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Chan locks his phone with a sigh, placing it on the bed beside him. He can’t think of what to get Seungmin for Christmas and he’s been looking for ages now. There’s only four days till Christmas and Chan really thinks he’ll have to give the younger money – and he really doesn’t wanna do that. He wants to get Seungmin something meaningful.
Chan sighs, standing up from his bed to go and ask Minho for help. The younger had said he’d already sorted Felix’s present, so maybe he could help Chan out with some ideas. Chan makes his way over to Minho’s room, knocking lightly. The younger yells a small ‘come in’ so Chan enters the room, smiling at the sight of Minho’s hunched over form in front of his messy desk. Chan knew the younger was working on a Literature essay, his Shakespeare bind-up sprawled open and annotated to hell next to him.
“Hi Minho.” Chan says and Minho finally looks up. His eyes are droopy with sleep and Chan mentally awes at the sight. Trust Minho to put his all into the work he does, even in required classes he doesn’t like.
“Hey Chan. Did you need something?” Minho asks, his voice thick and misty with sleep.
“I wanted to ask you for help, if that’s okay?” Chan says and Minho nods, turning away from his desk.
“Sure. What’s up?” Minho says, a yawn following not long after and Chan laughs.
“You should sleep soon.” Chan says, before getting to the issue at hand. “What did you get Felix for Christmas? I have no idea what to get Seungmin.” Chan bites his lip once the words leave his mouth. He realises he sounds kind of pathetic, but it’s better than turning up empty handed. Minho chuckles, the sound dry and thick with sleep, and Chan, despite his own shoddy sleep schedule, really wishes Minho would sleep more.
“I don’t think you’ll like my answer.” Minho responds and Chan tilts his head, confusion weighing down his eyebrows. “I bought a kitten for him.” Minho says and Chan’s eyes widen.
“A kitten?” Chan exclaims and Minho laughs, more joy effused throughout it this time.
“Yep. He’s been wanting one for ages, so I got him one.” Minho says, shrugging it off like Felix had asked for a rare find or an expensive piece, not an entire animal. “If the idea isn’t too outlandish too, which is unfortunately seems like it is, you could get Seungmin a puppy. A golden retriever. They’d match perfectly.” Minho continues. Chan sighs and thinks it over. Seungmin had mentioned wanting to get a dog with Chan some day. But is that day really this close?
“I, I’ll think about it.” Chan says and Minho smirks.
“Good. Now get out, I need to finish this essay.” Minho says, shooing Chan out the door and Chan snorts before leaving. As he leaves Minho’s room, he spots Seungmin stood in the hallway, eyes focused on something on his phone, and Chan walks up behind him, backhugging the younger. Seungmin gasps at the contact and Chan laughs against the side of Seungmin’s neck.
“It’s just me baby.” Chan says and Seungmin relaxes, locking his phone and pocketing it before leaning back against Chan slightly.
“Hello.” Seungmin greets him, a soft smile on his lips, and Chan pecks the skin against Seungmin’s neck before pulling away. Seungmin stands up with a slight daze before opening the door to his room, holding it open for Chan to follow after him. The two settle on Seungmin’s neatly made bed, purple magical Christmas sheets adorning the fluffy duvet, and Seungmin turns on his LEDs, a soft purple light filling the room. He settles against Chan’s chest, pulling out his phone and going back to what he was doing before.
Chan smiles. This kind of behaviour is the norm for Seungmin, and yet Chan has never once gotten tired of it. Seungmin rarely displays affection so this, the privacy of this? It makes something within Chan twist up, all happy feelings and surging amounts of affection. Chan’s hands brush through Seungmin’s hair and if Chan is correct, Seungmin’s phone will hit him soon when the younger falls asleep.
Not even five minutes later, Chan feels that familiar thump against his ribcage, Seungmin’s soft breaths tickling the skin of his arm. He smiles before locking the younger’s phone for him, gentle placing it beside them both. Chan pulls his own phone out and decides he’s made up his mind on what to get Seungmin for Christmas.
A puppy for a puppy.
*•̩̩͙✩•̩̩͙*
The next day, Chan heads out to the dog shelter he’d found nearby whilst looking on the internet, determined to pick out the cutest puppy for Seungmin. Chan thinks over what Minho says and thinks a golden retriever, or something similar, would work perfectly.
The bell above the door chimes when Chan pushes through the front door. A disembodied voice yells a ‘be right there!’ from the back and Chan makes his way over to the counter to wait. He can vaguely make out the scuffle of metal before the door behind him opens and a young girl with bright pink hair and a large smile walks through. She wears a simple hoodie with black jeans and casual sneakers. There are a few strands of pink hair that fizz out in different directions, but overall she looks friendly, and Chan likes her unique style, even if it seems subdued thanks to her workplace.
“Hi there! I’m Zukiana, although you can call me Zuki if you want. What can I do for you today?” The girl says and Chan smiles at the tinge of a British accent visible through her tone.
“I wanna get my friend a dog, a puppy, for Christmas.” Chan says and Zukiana laughs lightly.
“Of course. Follow after me.” Zukiana says, coming around from behind the counter again to lead Chan to a door on the right side. The space beyond is a large, garden space filled with lots of different types of dogs all running around and Chan feels like he just entered Seungmin’s personal heaven.
“Woah, so many…” Chan mutters, but Zuki still hears him, judging by her giggle.
“Mhm! So, tell me about your friend’s personality? I often find that matching dogs and owner by personality works well.” Zukiana says and Chan sinks into his thoughts for a few seconds.
“Well, he’s quite introverted, with the occasional energetic outburst. He also loves cuddles, as much as he hates admitting it.” Chan says and Zuki laughs at that.
“I think I know just the dog. Stay here, I’ll fetch him.” Zuki says before walking off. Chan’s eyes follow her lithe form through the crowd, watching as she stops in front of a dog who’s just laying down and observing all the others. He’s a big dog and Chan thinks he must be an older dog, but he had specified puppy to the girl, so maybe he’s just a larger breed, Chan eventually concludes. Zuki leads the dog over, a chain attached to the simple black collar the dog wears.
The dog is a gorgeous one, thick malting fur that goes from white to blonde to lightly sandy. Chan can’t tell what breed he is, but he’s beautiful and Chan can immediately see, upon closer inspection, that he has a crooked tooth in his bottom row of teeth. It’s a cute little quirk that reminds Chan of Seungmin’s teeth, and his adamant need to fix their ‘mistakes’ with braces. The dog’s tail swings limply behind him, and he looks up at Chan like he knows the secrets of Chan’s soul. And maybe he does. Chan thinks he won’t mind all that much if the dog did.
“This is Demon. He’s seven months old, and he’s been through a lot, but he’s very loveable and lazy – with the occasional burst of energy. Just like your friend.” Zukiana says, her hand running over Demon’s head gently, her red nails bright against his light fur.
“He’s, he’s beautiful.” Chan says, crouching down to look Demon in the eyes. He reaches out to scratch under the dog’s jaw and Demon lets him, brown eyes shutting in joy. The dog even reacts the same way as Seungmin, Chan realises, and something in his heart clicks into place. “He’s perfect.”
“Great! He’s a German Shepherd mixed with Husky, so he’ll need walking at least once a day – is that gonna be okay?” Zukiana asks and Chan nods. “Perfect. Well then, follow me. Let’s sign the forms and pay the fee, and then he’ll be all yours.” Zuki continues before handing Chan the leash. Chan accepts it and follows after Zuki, who shuts the door behind Chan, before making her way back to the counter.
There’s a pug on the counter that wasn’t there before. It’s black and chubby, and it peeps a brown sunlit eye open when Chan steps closer. He smiles, gently reaching out to brush his thumb across it’s head, before pulling away when the dog stands up.
“Her name is Poppy. She’s my personal assistant.” Zuki says, her tone humorous, and Chan smiles. Poppy stretches, the bell on her pink collar jingling, before she starts pacing around in circles, eventually settling back against the desk, her head atop her tiny paws that are lined with sharp black claws. Chan can just make out a flash of white on her pudgy tummy. Cute.
“So if you just sign here.” Zuki says when Chan finally looks away from the pug. Demon is pressed against his leg, and he appreciates the warmth that radiates off the dog. Chan lifts his free hand up to sign the form, before reaching into his pocket and pulling out his wallet. He’s quick to pay and before he knows it, Chan is leaving the shelter, Demon by his side.
“Come on buddy, let’s get you home.”
*•̩̩͙✩•̩̩͙*
Chan sighs when he finally gets back to his room. He had bumped into Changbin on his way in and the younger had immediately started cooing over the dog. Demon had nearly knocked Changbin over when he jumped up in excitement, but Changbin had just giggled. It took his boyfriend, Jeongin, coming to pull him away, which Chan was kinda grateful for. Don’t get him wrong, he loved his friends, but he wanted to get Demon adjusted to the place before he presented him to Seungmin.
Speaking of the younger, Chan hears his tell-tale knock sound and Demon barks at it, loud as it rings through the air.
“Fuck.” Chan whispers, before standing up to open the door. Seungmin has a confused look on his face that quickly morphs into one of shock.
“Is that a dog?” Seungmin asks, barging past Chan, and Chan smiles at the younger’s enthusiasm, closing his door.
“Yes.” Chan answers, not that he needs to. He sits on his bed and watches as Seungmin fusses over Demon, before standing up and sitting next to Chan, Demon following him before laying down in front of Chan and Seungmin.
“Why do you have a dog, Chan?” Seungmin asks, eyes still fixed on the beautiful dog sprawled at his feet.
“He’s, he’s my Christmas present to you.” Chan says, voice quiet and Seungmin turns to him then, eyes wide.
“Seriously?” Seungmin exclaims and Chan nods, quickly catching Seungmin when the younger launches himself at Chan. “Thank you, thank you, thank you! I’ve always wanted a dog of my own.” Seungmin says and Chan smiles into the crook of Seungmin’s neck.
“I know. That’s why I went and got you one. He’s only seven months old and his name is Demon.” Chan tells him when Seungmin pulls away. Seungmin smiles at him before turning to face the dog, running his hand along the smooth fur atop Demon’s head.
“He’s perfect, Chan.” Seungmin whispers, eyes still fixed on Demon, and Chan feels love surge through his body.
“Of course. Only the best for my favourite puppy.” Chan says, laughing softly when Seungmin’s cheeks and ears tinge red. The nickname always made the younger flush, and Chan used it sparingly whenever he wanted to tease. Seungmin finally pulls away from stroking Demon’s fur and looks at Chan.
“Thank you.” He whispers before leaning it and kissing Chan. Chan kisses back, pouring all the love and adoration he has for Seungmin into the kiss. They kiss for a while until a knock sounds and they pull away. Seungmin laughs before speaking.
“Well, time to introduce Demon to the rest of the crew.”
*•̩̩͙✩•̩̩͙*
Chan laughs at Demon. He’s trying his best to remain nice and patient, but it’s obvious he’s very clearly frustrated by the orange ball of fur pouncing on his back over and over.
It’s Christmas Eve and Minho had made everyone gather in the living room before he handed Felix his very much alive and squirming Christmas present. Felix had nearly dropped the kitty, but he hadn’t.
“I’ll name her Marmalade.” Felix had said and that was that. Marmalade and Demon. Cat and dog. Two unlikely friends.
Chan focuses back on the pair as Demon stands up, Marmalade slipping to the floor, unseated from her perch on Demon’s back, before scrambling to keep up with Demon’s steady steps.
“They are so cute.” Seungmin says from beside Chan and Chan turns to face him.
“I could say the same about you.” Chan says back and Seungmin squeaks, bringing his knees up to bury his face in them as he falls into Chan’s side. Chan laughs at that, but his laugh is quickly cut short by Jisung fake gagging.
“Get a room. Ew.” Jisung says, as if he isn’t literally plastered back-to-chest with Hyunjin, and Hyunjin’s chin isn’t resting atop Jisung’s shoulder.
“You can’t talk.” Jeongin says as he enters the room, Changbin trailing after him with a few cookies in his hands. Chan and Seungmin laugh at Jeongin’s comment, and Chan can see Changbin look up in concern before realising no one is laughing at him and turning back to the cookies.
Jisung just huffs, snuggling back against Hyunjin more (somehow), and before long Felix and Minho enter the room again. They settle on the couch that Seungmin and Chan are on, and it doesn’t take long for Demon to pad into the room, jumping into the small space between Seungmin and Felix, and immediately snuggling into Seungmin’s warmth. Marmalade comes in after and scrambles up onto the couch to clamber across Demon’s back.
Marmalade rests her head atop Demon’s, her right paw smacking Demon in the cheek and he huffs, adjusting his head so her paw is moved, but her head isn’t. It’s cute and Chan can immediately see the similarities between Marmalade and Felix.
The two animals fall into sleep as Minho puts on a movie. The movie is How the Grinch Stole Christmas, started about twenty minutes ago, and Seungmin perks up at that.
“Doggo.” Seungmin whispers when Max appears on screen and Chan giggles.
Ten minutes later, Seungmin’s locked phone clatters against Chan’s thigh and Chan looks down, smiling softly when he sees Seungmin is asleep. A quick glance around the room confirms that Changbin, Jisung and Hyunjin are all asleep too, plus Marmalade and Demon are still snoozing in between Seungmin and Felix. Chan takes the sight in with a prideful smile.
Christmas had always been a big thing for Chan, but this Christmas had definitely taken that to higher heights.