#ex'mas

‘You sleep in,’ he ordered softly. He yawned and propped himself up on an elbow to look down at you. ‘When I get back from practice, you’d better still be here.’

You nodded sleepily into the pillow.

Jongin, not one for subtlety, climbed over you to get out of bed, making sure to stay between you and the sheets. He effectively ensured that you felt all of him before leaving. He kissed your cheek before getting to his feet.

You watched his shape move in the darkness, sliding on clothes and stepping quietly out the door.

‘Go back to sleep, ok?’ Jongin whispered before closing the door behind him.

You rolled over into the warm spot he left in the sheets, tucking all the blankets around you and inhaling his scent of warm spice. Your eyes fluttered back closed, and sleep took you, as instructed.

You didn’t know what time it was when you woke up. Your heart filled with warmth as you looked through the window saw the first few gentle flakes of snow float gently down from the sky.

Suddenly the whole bulk of Jongin was on top of you, his face buried in your neck.

‘Mmm, I missed you,’ he said with a sigh. ‘Did you have a good sleep?’

You nodded and yawned, trying to sit up, but all your progress was impeded by the immovable boyfriend-object. It wasn’t until you turned your head that you saw it.

‘Nini, what are you wearing?’

Jongin giggled brightly. He sat up, still sitting on you, and pulled at the hem of a familiar sweater.

‘I picked it up off the floor when I woke up, but I think it’s yours,’ he said.

The red knit wool stretched dangerously thin across the width of his chest. The bottom end only came to the top ridge of his belly button, giving it the ultra-fashionable croptop look.

‘That looks very good on you,’ you said, but you could no longer maintain your straight face. You snorted through your haze, laughing as you poked his belly button.

Ticklish Jongin squirmed and fell to the side, burrowing under the covers headfirst with a high-pitched whine.

Your merriment faded to a chuckle until you felt his hands on your calf.

Suddenly Jongin dragged you underneath the covers with him.

You gasped and squealed, your lungs begging for air as you laughed and squirmed. You tried your best to get away, but Jongin was determined and soon his chest became the magnet you were inevitably drawn to, his heart your center of gravity.

His arms and legs entrapped you tightly, his lips pressing a warm kiss on your forehead.

You briefly thought before you typed out your answer.

‘You’re blind! No one is cuter than Jongin in a Santa hat!’ You proceeded to put together a long string of pictures showcasing Jongin being cute in festive headwear. You smiled as you sent them. That would show her.

Before you could do anything else to make your case, a long arm swung around your back, pinning you in place. You held your phone helplessly, unable to move anything but your legs and your thumbs.

‘Sehun, roll back over!’ you hissed in the quiet of the night.

‘No,’ he said groggily. He clumsily scooted up behind you, swinging his leg over your hips and propping his chin on your upper arm. He looked down at you and your brightly lit phone scornfully. ‘Why are you still awake?’ Sehun asked. You could hear the grumpy tones highlight his voice.

‘People are wrong and I have to tell them,’ you said matter-of-factly. ‘You wouldn’t understand.’

Sehun paused for a moment, trying to work through your reply. His hair flopped down into his eyes, giving him a fluffy, confused appearance.

‘You’re right,’ he said suddenly. Without warning, Sehun snatched the device from your hands and threw it across the room into the half-full laundry basket.

Next, Sehun did roll over like you had originally asked him, but in the other direction. He climbed over you and used his weight to push you down onto your back. He curled around you, using himself effectively to immobilize the left side of your body. He tucked his face into the crook of your neck, his head on your shoulder, and sighed sweetly.

‘I’m the cutest in a Santa hat,’ he said firmly. ‘I love you, good night.’

Every day with Sehun was a different surprise, and by now you had learned that going with the flow was your best option for handling it.

You shimmied into the oversized sweater that was two sizes too big even for Sehun. You smiled when you realized that it hadn’t been washed, inhaling the warm spice of his scent. You settled back against his pillows and pulled the laptop toward you.

You chuckled as you entered the password ‘suhostilldoesntknowthepassword.’ The one thing that didn’t change was his subtle, sweet sass. God, you loved it.

Sehun’s wallpaper was the picture you had taken a year ago while you were on vacation in Japan – you and Sehun, faces cracked with joy, holding Vivi in between you. The memories made you smile again, even as you clicked through to watch your favourite series.

You were two episodes into the new season when Sehun came back to his room.

‘Good girl,’ he said, sitting beside you and kissing your forehead.

You sighed instead of swatting him.

‘Sehun, you’ve got – hold still,’ you said. You wiped a trail of white powder off his nose.

Sehun crinkled his face like a child, but his arms still wrapped around you and drew you to his chest like…not a child. He settled down around you, yawning dramatically before letting his head slough against your shoulder. He grabbed your wrist and placed your hand on his hair poignantly.

You smiled and gave in, scratching his head and playing in his hair comfortingly.

It didn’t take long for Sehun to fall asleep curled around you. His breath came in steady, consistent waves that you found reassuring. You paused the show to listen to it, to feel his chest rise against you.

Until you smelled it.

You nudged him awake, much to his dismay.

Sehun whined and frowned at you, yawning even more dramatically.

‘I’m so tired!’ he said. ‘Why are you waking me up?’

‘I think something’s burning,’ you said. You sniffed loudly to prove a point.

Sehun froze and sniffed the air too.

‘Oh shit!’ he yelled and stormed out of the room. ‘Jongin! Hurry up!’

You had to follow now. After all, you hadn’t been ordered to sit and stay like before. You needed to know what they were up to, especially if Jongin was in on it.

You quietly traipsed down the stairs, tiptoeing as you reached the bottom steps.

There was a loud commotion coming from the kitchen and you peeked around the corner to see what the fuss was.

A gentle plume of smoke rose from the oven, the scent of burning butter and sugar filling the house.

Jongin and Sehun tore around the kitchen to try to find things to put the baking sheets on without causing an actual fire.

You couldn’t help your laughter as you saw the trays’ contents – carbon black lumps that had melted and fused to the metal.

‘Are those – cookies?’ You struggled to contain your amusement. ‘Where’s everyone else? You know you’re not supposed to use the oven without Kyungsoo here.’

Jongin sighed as they finally cleared the danger, and the oven had been turned off. He looked at you with a sad pout.

‘We were trying to surprise you by making you gingerbread cookies,’ he confessed. ‘We know they’re your favourites.’

‘But then you came over early, and we weren’t ready,’ Sehun said. ‘And then I fell asleep because I thought Jongin was keeping the timer.’

Jongin looked at him in surprise.

‘Me? I thought you had the timer,’ he said. ‘You said, “I’ll see you when they’re done,” and then left. That means you have the timer, because you know when they’re done.’

Sehun opened his mouth, and you could see the sharp sarcasm forming. Time to intervene.

‘I think both of you,’ you interjected, ‘Need to realize that buying me cookies from the store is fine too. And safer.’

He looked down at you like he had words for you too, but he swallowed them.

‘It’s very thoughtful of you,’ you said in a happier note. You got up on the tips of your toes to snatch a kiss off his lips.

Sehun smiled at the sweet surprise, looking at Jongin after to make sure he saw.

You poked him and grabbed his hand, towing him out of the kitchen to prevent any altercation. The storm was brewing and you didn’t want to be there for it.

‘Come on, I’ll let you buy me bubble tea,’ you said, dragging him towards the exit.

‘Here’s fine.’ Jongin shook his head. His hand came to your waist, his gaze never leaving your hands, even as you stirred in sugar, even as you simply poured the dark liquid into the mugs.

You shook the whipped cream can and applied a copious layer to each hot chocolate.

Jongin moaned quietly as you took the leftover melted chocolate and drizzled it over the whipped cream.

You looked at him questioningly, handing him his mug.

‘You’re so amazing,’ Jongin said breathlessly. He took a deep breath before going nose-deep into his hot chocolate.

You laughed and sipped your own.

He made a loud ‘mmm’ sound as he came up for air, a huge dollop of whipped cream stuck to his nose.

You put down your own mug and stepped closer to him.

Jongin’s eyes widened as you stood on your toes and licked the cream off his nose. You didn’t look away, but the sound of a ceramic mug quickly being placed on the counter signaled your success. He tangled his arms around you, leaning down and kissing you eagerly.

The rich taste of chocolate and something else distinctly Jongin filled your mouth, a sharp heat that made you thirst for more. But before you could get more, Jongin pulled away breathlessly.

His face lowered and he looked at you through a dark smoulder. The sweet innocence that you were familiar with was gone, replaced by something else.

Jongin took a long step back and blindly found one of the kitchen stools. Gracefully he climbed and sat, pulling you the rest of the distance towards him. His lips closed on yours hungrily as Jongin gripped the back of your thighs and pulled you into his lap. A strong arm around your back kept you safely balanced, while his other hand was free to explore you.

He pulled away with a sharp inhale, the full lushness of his lips still within reach.

If you wanted them. And oh, you wanted them. The thirst built and burned. You followed where it led, reaching to kiss him again.

But Jongin pulled back with a heated, knowing gaze.

‘What is it you want?’ The corner of his mouth turned up into a grin.

‘Don’t tease me,’ you whined.

‘Tell me what you want,’ Jongin said.

You shook your head and tried to climb off his lap.

‘No!’ he said, taking his turn to whine. He grabbed your thighs again, pinning you where you sat.

‘My hot chocolate is getting cold,’ you said childishly.

‘No!’ Jongin repeated just as willfully. ‘You’re staying right here! Sit on my lap and tell me what you want for Christmas!’

You glared at him for a solid five seconds before he figured it out.

‘Fine, fine,’ he mumbled, leaning in closer. ‘Take away my fun.’

‘Shut up and kiss me, jerk.’

‘Now was that so hard?’

You walked down the stairs to where the members were all gathered, chatting and eating.

‘There!’ Chanyeol sprang to his feet and eagerly hugged you. ‘What took you so long?’

You shook your head.

‘It’s ok, you’re here now,’ he said cheerfully.

He guided you over to where he had been sitting on the floor by the Christmas tree. You sat next to him, folding your legs carefully underneath you.

Chanyeol foraged in the pile of packages under the tree until he pulled out a small gift bag.

‘Here,’ he said. He smiled brightly as you took the bag from him.

You handed him the box that you had just finished getting ready for him.

‘You can open yours,’ you said quietly.

Chanyeol shook his head.

‘You go first,’ he said, insisting.

The bag he gave you was an elegant navy blue and cream striped canvas. Dark navy blue tissue paper emerged gloriously from the top. You took a deep breath and pulled off the top layer.

A square box covered in velvet nestled gently at the bottom. You took it out with great care and shaking hands.

The hinge on the lid squeaked as you pushed it open. You gasped to see its contents.

A delicate, ornate rose gold pocket watch gleamed from the gentle folds of dark silk that held it. An elegant script had been etched around the circumference of the cover.

I have a star that fell from the skies

‘Chanyeol-‘ you began, your eyes watering with tears.

‘Open it!’ Chanyeol said. He beamed as he watched you palm the watch and open the cover.

More script cut through the metallic finish. The words cut to your heart.

And it’s you

‘So you can remember me all the times when we have to be apart,’ he said. Chanyeol had put a small, wallet-sized photo of himself on the bottom of the cover, like a locket.

‘Chanyeol, I love it,’ you sniffled. You put it down gently and climbed into his arms, trying hard not to cry. You were mostly unsuccessful. He held you tightly, rubbing your back and kissing the top of your head.

‘That’s good,’ you heard Baekhyun whisper. ‘She’d better love it after he spent a whole g on it.’

You pulled away from Chanyeol in shock.

‘It cost how much?’ Your look ping-ponged between his face and the pocket watch.

‘That doesn’t matter,’ Chanyeol said with a blush. ‘It matters that you love it, and – that I love you.’ He leaned in and kissed your cheek sweetly. ‘Now, what did you get me?’

He slipped his thumb under the first fold of wrapping paper.

The colour drained from your face. It wasn’t good enough. He had spent a thousand dollars on you and all you had was the worthless thing you had made him.

Quickly, you sprang into action and ripped the box from his hands.

‘What are you doing?’ Chanyeol whined. ‘I want it!’

‘No, it’s not good enough!’ you said. You folded it in your arms and hid it against your chest. ‘Give me more time to get something better. We can do this again tomorrow!’

Chanyeol sighed. You thought maybe he would let you get away with it for one moment. But this was Chanyeol.

He grabbed your leg and pulled you closer, tickling your side.

‘Give it here!’ he demanded loudly. He fumbled around, searching you until he found the box. ‘Now! What did you get me?’

Chanyeol sat in contentment and ripped the paper off his present. He flung the lid aside.

You swallowed hard. The box looked so small in his hands.

‘No way!’ Chanyeol said happily. The huge smile dominated his features.

He carefully pulled out the small silver and black guitar pick you had made. He cradled in his palm preciously, reading the words you had copied onto it aloud.

‘I carry your heart with me,’ he read slowly, squinting at the small writing you had squeezed onto the material.

Chanyeol looked up, the smile faded, but replaced with another deep emotion.

‘I’ll take this with me everywhere I go,’ he said quietly. He closed his fist tightly around the guitar pick, using his other arm to sweep you closer to him. ‘I’ll take – you with me everywhere I go.’ His voice lowered to a hushed whisper, a secret exchange. His nose brushed against yours as Chanyeol lowered down to kiss you.

You sighed when it was over, closing your eyes and contentedly tucking yourself against his chest. Two long arms wound their way around you, holding you snugly.

Jongin and Sehun wrestled with the branches of a Christmas tree, trying to arrange them the way Junmyeon was instructing them.

‘No, leave that one there!’ he said, trying to direct, but being much too vague for the pair of maknaes.

You stared at the scene in abrupt wonder, trying to figure out what sort of nightmare this was and how you could leave before a pair of hands found your hips.

‘Come here,’ a low voice whispered in your ear. 

You resisted at first, not wanting to stay, but a loud whine in your ear continued until you were snugly situated between Jongdae’s legs on the couch.

His arms locked around your middle, his head rested on your shoulder. He let out a small soft sigh.

‘I missed you,’ he whispered.

You settled back against Jongdae, nestling snugly into his chest. He smiled and kissed your forehead, affectionately brushing back your hair.

You smiled up at him and lifted your chin to make it clear what you wanted.

Jongdae obliged. He leaned down to cover your lips with his, kissing you eagerly.

Not more than five seconds later, sudden loud noises of complaint interrupted your exchange of affection.

‘Junmyeon, look what Jongin did!’ Sehun called.

You looked to see Jongin and Sehun trying to untangle the strings of lights to go on the tree. They weren’t faring well, as Sehun had somehow been wound from the hips down in lights and was now unable to move his legs.

Jongin stood chuckling at his handiwork.

Junmyeon sighed and made his way across the room.

‘Hold still,’ he said. ‘Where is everyone else? They know we’re decorating the tree tonight.’

‘Last I saw, Minseok was headed up the stairs with a bag of takeout and a bottle of sake,’ Sehun said, volunteering. ‘I haven’t seen anyone else.’

‘Dammit, Sehun, stop wiggling!’ Junmyeon said, his voice rising while his patience lowered.

You turned to Jongdae.

‘Shouldn’t we be helping?’ you asked him quietly.

Jongdae looked at you gravely.

‘I love you too much to lose you that way,’ he said seriously. His lips pressed against your cheek.

‘What way? It’s just decorating.’

Jongdae shook his head.

‘You haven’t seen anything yet,’ he said.

Right on cue, Chanyeol and Baekhyun burst into the room, wrapped in garlands of tinsel and sporting reindeer antlers on their heads. They screamed a strange duet of discombobulated carols, stitching together Jingle Bells and, ironically, Silent Night.

Jongdae held on to you more tightly; he adjusted you in his lap and tucked you under his chin. Quickly, he drew a blanket up around both of you.

‘Oh, Y/N’s here to help us decorate the tree!’ Baekhyun said, gleaming literally and figuratively.

‘Quick, yawn,’ Jongdae hissed.

You followed his lead and performed the greatest yawn anyone had ever seen.

‘She’s had a really long day,’ said Jongdae. He combed his fingers through your hair lovingly. ‘I think she’d better rest.’

Baekhyun shrugged and grabbed the tree-topper angel.

There was a loud scream as he tackled Chanyeol and tried to tie it onto his head.

You watched with wide eyes.

‘I see what you mean,’ you said.

‘Hello?’ you said.

He smiled – your voice was like home.

‘Hi, I missed you!’ Sehun said excitedly. ‘Turn your camera on! I need to see you.’

‘I missed you too,’ you said. ‘Oh my god, I look so bad.’

You finally appeared on his phone screen, frowning as you looked at yourself.

‘You’re so beautiful,’ Sehun said quickly. He cupped the phone to his chest lovingly, the closest he could get to holding you. ‘You know you’re not allowed to say bad things about yourself while you’re with me,’ he reminded you.

You sighed up at him.

‘I know, I know…’

‘So are you flying here for Christmas?’ Sehun asked suddenly.

‘Did you want me to?’ You sounded surprised.

‘I want you here all the time, but Christmas especially,’ Sehun said boldly. He smiled down at you, his eyes forming into joyous crescents.

He watched you smile back and immediately, all the nerves he felt melted into courage and love.

‘It’s really short notice, Sehun,’ you began.

His heart cracked at what sounded like the beginning to a no.

‘But I’ll do my best to be there, okay?’

Sehun beamed, his heart pounding.

‘You should come no matter what,’ Sehun said firmly. ‘And I have my own room now, so you can stay with me!’

He was nervous – they had only made out before, but Sehun wanted all of you. What better time than Christmas?

‘That sounds…romantic!’ You blushed at your search for the right words. Sehun couldn’t take it.

‘You’re so cute!’ he cooed. He laughed at how silly they were together, his shoulders shaking.

Suddenly, the phone almost slipped out of his hand. Sehun fumbled for it, and it bounced a few times before he caught it.

‘Oh no, I almost dropped you!’ He chuckled awkwardly, hoping that you wouldn’t see his own blush.

‘Uhm, Sehun?’

 ‘Yeah, babe?’ Everything seemed fine.

‘That is one of the biggest candy canes I’ve ever seen.’

‘Oh god!’ Sehun was mortified as he looked down and realized that in his fumble the call had switched to the front camera, laying everything bare before your eyes. ‘I’m so so sorry!’ He pounded on the switch to change it back, but it wasn’t working. ‘Fuck fuck fuck!’

By the time he got it so that you were looking at his face and not his dick, Sehun was mortified and a deep, beet red.

‘I’m so sorry!’ he repeated again.

‘Stop!’ you yelled, whacking Sehun’s hand away. ‘If you flick my nose one more time, I swear to god…’

Sehun shook with laughter and collapsed onto the couch. The bells on the toes of his elf shoes jingled as he stomped his feet in his amusement.

‘Y/N?’ Jongin whined your name loudly. ‘Y/N, are these tights too tight?’

You turned to look, the lower ball of your snowman whirling majestically.

Jongin sported an elf costume identical to Sehun’s, except for the yellow spandex covering his lower half. It left very little to the imagination.

‘What happened to the striped ones?’ you asked.

‘My thighs look better in these.’ Jongin shrugged.

‘Then if you like them, they’re fine,’ you said, rolling your eyes.

‘Don’t sass me.’ Jongin reached over and flicked your carrot nose.

You growled and swung at him, but your snowman bulge got in the way and you were hopelessly tangled in yourself. The brim of your top hat fell down over your eyes.

‘Is that Y/N?’ a voice called from upstairs. ‘Ok, I’m coming!’

Jongin and Sehun were too busy laughing at you to be of much help, and you stood stupidly in the center of the living room, held captive and rendered blind by your own costume.

Loud footsteps thudded down the stairs. There was a deep gasp.

‘Look at her!’ Chanyeol cooed. ‘That’s the cutest snowman I’ve ever seen! I need to hug it!’

Two huge arms wound their way around you and lifted you, spinning you in an affectionate circle. Chanyeol spun you so fast that your top hat flew off. His lips planted on your cheek as he set you down, kissing you with a loud smack.

‘So cute!’ he squealed.

When your head stopped spinning, you could finally take in Chanyeol’s costume.

A red velvet dress trimmed in fluffy white cotton wrapped snugly around his upper thigh. The v-neck sloughed down his chest, leaving room for assets that he didn’t have.

‘What are you-‘ you began, but words failed you.

‘What are you supposed to be?’ Jongin said, holding his sides from laughing so hard.

Chanyeol stuck out his flat ass and wiggled it, causing the skirt to ride up his thighs.

‘I’m Santa’s little helper!’ he said, winking at you slyly.

‘What the fuck,’ you said under your breath. ‘You look so dumb right now!’ You let out a loud guffaw, your face changing into a strangely raptured look of delight. ‘I love it!’

Chanyeol stood up straight with a shimmy, doing his best impersonation of seductive.

‘Now, tell me,’ he said lowly, laying a suggestive fingertip on your carrot nose. ‘Have you been naughty this year, Frosty?’

Sehun and Jongin collapsed in a heap, a giggling mess of limbs.

Chanyeol took their distraction as an opportunity and leaned down to whisper in your ear.