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Xiao looked at himself in the mirror as he adjusted his tie. The crisp winter air was always harsh around this time of year, but it was still something he couldn’t deal with. Xiao took the suit jacket that lay on his bed and slipped it through each of his arms, keeping it unbuttoned. He wasn’t used to this at all, the tie was choking him half to death. But there was no turning back now, he’d already made the reservations and the payments. No way was he letting all that money go to waste. He took a deep breath in as he looked over himself once more, he looked nicer than expected. Happy with the outcome, he grabbed his keys and two helmets as he made his way out the door, locking it behind him.
The dorm complex wasn’t that hard to navigate as he headed down to the third floor, letting his steps guide him subconsciously outside another room. He rapped at the door as a crash was heard from inside.
“I’ll be out in just a second,” a voice called from the other side.
Xiao chuckled, of course he was running behind schedule. His attention was focused as he heard a creak of the door opening. Xiao stood there gobsmacked.
There stood his boyfriend, Aether, in a white tux, highlighted with a gold tie. His hair pulled back into a ponytail as it swept over his shoulder, tying the look together with simple black dress shoes. Xiao was marvelled, he knew his boyfriend was good-looking, but he thought he may just faint at the aura that was surrounding him.
“I hope it isn’t too much…” Aether said timidly, still looking down at the floor.
“N…No, it looks…” Xiao tried to find the right word as his tongue tied tighter, “ You look perfect.” His words sending a redness to Aether’s face.
“You don’t look too bad yourself,” The blonde told him as he closed the door behind him.
Xiao said nothing as he handed Aether a helmet, too embarrassed to say anything else. Aether let out a small laugh as Xiao smiled back up at him, offering his hand.
“Shall we go?” He asked.
Aether took his hand as they took the elevator to the bottom floor and walked straight out of the dorms. The cool air hit them as they both tightened to each other's hands as if that was their place of warmth. The parking lot was filled to the brim, but Xiao quickly navigated the maze of vehicles to find his motorbike.
“Are you sure you’ll be okay in the suit?” Xiao asked, looking at its pristine colour.
“Xiao, it’ll be fine, with you at the wheel, I know both me and the suit will be safe.” Aether never failed to make Xiao flush as he put his helmet on and hopped on the bike.
Aether followed swiftly after and gave Xiao a tap on the shoulder to let him know that his helmet was on securely. Xiao turned the key and the motorbike hummed to life. He felt Aether’s grip tighten around his waist as they exited the lot so Xiao could move more fluidly on the roads. They may have been dangerous at this time of year, with snow and thin layers of ices covering it, but Xiao had ridden long enough to know what he was doing.
It was about 30 minutes to the restaurant according to his maps, so as they rode through the familiar roads he couldn’t stop and reminisce about all the memories he’d made with Aether in each significant place. Especially the cafe. Christmas decorations littered every corner of the street and he couldn’t help but smile. But the long ride was all made worth it as Aether softly leaned against Xiao, making himself more comfortable.
The present he held for Aether reminded him how much he cherished him and their relationship. The stolen kisses in between classes, the nights where he would dream of nothing but him and what a future with him could look like. He never thought he and his coffee shop regular would end up together. Xiao had longed for his partner ever since Aether had walked into the shop and ordered his stupid oat milk latte. That order was everything to him. It meant everything to their relationship.
Once they made it outside the restaurant and the motorbike’s engine was cut, Aether slowly untangled his arms from Xiao’s waist and hopped off. Xiao followed in the same fashion, lowering the kickstand, stabilising the bike.
Xiao offered his arm as he and Aether entered the restaurant together. They were met with an already overly packed restaurant, hearing chatter from all four sides, for every table there seemed to be a server running around trying to get the dishes out as quickly as possible.
They slowly made their way up to one of the waitstaff that was currently looking at a reservation book. Her head slowly turned up and smiled at the two gentlemen.
“Hi, and welcome to The Jade Chamber , do you two have a reservation for tonight?” She asked them.
Xiao smiled back, “Uh yes, it should be under the name Xiao.” As soon as he told her, her eyes started scanning the pages.
“Table for two?”
“That would be it.”
“Right this way then.” She beckoned them to follow her as she grabbed the menus and cutlery leading them through the tables and taking them to a small secluded corner where a small round table sat.
Xiao let go of his boyfriend’s arm as he sped to the table, pulling out the seat for Aether, who thankfully accepted the gesture. Once Xiao was in his own seat the waitress looked at both of them.
“Is there anything I can get started for you?” She asked politely, notepad at the ready.
“I think we’ll just start with some water for now,” Xiao said, looking at Aether who simply nodded.
“Perfect, those should be out soon then,” she said as she quickly hurried away to seemingly help another table.
As soon as she was gone from view, Aether put his hands over Xiao’s.
“How did you manage this? I heard this place needs to be booked months in advance.” Aether asked, his hands gripping tighter.
“Aether, don’t worry about it, can we just enjoy a nice Christmas Eve dinner?” Xiao told him, bringing one hand to stroke the ones that had just clasped them.
Aether smiled, slowly taking his hands away from Xiao’s as they easily slipped into conversation.
“The menu looks good, but these prices, are you sure we can afford this?” Aether asked, worry filled his eyes.
“We’ll be fine, I’ll take care of the bill anyways.” Xiao told him, “and don’t worry about the money. I’ve been saving a lot for this place.” He quickly added before Aether could get word in edgewise.
Aether gave him a look but ultimately decided not to argue knowing it would be absolutely pointless.
“Well, if you’re paying for everything then I’ll take the Chicken Enchilada’s please.”
Xiao smiled at him, nodding approvingly at his choice. After a couple more minutes the waitress came back.
“I’m so sorry about the wait on those,” she apologised, placing down two glasses and a jug of water on the table. “Are you ready to order your meals?”
Xiao nodded, “I will take the steak, done rare please, and he will have your chicken enchiladas if that is alright?”
The waitress wrote down their order and repeated it back to them, making sure she had it right. Xiao gave her another nod. The waitress quickly smiled before running towards what seemed to be the kitchen.
Although the night had just started, Xiao was already beginning to feel the effects of being out in such a social place. If anything, socialisation was the thing Xiao was the worst at.
He could feel Aether staring holes into his head as he looked up, concern filled his amber eyes.
“Xiao, are you okay?” He asked, a small smile gracing his lips.
“Yeah, just a little tired,” Xiao responded, giving a small yawn.
“We can leave, you know?” Aether said, seriousness in his voice, concerned about the wellbeing of the boy across from him.
Xiao was surprised Aether would even suggest such a thing,
“No way. I spent too much time preparing this night for you, for us . We’re not leaving just because I’m already a little socially drained.” Xiao was firm in his decision. “Plus, I still really want to try the food here.”
Aether let out a small chuckle as he and Xiao continued to talk. They were both content enough with each other’s company that they didn’t realise how fast their food came out. They stopped talking as another member of the waitstaff came out with their meals.
“The Chicken Enchiladas and Rare Steak?” The young male asked them both.
Xiao directed who’s meal was who’s as he placed them down in front of the pair.
“I hope you two enjoy the rest of your night,” he said as he left the table.
Xiao looked down at his meal, the steak was cooked to perfection with the steak being seared to a perfect golden brown. It was practically fresh off the pan as the oils still sizzled over. The side was a small salad filled with an assortment of lettuces and neatly cut up dried tomatoes, the salad dressing pure as the snow that would fall. To top it all off, a creamy gravy sauce cascaded over the meat with a small piece of parsley garnish on top. He glanced up to see that Aether hadn’t touched his food as he stared at it in awe.
Tender chicken was neatly folded into two tortilla wraps that were covered in an overflow of melted mozzarella cheese. There wasn’t a single piece of each tortilla that even looked remotely empty. The chicken that still appeared from the front had a honey-glazed texture, making it look even sweeter and more tempting to eat. Following the mozzarella, it was stacked with sour cream, red and green peppers, tomatoes and the delicately placed celery leaves, leaving it looking like perfection.
“Aether, when are you going to stop gawking at your food and actually eat it?” Xiao asked as he snapped a photo of the dish in front him and started to cut through the meat.
“But, it's so beautiful, I kind of don’t want the chef’s handiwork to go to nothing…” Aether said, guiltily looking down at his plate.
“Then take a photo, it will last longer.” Xiao laughed before popping a piece of steak into his mouth and let the overwhelming flavour take himself into a new dimension of taste.
Xiao watched as Aether took out his phone and snapped a couple of photo’s before putting it away and placing a knife and fork to the meal. He seemed so unsure of himself as he cut into the first wrap, letting chicken cascade over the plate. He carefully took a piece with his fork and up to his mouth. As soon as he placed the chicken into his mouth, letting it slowly drag off the fork a soft groan escaped the back of his throat.
Xiao tried to keep himself from laughing too much.
“Does it taste as good as it looks?” Xiao asked him.
Aether just nodded, taking another mouthful of his food. The rest of the dinner shared a comfortable silence between the two males, small comments made through bites. But both had cleared their plates with the food sitting comfortably in their stomachs.
“Do you feel like desert?” Xiao asked Aether, who was taking a sip of his water.
“I think the dinner was enough, what about you?”
Xiao shook his head. He called a waiter over and asked for the check which was brought to them promptly. After paying for the meal and leaving a very generous tip, Aether took Xiao’s arm once more, waving to the staff as they left.
Out in the car park once more, Xiao handed Aether his helmet, but before he could hop on, Aether grabbed his arm. Xiao tilted his head, questioning his boyfriend’s actions.
“I… I just wanted to say thank you for tonight. It really is the perfect Christmas Eve.” Aether blushed, but Xiao just stood there, his face stone dead.
“Why are you thanking me? You didn’t think the date was over, did you?” Xiao felt his lips curl upwards as he dragged Aether onto the motorbike before he could say another word.
As soon as Aether’s arms were safely around his waist Xiao twisted the keys and drove. He smiled behind the helmet as he drove Aether to his second surprise of the night. The wind was getting colder the later they drove into the night, but Xiao honestly couldn’t care less. He drove the roads that he had become familiar with for so long as he stopped outside a familiar park.
Aether stepped off the bike, taking off his helmet and staring in front of him, Xiao saw the glimmer in his eyes as he made sure the bike was locked and secure. He walked up to Aether and placed an arm around his waist. Aether looked at him, tears brimming his eyes.
“I didn’t think you’d remember.” He said, staring deeply into Xiao's eyes.
“Why?” Xiao asked.
“I don’t know, it was so long ago…” Aether’s eyes were dug deep into their past.
“Of course I would, how could I forget the place I took you for our first date. Now come on,” Xiao said smiling, interlocking Aether’s hand with his own as they walked through the black steel gates.
Moonlight shone through the trees as they walked down the pathways their feet had walked before. The further they walked, the more the trees opened up to a starry sky, each one twinkling brighter than the last. Xiao led Aether to a small black bench that sat amongst the open landscape, allowing them to sit and take in the moonlit surroundings. The park was beautiful in the morning, but at night it held so much more mystique and passion as the moonlight danced across the glistening pathways.
Aether sighed, his head leaning against Xiao’s shoulder, “This really is the perfect way to end a perfect night.”
“There is still one more thing,” Xiao muttered only loud enough for Aether to hear. The blonde eyed him suspiciously as he rose from his shoulder and saw Xiao pull a small black box from the pocket of his suit jacket. Aether sucked in a deep breath.
“It's not what you think it is, at least, not yet, ” Xiao reassured him, placing the box in his hands, “An early Christmas gift, from me to you.”
Aether stared down at the box, slowly undoing the ribbon that was neatly wrapped around it. He grabbed the edge of the box and slowly pulled it upwards as a light gasp escaped him.
“Cufflinks?” He managed to say, trying to keep the tears from falling.
Xiao only nodded as he took Aether’s wrists in his hand. He slowly undid the cufflinks that Aether had put on and proceeded to replace them with his gift, kissing the insides of his wrists as he did so. Xiao then slowly let go of his hands as he admired his handiwork, a silver “A” shining against the solid black. Aether opened his mouth to speak, but nothing came out. Instead, Xiao watched as Aether brought his hand to his cheek, wiping away a small snowflake.
He looked up to see, slowly but surely, snow starting to fall from the sky. He guessed he didn’t even see the clouds overhead. In the moment of stupor Xiao felt a soft kiss planted on his cheek as he turned to see a blushing Aether.
“Thank you.” He said smiling.
Xiao loved Aether’s smile, it was something that could light up an entire room. He thought back to his laugh, something that was soft, light, delicate. Something he thought of so often it remembered how it always brought a smile to his face.
Xiao stared at the boy in front of him, the specks of white that had begun littering his hair, his flushed cheeks that ran redder than the passion the two held for each other. Finally, Xiao’s gaze landed on Aether’s snow-kissed lips, shivering from the sudden cold that snow always brung. Xiao wanted to do nothing more than kiss the cold away. And he did.
Aether eyes widened as Xiao suddenly grabbed his tie and pulled him close, slotting his lips perfectly with his own. It didn’t take long for Aether to reciprocate and melt into the kiss. They sat there for a good couple of seconds before Xiao decided to grab Aether’s chin and tilt it upwards to deepen the kiss. Xiao swiped his tongue across Aether’s bottom lip asking for the entry which Aether gladly gave, letting Xiao be his only source of oxygen. Their tongues danced over each other, grasping for the sweet taste that was so familiar. After what seemed to be an eternity, the two broke apart, out of breath and blushing profusely.
Aether scrambled to pull his phone out of his pocket, his eyes widening as the screen flashed his face.
“What?” Xiao asked, moving closer to snuggle with Aether.
He showed the time to Xiao, “It’s midnight. Merry Christmas Xiao!”
Xiao chuckled, letting a soft smile perch upon his lips, “Merry Christmas, my love .”
Aether sat there shocked, but Xiao didn’t give him time to react as he pulled his lover in for their first Christmas kiss.
The End