Chapter Text
Even though it had been over a decade since Yoohyeon’s dad had passed away, it didn’t make Christmas any less hard to be happy for. This year would be the first time Yoohyeon wouldn’t be going home to celebrate because she was scheduled to work on that day and her manager refused to switch her shift. She was now headed home, her stomach sinking further and further as she thought about telling her mom she couldn’t come home. She was so deep in her thoughts, that she drove on autopilot and was startled out of her reverie when she realized she was in the driveway of their house.
Yoohyeon let out a long sigh and rested her head on the wheel, feeling tears start to creep into her vision, stinging, and her throat beginning to constrict. She quickly shook herself, willing away the tears, so that her girlfriends wouldn’t notice anything was wrong. Putting a smile on her face, Yoohyeon grabbed her bag from the passenger's seat and slowly walked to the front door. Before she could pull her keys out, the door swung open and Yubin pulled her inside, wrapping her arms around her, and nuzzling into Yoohyeon’s neck, her wings wrapping around them. Yoohyeon dropped her bag and slowly put her arms around Yubin’s waist, sighing in relaxation at the feeling of warmth.
Yubin left a small kiss on her neck before pulling back, “Welcome home baby!” Her wings fluttered in excitement behind her. “Minji just finished making dinner, so go ahead and get changed.”
Yoohyeon smiled at how cute she was and quickly nuzzled into Yubin’s neck, growling a little as she peppered it with kisses. She smiled at the cute giggles Yubin let out, her hands gently pushing at Yoohyeon’s shoulders. She pulled back only to envelope Yubin into a long kiss, both sighing into the feeling of finally being connected. They froze when they heard a gentle cough behind them and turned to find Minji standing with her hands on her hips, faux annoyance on her face.
“The food’s going to get cold you two, save the making out for dessert.” Her eyes settled onto Yoohyeon, “where’s my ‘just got home’ kiss?”
“Yes dear, “Yoohyeon sighed in exaggerated exasperation. She sauntered over to Minji, rested her hands on her hips, and slowly connected their lips together. Minji sighed into the kiss, bringing her hands to rest on Yoohyeon’s shoulders.
She slowly pulled back, not wanting to end it just yet. When she opened her eyes, she noticed Minji eyes roaming her face.
“Is something wrong baby?” Darn Minji and her excellent intuition. “Your face seems stiff and your shoulders are tight.”
“I’m just fine baby, now, didn’t you say the food was getting cold? Let me change real quick.” Yoohyeon said, not wanting to address her feelings at that moment.
Minji searched her face for a bit longer, “You know that you can tell us anything right?”
Yoohyeon smiled, “Of course dear, I know perfectly well, you never forget to remind me.”
“Just making sure!” Minji smiled, “Now go change, I’ll go set the table.” She patted Yoohyeons shoulders before walking back towards the kitchen.
Yoohyeon watched her go with a smile on her face before turning down the hallway towards their bedroom. She didn’t notice Yubin following her until she turned towards the bed to start unbuttoning her shirt.
“Let me help you,” Yubin said softly, quickly walking over and replacing Yoohyeon’s hands with her own. She slowly unbuttoned her shirt before sliding it off her shoulders and setting her hands on her waist.
Yoohyeon chuckled when she attempted to move, but was held fast by Yubin’s hands.
“Is something wrong?” Yoohyeon whispered, not wanting to startle Yubin who seemed to be deep in her mind.
Yubin’s eyes flicked up to hers, “No, not really. I just missed you…” She leaned forward to wrap her arms around Yoohyeon, her wings unfurling themselves to join in the hug.
Yoohyeons face broke into a smile at that and she curled her arms around Yubin’s shoulders, squeezing. “Aw, baby bird….I missed you too…” She turned her head to place a gentle kiss on Yubin’s temple.
After a few seconds Yubin pulled back from the hug and quickly kissed Yoohyeon’s cheek. Yoohyeon’s smile turned into a smirk, “Now you better let me change before Minji decides to withhold dessert from us.”
“Oh you….” Yubin’s voice turned teasing before she squeezed Yoohyeon’s sides.
Yoohyeon let out a loud giggle, her hands quickly resting on Yubin’s wrists to prevent any further attack.
“Change you weirdo” Yubin smirked, quickly leaving the bedroom.
Yoohyeon shook her head, still smiling before quickly changing into comfy sweatpants and heading to the table.
“Something smells good…” Yoohyeon walked into the dining room, seeing a platter, “mmm…is that lasagne?”
“Your favorite!” Minji turned to beam at Yoohyeon.
Yoohyeon walked over and slowly leaned in to kiss Minji, pulling her closer by the waist. Their kiss was languid, both savoring the feeling of each other's lips after a long day of work. It was chaste, both periodically separating only to connect again. Oblivious to what was happening in the dining room, Yubin walked in with her glass of water only to stop in the entrance.
“Heyyy, I thought we were saving that for dessert….” Yubin whined.
Yoohyeon and Minji kissed one last time before finally turning to Yubin.
“Sorry baby bird.” Yoohyeon chuckled, smirking back at Minji, “She just tastes so good.”
“Alright, lover girl. Let's start eating now,” Minji turned to the table, shaking her head and sitting down, “The foods probably cold after all your distractions.”
“Sorry, not sorry” Yoohyeon giggled, taking her place across from Minji.
The first bite of lasagne brought her back to her childhood. Her mom pulling the freshly made pan out of the oven, her dad standing by in case she needed help. After setting it on the heat pads, her dad would slide his hand on her moms waist and kiss the side of her head. Yoohyeon and her siblings would excitedly rush to the table, impatient to taste the food.
“Yooh…are you okay…? She heard someone softly ask. Shaking herself out of reverie, she turned to her girlfriends and smiled.
“Yeah, I’m okay, why?” Her eyebrows furrowed.
“You’re crying…” Yubin reached up to wipe away a tear with her knuckle.
Yoohyeon brought a hand up to her face and felt the tear tracks.
“Oh…” She wiped them.
“What’s the matter baby…” Minji asked softly, reaching across the table to hold Yoohyeon’s left hand.
Minji’s soft tone immediately made Yoohyeon tear up again, bringing her hands up to cover her eyes.
“Oh baby…” Yubin whispered, moving to wrap her arms around Yoohyeon’s shoulders.
“Lets move to the couch,” Minji said softly, covering the lasagne and helping Yoohyeon up from her chair.
Slowly, they walked over to the couch, Yoohyeon’s face scrunching up as the sadness overwhelmed her. She let out long whines as she tried to contain the outburst building in her chest and throat.
“It’s ok baby…Let it out…you don’t have to keep it in, we’re here with you…” Minji cooed, pulling her into a hug as they sat on the couch. Yubin rested her head on Yoohyeon’s shoulder, bringing her wings to provide some comfort. At those words, Yoohyeon let out a long loud wail, curling in on herself at the intensity of the outburst. Jiu and Yubin drew closer, wishing they could take away their love’s pain. The sound of her cries made tears spring to their eyes as well.
Finally, Yoohyeon could feel the intense sadness fade away, just enough to calm down. Minji quickly handed her the box of tissues and Yoohyeon took her time gently wiping her face, taking deep breaths to stop the hiccuping.
When she felt calm enough to talk, Yoohyeon began to explain, “Today, at work, my manager explained that I would be working on Christmas. But, I’ve always celebrated it with my mom, especially since my dad died. And-and I tried explaining that, but he wouldn’t hear any of it, so now I c-can’t go home and I can’t cel-celebrate with you or my mom…” Fresh tears spilled down her cheeks.
Minji and Yubin resumed hugging Yoohyeon as she started softly crying. They looked at each other over Yoohyeon’s hunched form, silently communicating that they would do something for their hurting girlfriend. Eventually, Yoohyeon was calm enough to finish dinner and they resolved to cuddle on the couch while watching her favorite show.
~~~
The next day, while Yoohyeon was taking a nap after work, Yubin and Jiu discussed their plan to cheer up their girlfriend. They were currently on the couch, laying down, Yubin squishing Minji as she stroked her wings. Yubin was nearly asleep when Minji spoke up.
“Baby?” Minji said softly, not wanting to startle a relaxed Yubin.
Yubin hummed, questioningly.
“What should we do for Yoohyeon?” She continued, moving her hand to gently scratch at Yubin’s back.
Yubin sighed in content, taking a moment to contemplate Minji’s question. Although they couldn’t do anything about the situation with her work, maybe all hope was not lost on the day.
“We could have dinner at her mom’s house so she can still be with her mom for part of Christmas?” Yubin suggested sleepily, Minji’s gentle scratching was not helping her stay awake.
“Oh, yeah, that's a great idea! You’re such a genius really. Those kids didn’t know what they were saying when they called you bird brain.” Minji huffed.
Yubin lightly chuckled, amused at Minji getting upset for her, “They really didn’t.” She tucked her face into Minji’s neck, “Now it’s naptime for this bird.”
It was Minji’s turn to chuckle, “Don’t you want to nap with Yoohyeon?”
Yubin grumbled, but reluctantly stood up, pulling Minji up with her and dragging her into their bedroom, flopping down next to Yoohyeon and curling into her. Minji smiled softly at them, joining Yubin on the other side of Yoohyeon.
~~~
In the days that followed, Yoohyeon had called her mother to explain her work situation, however, Jiu and Yubin had also set up the surprise dinner. Now all they had to do was wait for Yoohyeon to leave for work and cook a few things for dinner.
That day, Yoohyeon left with a heavy weight on her shoulders.
“We’ll see you when you get back baby ok?” Minji cooed, pressing a kiss to her cheek.
“We’ll always be here for you.” Yubin pressed a light kiss to her other cheek, before lifting up Yoohyeon’s hand and pressing another kiss to the back of it.
Yoohyeon nodded, giving a slight smile before heading out the door.
Minji and Yubin looked at each, smiling sadly. “It’s ok Ji, she’ll be happy by this evening.” Yubin assured her, taking her hands, pulling her closer before leaning up and kissing her gently.
For the next several hours they cooked some vegetables and prepared a few desserts. Yoohyeon’s mom was taking care of the ham as well as another big surprise that would hopefully make Yoohyeon forget about missing most of Christmas. When they finally completed their kitchen work, they headed to the couch to relax while waiting for Yoohyeon to get home.
As far as Yoohyeon knew, they’d be going out to dinner before coming back home and watching a Christmas movie. She was determined not to be a mood dampener, but she could feel her mood drop as each hour passed. Finally, she left for work and walked through the door, seeing her girlfriends cuddling on the couch.
“Hey baby! Welcome home!” Minji said, lifting her head up from Yubin’s chest to smile at her.
“Hey, let me just get changed and I’ll be ready to go ok?” Yoohyeon forced a smile on her face before heading to the bedroom.
Minji and Yubin had already packed the food in a cooler and put it in the trunk, so it stayed out of Yoohyeon’s sight. They got up from the couch and slipped on their shoes, waiting by the door.
All three got into the car, Minji driving, and started the route to Yoohyeon’s mom’s house. Yoohyeon stared out the window, attempting to psyche herself up for their dinner. Slowly she started recognizing the scenery and whipped her head to look at Minji, noticing her smiling at her in the rearview mirror.
“Where are we going…?” Yoohyeon asked with a smile slowly crawling on her face.
“We’re headed to your mom’s house! Surprise!” Yubin excitedly shouted, relieved at finally being able to reveal the secret.
“No way.” Yoohyeon stated, trying to contain her excitement, “Aw, you guys, you didn’t have to….” Tears welled up in her eyes.
“We did it because we love you, Yooh, and we didn’t want you to miss Christmas with your mom.” Yubin stated firmly, reaching back an arm to comfortingly squeeze Yoohyeon’s leg.
“Thank you…I love you guys so much..” Yoohyeon sniffled willing away her tears.
“Of course baby.” Minji chuckled lightly, turning down the house’s street and parking in the driveway.
Yoohyeon rushed up the porch, knocking fervently on the front door. When her mom opened it, Yoohyeon pulled her into a strong hug.
“Merry Christmas mom…” She whispered, feeling at home in her mother’s arms.
“Merry Christmas honey.” Her mom gently kissed her forehead before pulling away and letting them in.
After all the food had been warmed up again, they settled down for dinner. Yoohyeon updated her mom on her promotion at work and other things going on in their life. Instead of the well of sadness Yoohyeon expected to drown in, she was pulled up out of it by the bucket of warmth brought from her girlfriends and mother. After dinner, they moved to the living room, settling on watching a movie before the girls headed home for the evening. They still had one more surprise before their lovely night ended.
“Before you guys leave I have a present for you.” Her mom stated before getting up to walk towards her room.
“Oh mom, you didn’t have to! We didn't get you anything…” Yoohyeon pouted slightly.
Her mom returned with a decent sized box, setting it in front of Yoohyeon. “This evening with y’all was the only gift I needed. Don’t worry honey.”
Her mom gestured for her to open it, Yoohyeon noticed that Yubin and Minji looked especially excited and smiled suspiciously at them. After pulling the lid off she was face to face with a small brown pomeranian puppy, peering up at her with a small little wag and tilted head.
Yoohyeon whipped her head up to look at them, “No you did not. You did not get the puppy I’ve been looking at for weeks.”
“We did, baby.” Minji chuckled, watching Yoohyeon with love in her eyes.
Yoohyeon cooed at the puppy, scoping her up and cradling her in her arms. The puppy wriggled around excitedly, trying to lick Yoohyeon’s face as she giggled.
The rest of the evening was filled with joy and warmth from the love coming from her girlfriends and mom, plus the new addition to their little family. When it was finally time to leave, Yoohyeon no longer felt the overwhelming sadness, only hope and excitement for the future.