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the winter air hit him, he curses quietly under his breath and steps on the snow. walking to jeonghan's place is always familiar for him. seungcheol hides his grin and hums to the song playing through his earphone – the song he and jeonghan would always blast together in their detention class – tightening his coat around him while the other one is holding grocery bag. snow coated the road as seungcheol carefully walks on it, aware of the slippery. he pulls his scarf up to his nose to protect it from the cold breeze.
it's the christmas eve and the road is still awake, an old christmas song playing far from him, elderly are greeting him by the sidewalk. sweet scent of freshly baked biscuits seeps into his nose, his stomach growls.
he smiles again, now standing in front of the wooden door. before his finger could press the bell, the door opens, he backs away as reflex but jeonghan tiredly smiles at him and he raises his arm up, greeting him.
"hi,"
jeonghan is as usual – in his worn out blue pyjamas, scraggly soft brown hair, sluggish eyes but still living.
damn, he's smitten.
"do we have all the ingredients?" jeonghan asks when seungcheol puts the grocery bag on the kitchen stool.
seungcheol frowns, "can you give me hot chocolate first?"
jeonghan scoffs and walks to the cabinet, taking out seungcheol's personal mug and quickly make him a hot chocolate as requested. he takes a sip of it, just to taste the sweetness and seungcheol slips another smile.
they sit on the couch, next to each other. the cold air of December fills jeonghan's apartment and he rushes to his room before coming out with a big and thick blanket.
"what's that for?"
jeonghan plops next to him, "for this," and he wraps the both of them in the blanket, now feeling a little warm. "take your feet off the floor." seungcheol does as he told, drinking the hot chocolate carefully.
"i told you to buy a new heater."
jeonghan turns on the television, not meeting seungcheol's eyes. "i just quit my job."
"i will pay for it. choose one from online." seungcheol's tone raises.
jeonghan rolls his eyes and throws his gaze on seungcheol. "thank you mr. walking cash, i can take care of it."
"jeonghan,"
"okay, okay! shut up, let's watch the movie."
seungcheol slips away from the blanket wrap, looking serious. "look at your worn out pyjama, it's so thin and you're wearing it on december? in this damn winter air? you have no heater in your house. what if you get sick? catch cold? you have low immunity, are you aware of that jeonghan?"
jeonghan sighs and stands up, "it's my fault to call you here," he mumbles as he walks to his room.
seungcheol loses his strength out of nowhere. he gapes his mouth to call for him when he closes the door, shutting his words from escaping. he sits back on the couch, watching the movie they were supposed to watch together. the hot chocolate has gone cold and forgotten on the coffee table.
minutes after, he takes out his phone and quickly types a message,
– don't you want your blanket?
he looks at jeonghan's room door, checking whether the doorknob is turning but it doesn't.
no wonder im freezing
seungcheol chuckles, grabbing the blanket and wrapping his body in it.
– want me to give it to you?
come fast
throwing his phone on the couch, seungcheol scurries to his room and opens it and gets thrown by a pillow on his face.
"so you aren't mad." seungcheol jumps on the bed while jeonghan runs around the room, avoiding to be caught by him. "hey, im sorry." seungcheol utters softly. jeonghan stops running and joins him on the bed. "im sorry for making you upset on christmas eve."
jeonghan chimes in, "you upset me nearly everyday."
seungcheol turns to face him, the blanket falling off his head. "im sorry for that too. it's your fault anyway for making me worry over you nearly every day too."
"im a grown up man, seungcheol."
"i know but you're just making it–"
"seungcheol look, i called you tonight to have a good time with you not to hear you saying sorry and making me mad. it's my first christmas without my mom and i only have you, my best friend. can we just forget everything and spend time together?" slowly, jeonghan puts his hand on top of seungcheol's and lifts his eye to meet his. "i have already downloaded the cookies recipe,"
seungcheol's brows lifts." i told you i know how to make it."
jeonghan simply bursts in quiet laugh. "you burnt the pizza on last month's cooking fest by the way."
"im pretty good with cookies. gluten is hard."
jeonghan stands on his knee on the bed, ready to climb off. "whatever you say, seungcheol."
seungcheol stops him from climbing out of the bed by grabbing his wrist. "can we hug?" he carefully asks, studying his expression under the dim light of the room and tightening the blanket over his body.
"come here." jeonghan slides in to his open arm and feeling comfortable to lean over his shoulder.
"im sorry, jeonghan." seungcheol silently covers them in the blanket as they hug and buries his face in the crook of his neck.
they stay like that for a good minute. the television sound in the hall are fading and replaced with their breathing. seungcheol wants to hold onto it, onto jeonghan for longer.
but jeonghan is mischievous, he already knows it from their 7 years friendship. jeonghan suddenly tickles him but seungcheol has impulse, developed by jeonghan's sudden teasing. seungcheol tightens the embrace and fall on the bed together, laughter fills the room.
"seungcheol, let me go."
seungcheol rolls their body, "stop tickling me!" he tries to stop his laugh but he couldn't.
"let me go first!" he climbs on top of seungcheol, trying to slip away but seungcheol's strength stops him.
seungcheol pulls him down and he falls on his chest. jeonghan continues giggling when seungcheol let go of a painful sound and just like that, they're settled on the cranky bed, wrapped in jeonghan's favorite blanket. the warmth between them is far too comfortable for seungcheol to not have his chest heating up.
the feeling kicks in again.
jeonghan adjusts his head on his chest, "i will buy the heater tomorrow."
seungcheol's hand crawls on his waist, finding a spot to place it. "money?"
jeonghan lifts his head only for a second, "of course you're the one paying."
seungcheol exhales and closes his eyes, enjoying the momentarily feeling a little more. jeonghan has always been that kind of person to him. he's sure that his loud heart is nothing.
but when jeonghan raises his head to tickle his ear, failing when seungcheol opens his eyes and he falls on his chest again, muffling his laugh, why did seungcheol wants to kiss him?
it's a thought that never crossed his mind until now that he realizes how bad he has been itching to kiss jeonghan, his best friend.
just at that moment, for a second pause, seungcheol can't stop thinking about the possibilities.
they're so close, pressing against each other, and maybe if he pulls jeonghan up a little–
"hey, it's getting late. let's bake the cookies, seungcheol." jeonghan moves, taking away their warmth with him.
he wants to taste the same happiness filled across his face.