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Despite the gloomy weather, the street was practically thrumming with excitement. The December air carrying with it a feeling of childish happiness. Shops were decked for the Christmas season and even the pedestrians were walking with a slight skip in their steps.
In the middle of this busy street, a man tried to be as inconspicuous as possible, pulling his cap down and not meeting the eyes of anyone he met along the way. He sighed in relief when he finally saw the familiar store around the corner, quickening his steps until he was safely inside the warm cafe.
“He better have a good reason for calling me out here in this weather.” He huffs as he looks around, trying to spot his friend but not finding any trace of Prom anywhere.
He was just about to pull out his phone to send Prom a quick text when he spots a familiar face seated on one of the tables.
“Great he’s here too.” He whispers. The mature thing would be to walk away and pretend that he never saw him in the first place, but then again, he wasn’t exactly known for being mature.
“When I read that we were going to have bad weather today, I didn’t think they meant you Anan.”
The said man looked up from his phone and scowled when their eyes met. “War, as charming as ever I see.”
War shrugs, completely ignoring the sarcasm in the other man’s words, seating himself down on the chair in front of him.
“Since you’re here, do you mind?”
“If I said yes will you go away?” Yin asks, snorting when War made no move to leave. “Thought so.”
“So, what brings you here?” The smaller man asks as he calls for the waiter after skimming through the menu. “And don’t say you have a date.”
“If I did it’s none of your business.” Yin replied as he sips on what War assumed was a sugary monstrosity. “But I don’t. Prom called me out here actually.”
War’s raised his eyebrows, only taking a few seconds to connect the dots. He takes a deep breath, mentally cursing his friend.
“That’s very interesting.” He said through gritted teeth, pulling out his phone and sending the text he meant to send before he crossed paths with the model. Except now instead of asking where he was, the text was littered with angry emojis.
“Ah. I see.” Yin said with a sigh. “This is a set-up isn’t it?”
“A rather stupid one.” The smaller one replied, eyes widening when he reads the text that comes not a minute later. “I can’t believe he just said I would thank him someday.”
War’s order arrives and he violently stabs the cake with his fork, making Yin wince. “What did that cake ever do to you?”
He pointedly ignores him and eats a mouthful, Yin shakes his head and continues sipping on his drink. Too caught up on their food, they fail to notice the subtle sound of a camera shutter from another table.
---
They met at a party when they were both just starting to make a name for themselves. And they don’t know exactly why, but for some reason they never saw eye to eye, bickering at every chance they got.
To the amusement of their friends and the frustration of their managers, the petty fights remained even when their names got bigger and bigger.
It wasn’t that they disliked each other per say, it was more that they enjoy annoying each other.
But the rare times they spent together were far from dull. The two of them getting along might be a foreign concept to most of those that knew them, but not to the two of them.
Which is why the sight of them laughing freely in the middle of a cozy cafe might raise a few eyebrows.
“Are you attending the company party this year?” War asks once his plate was clean and Yin’s cup was empty.
“Maybe.” Yin replied with a shrug. “If I don’t have a schedule then.”
“Who even has a schedule on Christmas Eve. Let loose once in a while Anan.” The smaller man said playfully, checking his watch and gasping when he sees the time. “I have a recording in twenty minutes.”
He stands up, quickly gathering his things muttering curses under his breath. After saying a hasty goodbye, he was about to head out when a hand caught his wrist, effectively stopping him in his tracks.
"What?"
“I’ll drive you there.” Yin said, pulling his own cap over his head.
“You don’t have to. I can walk.”
"You're going to be late, besides the weather is getting worse." Yin insisted, already standing up. "Let's go."
War nodded, it was starting to rain outside and he would rather be in a warm car than walking under the rain anyway. They exited the cafe, still unaware of a camera following their every move.
----
War woke up the next day, immediately feeling that something was not right. He opened his phone and nearly dropped it when he saw the article with his name on it.
Christmas date..
cozying up..
War resists the urge to scream in frustration, the headline taunting him as he glared at his phone.
"Me? Yin? Dating?" He whispers to himself mockingly. "This is ridiculous."
He dives back under the duvet, wishing that it was all a bad dream but the sharp ringing of his phone interrupts his panic.
"Hello." War said hesitantly, pulling the phone away from his ear when he hears the unmistakable screech of his manager. "Good morning to you too."
"Not when I've been turning down interviews from what feels like every gossip site in existence." His manager screams. "And oh you're dating Yin Anan Wong apparently."
"About that-" War trails off. "We're not."
"I know." The other man said from the line. "I have your schedule."
"What does the company have to say about it?" He asks hesitantly, not knowing what the recent news could mean for the two of them.
"You can deny or confirm, they said it's up to you."
"I already said we weren't dating." He said, laying back down and staring at the ceiling.
"Then we deny everything. Come up with some excuse why you two looked cozy in a cafe." War groaned, he knew that tone.
"I don't like where this is going."
"Well-" He could hear some papers being shuffled. "The company already had a project lined up for the both of you. I was supposed to tell you today but this whole thing blew up."
"A project?"
"They want you both in a drama."
"Excuse me?"
"You heard me."
"Me and Yin Anan in a drama?" War asked incredulously. "Have they lost their minds?"
"I had the same reaction when they told me. But my hands are tied, you can't really say no and neither can Yin. With the reception of your dating rumor, I think it's fair to say that they're very interested in what you two have to offer."
"What do you mean by reception? Is it that bad?"
"On the contrary, people loved the idea of you dating. If our company was a one of those capitalist bastards, they'd be confirming your relationship by now."
War heaves a sigh of relief, they could be doing worse.
"Fine. So we deny the rumors and let it slip that we're doing a drama together?"
"That's the plan."
---
“Hi boyfriend.” War greets as he enters the meeting room. “Miss me?”
Yin groans making War laugh as he settles on the seat next to him. “My first dating rumor and it’s with you of all people.”
“Don’t sound so enthusiastic.” The smaller man said sarcastically. “I guess we’re both stuck together until this drama is wrapped up.”
“I guess we are.”
They were both used to hectic schedules, so when their days immediately filled up with shoots and read throughs, neither of them really batted an eye.
War found himself spending more and more time with Yin. At first it was only during work with the occasional night out until it escalated to spending their free days watching Christmas movies on his couch.
“Look I’m just saying, why do holiday movies always have that trade-off?” Yin asks as he sips on War’s rendition of butterbear. “Can’t the main leads have a career and be in love at the same time? It’s unrealistic”
“That’s why it’s a movie Anan, they’re not supposed to be realistic.” War said as he handed him the bowl of popcorn.
“They could have at least tried.” Yin continued to complain.
“I knew I should have played something else.” He said as he settled back on the couch, hugging a pillow to his chest.
“Yes, you should have.” Yin replied, pulling the blanket over their shoulders.
“I asked you if you wanted to watch something else, you said no.” War argued, the movie forgotten. “Just so you know, I’m five seconds away from kicking you out.”
“You would never.” Yin gasps.
“Try me.”
After the first movie, they made it a tradition to binge every holiday movie they could find every time they were both free. It was something that War did every year, the only difference now was that he had a giant bear in his couch making snide comments at every cheesy scene.
---
It was another weekend when Yin entered the familiar apartment to a weird sight, War standing in the middle of a Christmas warzone.
“Don’t ask.” War said as he was about to open his mouth. “I’m trying to decorate.”
“What’s the theme? Christmas extravaganza?” He asked as he picked up a stray bag of tinsel. “These get everywhere.”
“What, the tinsel?” War asks as he opens another bag. “I thought it was cute.”
“Trust me, the worst thing would be standing in the middle of an interview and have a reporter point at my hair and say they saw glitter in it like four months from now.”
“Really?” War asked, his tone changing. “So that would be the worst thing in the world for you?”
“Pretty much.”
Too busy inspecting the tinsel in his hands, he failed to notice War grabbing a handful of the tinsel and aiming it at him. He shrieks upon impact and glares at the laughing man.
“Did that really just happen?”
War laughs harder. “Yeah I think it did.”
Yin hummed, retaliating with his own barrage of tinsel, making War stop laughing as he finds himself covered in gold foil.
“Goodluck getting all that out.” Yin said as he pointed at the glittered mess in War’s hair and clothes.
“Oh you’re on.” The small man said, grabbing a new bag of tinsel and advancing on him.
Yin grabs a bag of his own and they start throwing tinsel at each other. Running around the apartment and getting tinsel everywhere. Once their bags are empty and once the apartment looks like it rained glitter, the two of them collapse on the floor in a fit of giggles, covered from head to toe in tinsel.
“I guess I can check tinsel off the list.” War said scanning his covered apartment. “How does it look?”
“Maybe a bit too much glitter.” Yin said with a laugh as he lay on his side facing War. Subconsciously he reaches out and runs his thumb on his cheek, only realizing what he was doing when his eyes meet the wide eyes of the other. “Sorry there was-”
War abruptly stands up, breaking the bubble that seemed to wrap around the both of them. “I really have to start decorating.”
Yin watched him walk away and grab a few items before standing up and running a hand through his hair. “I’ll help you.”
“Thanks.”
“No problem.” He makes his way to the pile on the floor and laughs when he sees exactly what kind of decorations War had in store.
“What?” War asked, looking at him from where he was struggling to put up the tree.
Yin holds up the Christmas balls painted with Star Wars characters. “Really?”
“I worked hard on those.” War huffed. “Did you really think I would have plain old Christmas decorations?”
“I guess not.”
They start working together to decorate the apartment that was now looking like a cross between Christmas and a star wars expo. Yin looks up from where he was seated and sees War struggling to put up a wreath.
“Stupid short legs.” War curses and Yin had to hold in a laugh. He walks towards the other man, reaching up and taking the wreath from his hands, easily placing it on the wall.
“There we go.” He looks down with a smile and suddenly finds himself inches away from War’s shocked face. They stare at each other for what felt like hours but what was only probably a few seconds before War loudly cleared his throat, ducking under Yin’s outstretched arms.
Yin shakes his head, willing down the blush on his cheeks, sparing the wreath one last look before turning away.
“What’s next?” He asked with a forced smile, feeling the shift in the air as War tried his best to avoid his eyes.
“Only the tree.”
---
They sat side by side on the couch after they finished decorating the entire apartment and Yin was painfully aware of War’s presence right next to him, their shoulders and knees touching as they sipped on their hot chocolate.
“I can’t believe you put the Star Destroyer on top of the tree instead of an actual star.” He said, eyeing the tree in front of them.
“It was fitting.” War replied nonchalantly.
“Can’t argue with that.”
The silence creeps up on them, it wasn't the comfortable silence they were used to, it was like the air was charged with something they can't quite understand.
"So-"
"I-"
They both say at the same time, making them flush as they turn to look at each other.
"I was just about to ask if you finally made up your mind about the Christmas party?" War asked, playing with his fingers, not knowing why he was feeling shy all of a sudden.
"Yeah, I think I'll be able to go." Yin replied and War looks up, lips forming a bright smile.
"Oh? No schedule?"
"No, I cancelled all of my schedules for that day and the next."
"You did what?" War asked in surprise.
"Someone told me I should let loose a little bit, so I thought-"
Yin's sentence was cut off when War engulfed him in a hug, surprising the both of them.
"- that I should give it a try." He finished lamely, noting that the warmth felt nice. "You're this happy that I'm attending the Christmas party?"
War breaks away from the hug, cheeks red and looking anywhere but the man in front of him.
"I'm just happy you finally decided to go."
"Me too."
The silence was back but Yin had already made up his mind.
"I was thinking-" He started, grabbing War's shoulder so they could sit face to face. "-I don't have a date for the party."
"You don't really need one." War said, tilting his head in confusion. "But I know a few people who might want to come with you."
War tried to ignore sudden heaviness in his chest when he thought about Yin asking someone else to come with him to the party
"Are you always this dense?" Yin asked with a laugh.
"Excuse me?"
"War we're in the middle of your living room, Santa Vader is staring at me from your mantle and that Star Destroyer still looks ridiculous."
"Are you done making fun of my house?"
"No." War lands a soft punch in his shoulder. "Okay I'm done."
"What are you trying to say?" War asked, already having a faint idea of where this was going but refusing to get his hopes up.
"I'm trying to say, do you want to copy every single romantic holiday movie we've watched and be my date at the Christmas party?"
Yin takes his hands in his, carefully running his thumb over his knuckles. "And maybe be my boyfriend?"
"What's in it for me?" War asked playfully, never missing the opportunity to crack a joke.
"A hot date for the Christmas party and a very lovable boyfriend?"
"Temping." War hummed, eyes twinkling.
"So?"
"Yes."
---
"What do you mean you're actually dating?" His manager screams from the receiver. "You just told me you weren't dating."
"Things change." War replied, happily nuzzling in the warm chest.
"Does Yin know you're telling me."
"Considering that he's right next to me, yes."
"You two are going to be the death of me someday." The tired manager groans. "But since it's Christmas, I'll spare the lecture for next time."
"You're the best."
"Yin I'll tell your manager, you two enjoy your Christmas."
The lines cuts and War haphazardly throws the phone somewhere on the table.
"Where were we?" He asked as Yin pulls him closer.
"She was just about to tell him she loves him." The other replied as they turn back to the screen.
"Which is pretty obvious, they're just dense." War complained.
"Are you really in the position to be judging them?"
"Well no-" War huffs. "But I'll do it anyway."
As War turns back to the movie, he sees Yin takes his phone and type quickly before putting it away, a happy smile on his face.
"Why are you so happy?"
"Just posted what I wanted for a Christmas."
"What is it?" War asked, intrigued about the mysterious smile on Yin's face.
"Don't worry, I already got it."
War scrambles to get his phone, hurriedly unlocking his screen and ignoring the notifications that kept popping up. His eyes widen comically when he sees exactly what Yin has posted.
"I told you I already had it."
END.