Chapter Text
If there were any other job Minghao could have during the holiday season, he would take it over the one he had now.
Okay, Minghao knew he was exaggerating. His job actually wasn’t all that bad to be honest. He worked at a “Santa’s Village” at the mall near his university and was the one that took pictures of kids while they sat on “Santa’s” lap. It wasn’t bad because he could put his photography skills to work, even if no one really appreciated it. Regardless of that, h e preferred it compared to being a cashier at a store. He didn’t need to experience the chaos that was people frantically Christmas shopping.
The only problem he really had with his job was Wen Junhui.
Junhui was a coworker of his, who also worked in Santa’s village. He was the one that greeted kids, led them and their parents to Santa, and led them out once they took a picture and were done talking to him.
In Minghao’s words, Junhui was a cheeky bastard; he knew that from day one. Minghao could always feel Junhui’s eyes on him, but whenever Minghao looked at him, Junhui’s attention would noticeably and obviously be elsewhere. Whenever Minghao did catch him, Junhui would wink or wiggle his eyebrows. It annoyed the hell out of him.
But that was just the first day. The more they worked together, the more Junhui made advances towards him. It started with small things like knowing smirks and hand touches, both when no one was looking and when he was in danger of getting caught, and it stayed like that for the first two weeks of working together. But then their interactions and overall relationship made a shift when, one day, Junhui asked Minghao for help with putting more fake snow on the Christmas trees. Minghao, naively, agreed, and was told to meet the older in Santa’s cottage, where they kept the bags of the fake snow, after he was done looking through that day's pictures.
And Minghao was dumb enough to believe him because, once he was done, he went back to meet Junhui in the small cottage. The moment he stepped inside, Junhui closed the door, pushed him against the wall, trapped him between wall, the boxes of decorations, and his arms, and leaned in to place his lips on his.
It shocked Minghao, to say the least. The rational part of him told him to pull away from Junhui, slap him across the face, and leave the cottage. But the feeling of Junhui’s lips on his warmed his chest and electrified his body. Deep in his heart, he desired it and wanted more.
So he kissed back, and thus started their secret makeout sessions in Santa’s cottage. Whenever they had a break (since Santa only appeared every other hour for an hour), Junhui would lead him into Santa’s cottage, where they would make out until they had to do things to prepare for the next meet and greet time.
Minghao knew he should’ve stopped it. Junhui already had too big of an ego that was too much for his own good, and Minghao definitely didn’t want to add any fuel to it. But more importantly, the probability of getting caught was too high, and Minghao didn’t want to run that risk, especially since this job was his only way to get enough money to fly home for Christmas. But he couldn’t help it. The way Junhui kissed him, held him, pinned him against the wall, was a feeling that couldn’t be replaced by anything else. He had been foolish to let himself fall into the trap and had now gotten himself addicted to Junhui, and he couldn’t leave, no matter how hard he tried, because Junhui always left him wanting more.
Minghao watched as Junhui greeted the next parent and kid in line. He saw Junhui high five the little boy before leading him and his mom to Santa sitting in the chair. Once Junhui had led them down the path to Santa, the boy’s mom helped him into Santa’s lap. Excitedly, the boy started telling Santa what he wanted for Christmas.
When Minghao got the cue, he leaned into the camera and focused it. After making sure the shot was clear, he pressed on the button and took the picture. When Minghao gave them the thumbs up, the boy smiled and hopped off of Santa's lap. He thanked Santa before Junhui led him and his mom out of Santa’s village.
And it repeated with the next kid.
It was a face Junhui put on. To the kids and their parents, he was kind and respectable. To Minghao, he was egoistic and cheeky in every way possible. Minghao couldn’t stand him; it was annoying, how Junhui made himself appear as a kind, put-together college student when, in reality, he was too egoistic, thinking he could get his way whenever he wanted.
But then the more he looked at Junhui while they worked, Minghao couldn’t help but think about how good he looked in the elf outfit the workplace made them wear. With the red and green hat, fitting long-sleeved top with a brown belt wrapped around his waist, and the red and white striped pants and pointed black shoes, he found it hard to believe Junhui could even look that good as an elf.
On top of that, he couldn’t help but think about how Junhui was when it came to the kids. He was so kind and sweet with them, and the kids always loved him in return. Junhui was actually really good at working with and talking to kids, and Minghao never would’ve thought that with the side of Junhui he knew.
But Minghao quickly shook his head, pushing the thoughts away.
He had to stop thinking those thoughts, because today was the day he was going to put an end of all of it. He was going to stop giving Junhui what he wanted, even if it meant stopping from what were (unadmittedly) incredible makeout sessions. He had to stick to his plan, no matter what he thought about Junhui.
Minghao smugly smiled, his determination growing, already thinking about wiping the smirk off of Junhui’s face when Minghao told him no.
Once the line was empty, the meet and greet time ended, and “Santa” had walked off to remove his costume, they were left alone. And of course, Junhui made his way over to him, a confident smile on his face all the way over and stood next to him. Minghao rolled his eyes over Junhui's outfit. (Again, how did he even manage to look good in such a... tacky outfit?)
Minghao mentally slapped himself as he looked away.
Focus, Minghao. Focus.
“You look cute today. The elf outfit looks especially good on you today.”
Minghao looked down at his own outfit. He was wearing a red and white striped shirt with suspenders, green pants that hugged his legs, and the same pointed shoes as Junhui. On the top of his head was a red and white striped hat.
“I guess?”
“Trust me, Minghao. You look adorable .”
Junhui then leaned in, his arm wrapping around Minghao’s waist, his lips lingering over Minghao’s ear; it made him shiver.
“ So adorable. I don’t know how much longer I’ll be able to resist you,” he whispered, “Luckily, we're on break. You… want to sneak out and go back?”
This was it: the moment he’s been waiting for.
Minghao glared at him, his confidence fueling him.
“No.”
Junhui raised an eyebrow.
“Excuse me?”
“I said no.”
After the initial shock shown on Junhui’s face, the reaction fell, and he softly chuckled.
“You don’t mean that.”
Deep down, he knew he didn’t, but he wasn’t going to tell Junhui that.
“Yes I do.”
“No, you don’t,” Junhui replied, “I know how your body reacts to mine when I kiss you.”
Junhui pulled him in closer.
“You want this, just as much as I do. When are you going to get that through your pretty little head?”
Minghao pushed Junhui away.
“Never, because it’s not true.”
“I don’t believe that for a second.”
“Well, believe it, because it’s the truth.”
Junhui smugly smiled before he pulled Minghao in again. This time, Minghao couldn’t find it in him to push him away again.
“Then look me in the eyes and tell me it’s true.”
Minghao looked up, ready to tell Junhui off, but then he lost his trail of thought, finding himself gazing into Junhui’s eyes. Minghao didn’t know what it was, but something about Junhui’s eyes captivated him, and he couldn’t look away. His breath got caught in his throat, trying to say the words he wanted to say. His eyes then trailed down to Junhui's lips, the lips he's kissed many times and loved to feel against his own and against his skin.
His breath hitched when he felt Junhui's hand rubbing his waist. He looked back up to meet Junhui's eyes, which locked with his. He was stuck in a trance, unable to look or pull away.
Stay strong, Minghao.
"Say no," his brain to him to say, but the words got caught in his throat. H e couldn’t will himself to say it, not when Junhui was right.
Deep down, he knew he wanted it, just as much as Junhui... maybe even more.
Which was how Minghao, once again, found himself in Santa’s cottage, against the wall, with Junhui’s pinning him against a wall. There were boxes around the small cottage filled with extra fake snow, decorations, costumes, and Christmas trees. Other boxes contained candy canes, chocolate, and other treats that came to visit Santa.
It wasn’t an ideal makeout spot in the slightest, and yet, it was the spot they always went to.
Minghao looked up at Junhui, desire filling his eyes, and he knew immediately what Junhui intended to do. He sucked in a breath as Junhui immediately leaned in and attached his lips to his.
And there it was again. Junhui leaning in closer to him, hungrily kissing his lips. Minghao quickly kissed back, immediately falling to the addictive peppermint (was he taking candy canes again?) taste of Junhui’s lips. He could hear his heartbeat in his ears, speeding up as Junhui pushed him into the wall again, this time wrapping his arms around Minghao’s waist and pulling him closer. Minghao proceeded to wrap his arms around Junhui’s neck, pulling him in.
Without a warning, Junhui’s tongue entered his mouth, causing Minghao to gasp. But nonetheless, Minghao accepted the invitation and allowed Junhui to taste him. Minghao could taste the peppermint on Junhui’s tongue, further proving that he was indeed taking candy canes, and he’d have to scold Junhui for it later.
Junhui pulled away, starting to plant a trail of kisses from the corner of Minghao’s lip, to his jawline, and down his neck.
Then Junhui reached his weak spot, the one that made his knees crumble, the one that gave Junhui the signal: take me, I’m yours . That was another annoying thing about Junhui: Junhui has lured him into enough makeout sessions to know what made Minghao weak. He knew where to put his hands, where to kiss him, what touches made Minghao crumble, and what little actions made Minghao want more.
Once he placed the kiss, Minghao let out a whiny moan as his knees buckled. He would have fallen if Junhui hadn’t been holding him up.
Junhui’s breath hitched as he pulled away, his eyes lidded. Minghao looked back up at him, his eyes fluttering.
“You like that, Haohao?”
Minghao nodded.
“Should I continue?”
Minghao nodded again, only quicker. Junhui smiled before he leaned in again, placing kisses on the same, sweet spot. Minghao’s body tingled, the soft touches of Junhui’s lips electrifying his body.
He suddenly winced, the spot now in pain. He gripped Junhui’s hair, realizing Junhui was sucking on his sweet spot. He didn’t expect his neck to suddenly hurt, but it felt so good all at the same time. He felt so dirty and yet he still wanted more.
And Junhui seemed to read his mind because Junhui moved on from his sweet spot and continued down his neck to the hem of his shirt, leaving a kiss on it.
Minghao wanted to let out a whine. Junhui was moving too slow for his sake. It made Minghao want to tell Junhui to get on with it and to just take him, but before he could request his demand, Junhui pulled away.
Minghao, breathing heavily, looked up at Junhui, who was still leaning above him, his hand still pinning Minghao’s wrist to the wall; the confident smirk was still on his face.
“Why’d you stop?”
“I’m hungry. I want to eat before we have to get back to work,” Junhui replied with a simple shrug, “Plus, we’ve been in here for quite awhile. Our coworkers might start wondering why we’ve been in here for so long.”
“What? So you’re just going to leave me like this?”
“Yes… for now,” Junhui said, “We have one more meet and greet before we’re off. If you want, you can come over to my place, and we can continue from where we left off.”
Junhui smugly smiled, and Minghao was tempted to punch it off of his face.
“And you say you don’t want this. How can I believe you when you look like this? Flustered and out of breath? Asking why I can’t just finish you off even though anyone could walk in on us?”
Minghao couldn’t think of an answer and instead tried to catch his breath, and because of that, Junhui’s smug smile grew.
“See? I told you. Your brain has you fooled but your heart knows better. I knew it would from the moment we met. You put up a front, but under that shell, there's more to you, and I'll find out more about it: the real Xu Minghao,” he concluded, confident in his plan, “Also… you might want to cover up your new mark… unless you want people to start wondering where it came from.”
Junhui then winked before he turned around and walked towards the door and out of Santa’s cottage. Confused, Minghao pulled out his phone and went to the camera app. His eyes widened when he saw a new purple bruise forming on his neck. He touched it with his fingertips, wondering how Junhui managed to make a mark this big.
He huffed, walking over to his bag and hoping he had a scarf, and luckily, he had his white scarf with him. He sighed in relief as he started to tie it around his neck. Once he checked to make sure it was completely covered, he quickly fixed his ruffled hair and his wrinkled clothes. He definitely didn’t want anyone questioning it.
Once he looked presentable, he walked back out of Santa’s cottage. He saw Junhui sitting on the ground next to the Santa chair with their Santa for the day on his other side. Both of them had plates of food in their laps, talking as they ate. As Santa looked down at their food, Junhui caught Minghao’s gaze and met his eyes, smirking before Santa looked up and continued the conversation.
Minghao groaned and rolled his eyes before he walked towards the food court to find something to eat.
God damn it, Wen Junhui. Next time, it’ll be different.
But he said that every time, and yet, every time, and yet, it never ended up that way. In fact, he knew that, later, he was going to take Junhui up on his offer.