❝ merry christmas, baby, ❞ sangyeop murmurs, leaning across to press a kiss to hojin's lips. his gift isn't anything special in the grand scheme of things, but it say a lot about the direction their relationship is taking. wrapped in a small box, waiting under the tree for hojin to open, is the spare key for sangyeop's front door. ❝ you can open your present, if you want. even if it's a day early. ❞
“mmm, merry christmas !!” the holiday spirit is in full swing, due in part to the rum egg nog he tried earlier ( and then couldn’t stop drinking until he hit a third cup and had to pause lest he pass out before midnight ) and due in part to the simple fact that he needs nothing more than what he has right now. the holidays had stopped being a favorite of his when he left for college and his father’s inquiring calls consisted predominantly of judgements rather than encouragements, though that same childish awe and happiness still lingers in sparkling gaze and grinning smile. it helps immensely to have spent the day with friends, with sangyeop within a call or arm’s reach, with distractions in the form of laughter and games and mistletoe kisses ( that he’s still owed, thank you very much, sangeyop ).
warmth is a constant presence in hojin’s chest, a happiness that only spending time with someone he adores wholeheartedly can bring, a contentment settled so deep in bones that he wants nothing more than to tug sangyeop ‘pon couch and melt into him, entwined so heavily together that it’d be impossible to tug apart ( even if one certain sunja might try her hardest to wiggle in among the limbs ). this works too, though - the press of a kiss to lips that has him automatically leaning forward in a bid to steal one, two, perhaps a few hundred more if allowed. and he manages a second one and an aborted third one before allowing the distance between them to grow, grin on lips bright and a rival to the twinkle in gaze.
that twinkle glimmers brighter at the prospect of opening a present but, rather than give an answer, hojin’s making a beeline towards the bedroom, where his present for the other had sat in its lonesome rather than among the handful of gifts stowed beneath the minuscule tree. just as quick, he’s back and handing off the wrapped gift to sangyeop. “it’s fair that if i get to open one early, you get to open one too.” and though he’s grinning when he takes his place beside the other with the box in hand, there’s a nervous knot in chest. he doesn’t know if sangyeop has a name for his future business not or yet, but he hopes the plaque with a name he’d been thinking of is the right gift.