and run towards his family, but a pull on his sweater stops him with a hand already on the door handle.

“wait, do- is my hair alright? does my outfit work? fuck, i’m making a fool of myself with this red thing, aren’t i?”

but jisung is quick to stop minho as he goes to unbutton his cardigan in a quick moment of panic. he puts his hands on minho’s shoulders, making sure to look him in the eye. “you look amazing. stop worrying, they’re going to love you.”

so, as minho takes a moment to breathe, jisung rounds the car to open the door for him. and together, with their hands held between them, they make their way towards the front door.

jisung barely has the time to ring the doorbell to announce their presence before the door is opening, hitting him with a scent of fresh ragù and bright laughter. 

“oh, tesoro!” he doesn’t even have the time to open his arms before his mother is pulling him into a hug. “and you must be minho! come on in, i’m letting all the cold out.”

jisung glances to his left to see how minho is doing, enlighted to see the deep blush spreading on his cheeks. as soon as they enter the living room, all of the family calls out for them, voices overlapping as “merry christmas!” and “hey jisung!” resonate in the whole house. he’s immediately pulled into a series of hugs, and he makes sure to wish everyone a merry christmas. 

but then he notices that minho isn’t by his side anymore, and it takes him a bit to locate the older boy still standing by the door, hands awkwardly clasped in front of him. and really, his family is loud, so he has no doubt that minho is probably a bit overwhelmed by it all. he’s about to step in and come to his rescue when his aunt blocks his path. for a second, he’s scared that she’ll start pestering him with unwanted question, but then minho starts laughing. his face blooms, a genuine smile lighting up his eyes, and jisung can’t help the warmth that spreads through him. 

“guys, this is minho.”

again, there’s a chorus of greetings, and jisung grabs minho’s hand to introduce him personally to everyone. he barely has time to catch up with a few people before they’re ushered to the table, huge plates filled with huge pieces of lasagne already in front of every chair. 

jisung ends up on a corner, his dad on the short side next to him and minho on his right. next to the older he sees his two little cousins sitting down, kicking away their dad from the spot next to minho. he’s sure his pretty face has already caught everyone’s attention, and the girls aren’t shy to approach. 

they immediately start asking him questions about god knows what,so jisung spends some time catching up with his father. sure, they talk on the phone from time to time, but being able to see each other's expressions and clear voice is something he truly appreciates. 

soon, the dishes are all empty, and when jisung’s mum gets up to gather all their empty dishes, minho gets up alongside, wanting to help. if jisung’s heart wasn’t already doing somersaults in his chest, then this surely would have been the moment he broke. 

“oh, dear, there’s no need. sit down, sit down, i’ll get you seconds before anyone else. è così educato, jisung, dovresti imparare qualcosa.” and if minho looks around confused when all his family laughs, that’s just a little joke he doesn’t need to know about.

dinner passes by faster than he would have imagined, with jisung getting lost in endless conversations and bursts of questions about he and minho. but as soon as the tiramisù is done—and after jisung and his dad have gotten seconds—the kids immediately rush to the tree, eager to unwrap all their presents. the adults make their way over as well, and the ceremony begins. 

laughter and paper ripping are the soundtrack as jisung looks around, proud of the way everyone’s faces light up when unwrapping the gifts he made. his aunt gives his mother an expensive perfume, and jisung already sees her almost dropping it accidentally in the corner of his eye. the two girls, as expected, get a nail painting set and a huge box filled with hair clippers, bows, colourful barrettes and god knows whatever. his other cousin, who’s older, gets a huge set of lego, and he immediately claims his spot on the table to start building something. 

but then, when jisung’s box should have been empty, he notices a lonely gift sitting inside. he peers at it, wrapping paper not familiar, before he hears minho’s voice close to his ear.

“aren’t you going to open it?” 

and damn, that bastard got him a gift? sure, jisung has bought three matching hats for the cats, but he really didn’t think that minho would get him anything.

carefully, he unwraps the gift, finding a wooden box. intrigued, he opens up the latch, and underneath he finds a scarf. it’s colourful, with a pretty pattern, and the texture feels amazing. he has to rub his face against it, because it’s just so soft . 

underneath, on the bottom of the box, he finds a pamphlet that tells him that the money from the gift was used to plant trees in equatorial africa, and that it’s made of cachemire. fuck, just how much had minho spent for this? when he glances up, minho is already looking at him with a fond smile, and he can't help enveloping the older into a hug. that’s it, he’s never wearing another scarf again.

his uncle is still unwrapping one of his gifts, but his cousins apparently think they’ve already waited enough, and start pulling minho towards the table, ready to give him a makeover. jisung tries to find his phone, sure that this will be great blackmail material.

he takes his time soaking in the atmosphere, and only after a while, his mum is sitting next to him on the sofa, right in the place that minho left open. she easily slips into italian, and jisung is just grateful for the way his mother language envelops him like a warm hug.

“he’s your boyfriend, isn’t he?”

jisung takes a moment to watch minho, hair already in a ponytail on top of his head and nails sprinkled with glitter. maybe, the realisation shouldn't have waited so much to come to him. a simple question from his mother shouldn’t have hit him like a strike of lightning. but as he looks around, surrounded by his family, he knows that he already considers minho part of it as well.

“i mean… we’ve never made it official, not really. but there is something between us.”

his mum is quiet for a while, and jisung almost thinks that the conversation is over. “make sure to bring him over next year too. he makes you smile as if christmas came early, and you deserve someone who makes you feel that way.”

well, if he expected to get out of this without tearing up, he failed.

but the moment is interrupted by his little cousin, screaming his name at the top of her lungs and earning herself a collective scolding from the entire family. so, jisung gets up, and as soon as his eyes land on minho he’s bent double with laughter.

the older’s hair is so full of clippers that the brown of it is barely seeable, and his fingers are covered in what looks like twenty different colours. his left hand is actually pretty well painted, but his right one… let’s just say that his littlest cousin was clearly very excited. 

it takes him a while to stop laughing, and another while to find his phone to take a billion pictures. he makes minho pose, asks his cousins to get close to him so they can be in some pictures as well. soon, the whole family is laughing, and minho looks absolutely delighted. he’s so beautiful like this, crazy hair and christmas lights reflected in his eyes. 

after a while, the kids get bored of hanging out in the kitchen and get sent into one of the bedrooms so they can be as loud as they want while they play, and the adults are more than ready to take out the board games. everyone teams up in pair, and while a game of il gioco dell’oca leaves jisung and minho embarrassingly in the last place, they regain some bragging rights when they end up winning at non t’arrabbiare thanks to minho’s streak of sixes.

much too soon, though, the sun starts to set, and jisung knows that they need to get going. still, he indulges himself in a last game of uno , where minho throws down three “pick up four” cards to him. thanks, asshole.

but after a bit, jisung knows that he needs to go, if he wants to make it home before it becomes the middle of the night. begrudgingly, he leaves his spot at the dinner table, dragging his feet through his house as he goes to say goodbye to everyone. 

his two aunts grab him by the ears and threaten to put him on the family’s black list if he doesn’t start visiting their houses more frequently, and his dad hugs him for a long time, thanking him for coming. he then shakes minho’s hand as well, a firm grip and a relaxed smile. minho goes for a handshake with his mother as well, but she throws herself at him, squeezing him in a tight hug and telling him he’s welcome to come visit every time he wants. her motherly instinct is strong, and she somehow understood minho’s relationship with his own mother isn’t the best. when minho pulls away, his eyes are slightly shining, and she takes a moment to run her thumb under his eye.

when he opens the door to the closet where all their coats have been stored for the day, he needs to take a moment to breathe, and doesn’t protest when minho steps in front of him and grabs jisung’s jacket, holding it out for jisung to slip his arms into. then minho puts on his own coat, and they’re ready to go.

jisung takes a few more moments to breathe in the atmosphere of christmas, of his family all gathered together, minho’s hand on the small of his back a comforting weight to keep him anchored. he waves at his mum one last time, and then steps into the hallway.

only to stop dead in his tracks when he sees mistletoe hung up over the front door. 

he turns back, already expecting all of his family staring at them both from the hallway. well, thanks guys.

but minho is already looking at him when he turns back, and he doesn’t waste time before gently cupping his face in the palm of his hand. he waits for minho to close the space between them, and sighs when he feels a soft press of lips against his. minuo tastes of limoncello and tiramisù and home , and jisung indulges himself for a few moments, keeping their lips connected while his family woops behind them. 

then, minho pulls away, a smitten smile on his face, and jisung pushes him out of the door.

and during the ride back, one of minho’s hands on the steering wheel and the other a warm weight on jisung’s thigh, he can’t help but feel like this was one of the best days he’s ever had.

and if minho confesses that maybe christmas isn’t so bad, then he really couldn’t be happier.