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The wind blows, cold and crisp down the road as they make a mad dash towards the next store. As they step into the warmth, Lance loosens his scarf, nose red and runny. Next to him, Shiro pulls off his gloves and stuffs them in his pocket. Their hands find each other as they move further into the shop, glancing at all the clothes and various knickknacks.
Lance gasps and drags Shiro over to a wall of earmuffs. They all come in various designs; some looking like hats while others look like cat ears. Lance grabs a pair, yanks Shiro’s hat off and puts a pair on him. He places a pair on his own head moments later. He pulls out his phone and opens Snapchat.
Shiro huffs out a laugh and moves closer to him. The earmuffs he’s wearing are shaped like cat ears with white tufts on the end. They blend almost seamlessly with his hair. Lance, on the other hand is sporting a pair of rainbow ones. He snaps a few pics and sends them off to the others before turning to Shiro.
“What do you think?” he asks.
“These are too expensive, Lance,” Shiro replies eyeing the price tag. No way is he spending twenty bucks on these things. He pulls them off and puts them back on the wall, reclaiming his hat from Lance. “We can get you nicer ones at the store across the street.”
“Fiiiine,” Lance whines removing the pair from his head and returning them as well. He takes Shiro’s hand again, though and they travel further into the store. They stop at the mug section, Lance looking meticulously through them. Shiro’s attention wanders over to the wall of novelty items.
There he finds a book of gift certificates to give to a boyfriend. Curious, he picks it up and flips through some of the pages. They range from free meals to back massages to sexual favors such as handjobs or blowjobs.
His gaze wanders to the fuzzy pink handcuffs and blindfolds. He and Lance haven’t really done much sexual exploration. They’ve only been together for nine months afterall. Still… something tells him his boyfriend might appreciate the humor in these gifts.
“Can I help you find anything?”
Shiro jumps, nearly dropping the book and turns to look red-faced at the employee standing next to him.
“Um…”
“Do you need help with anything?” she asks, entirely oblivious to the book in his hand. He looks back at the handcuffs and makes up his mind.
“Actually, yes,” he replies, grabbing the handcuffs and blindfold. He hands them and the book to her. “Can you take these to the front please? I don’t want my boyfriend to know I bought them just yet.”
“Good choice,” she says, taking the items with a wink. “I did the same for my boyfriend last year. It was worth every penny. Just let me know when you’re ready to check out.” She disappears with them just as Lance wanders back over to him, mug in hand. Shiro can’t help but chuckle when he reads it.
My Bi-fi signal is strong.
It reads in the colors of the bi flag. Above the words are a wi-fi signal and little heart surround the whole thing.
“You can have it,” Shiro says. “If you want.” Lance smiles and follows Shiro towards the front of the store to make their purchases.
“Aren’t you getting anything?”
“A few things,” he replies cryptically, because Lance can’t know just yet what he’s getting. “It’s a surprise though so you’ll have to wait.”
Lance pouts but doesn’t pry. He’s long since learned that the more he asks the more cryptic Shiro gets with his answers. It’s best to just wait it out.
“How long do I have to wait?” he asks as they get in line.
“You can have it when we get home.” Lance wiggles in place, smile growing wider at the promise of a gift. Shiro knows Christmas is right around the corner but he can’t wait to give him the present. Besides, maybe they can put it to use as a Christmas treat.
Lance respectfully looks away when Shiro goes to pay for his items and Lance’s mug. The employee from earlier is kind enough to put them in a black bag, shielding them from any wandering eyes.
“He’s cute,” she says, handing Shiro his receipt. “You two have fun now, okay?”
“Thanks,” Shiro replies, dragging a blushing Lance to the exit. He takes a moment to put his hat back on and wrap Lance back up in his scarf. They put their gloves back on and step out into the cold.
It’s starts snowing.
Lance gasps, holding a hand out to catch some flakes before darting up the sidewalk. Shiro follows at a slower pace, smiling at the boy’s enthusiasm. Despite having lived in the area for the nearly ten years, Lance still gets excited whenever it snows. Who is Shiro to stop him from enjoying himself?
He passes a store that catches his attention causing him to backtrack a bit. Candy and chocolates sit in the window on display. He’s surprised to see this store still open given how long it’s been here. They always made the best hot chocolate.
Shiro looks around and finds Lance a few stores down. He catches his boyfriend’s attention and waves him over.
“Let’s get some hot chocolate,” he says once Lance has returned to his side. “They have a bunch of different flavors.”
Lance is opening the door and stepping inside before he can finish talking. He follows him into the warmth.
The inside is as small and cramped as he remembers it being. Chocolates and candies line the counters on both sides of the store. In the back, they advertise chocolate covered strawberries, made fresh and to order. A small sign next to the cash register gives the flavors and prices for their hot chocolate.
Lance stares at the list, thinking over the options to determine the best flavor for their shopping. An old lady steps up to the counter, grey hair done up in a bun. She smiles at the couple and patiently waits for them to order.
“I’ll have the peppermint please,” Shiro says. “And some peanut brittle too if you don’t mind.”
“Of course, dear,” she replies, grabbing a cup and scooping hot chocolate powder into it. She fills the cup with hot water and places a lid on top before handing it over to Shiro and moving on to get the peanut brittle.
“Know what you want yet?” Shiro asks, opening the lid of his drink to let it cool a bit. Lance hums.
“The sea salt caramel one sounds good,” he says. “But so does the s’mores one.”
“You should go with s’mores,” Shiro suggests. “It’ll appeal to your sweet tooth.” Lance grins and places his order as soon as the lady comes back.
They leave the store, hot chocolate in hand and a snack to eat while they browse. The snow has picked up a bit in the short time they were inside. The roads and sidewalks are wet, the ground just a bit too warm for the snow to really stick.
Lance opens the lid to his drink and takes a sip, shrieking when the it inevitably burns his tongue. Shiro laughs and leans over giving his tongue a small kiss to make it better.
“Let it cool off a bit first,” he says as they make their way across the street to the next store. Lance pouts, taking the peanut brittle out and munching on a small piece.
“I just wanted a taste,” he grumbles.
“Well you can’t taste it if it’s burning your tongue. It’ll be worth the wait, I promise.” His pout deepens when Shiro brings his own drink up to his mouth, blows a few times and takes a tentative sip. It burns a little but not so much that he can’t take small sips. The peppermint is strong on his tongue, refreshing against the sweetness of the chocolate.
The pair browses one more store before Lance declares his drink cooled off enough. He takes a sip, eyes lighting up at the flavor. It tastes just like s’mores, the marshmallow and graham cracker coming through in a subtly sweet way that doesn’t over power the chocolate.
“Good?” Shiro asks with a smile as Lance takes a bigger sip. He shoves the drink into Shiro’s face.
“Let’s trade,” Lance suggests. Shiro obliges, allowing Lance to try the peppermint flavor as he sips at the offered drink. S’mores isn’t his favorite flavor. It’s just a tad too sweet for his taste, but if it makes his boyfriend happy to try then try he will. Lance hums, taking another sip of Shiro’s drink thoughtfully as he reaches a decision. “I think I like mine better.”
“Good,” Shiro replies, switching their cups back. They slowly begin making their way over to the bus stop, ready to head back to the dorms for the day. “More for me then.”
They sit under the cover of the bus stop, huddled together for warmth as they finish their drinks, munching on peanut brittle.
“Let’s watch a movie when we get back,” Lance suggests, watching the bus make its way down the street. “We can put on Elf or something.”
“Sounds good to me.” Lance smiles and rises from his spot to throw their cups away.
The bus rumbles to a stop before them, doors opening to let people off and let others on. They board and take a seat, waiting patiently for the vehicle to start moving.
Shiro’s gift to Lance is left forgotten under the bench.