♡ Warm Heart ♡

Part 1 - One week before Christmas

Wooyoung shakes the snow out of his hair and brushes off his shoulders before entering. The reception is a small room with a couple of chairs and a door that leads deeper into the place. It's empty except for the person sitting at the old wooden reception desk, who looks at him with curiosity, perhaps wondering who would brave the snowstorm to come to a cat shelter.

"You must be Wooyoung," the guy greets him. "I'm Yeosang. He's in the back, you can go right in."

"Thank you."

He finds San deeper into the building, sitting on a couch in a room with spring green walls. San looks up from the white and orange kitten he's scratching behind the ears and smiles. No matter how many times Wooyoung sees that smile, it hits just as hard as the first time.

Wooyoung asks if San is ready to go, but San tells him to come say hi. The kitten, not a baby but a very slim young thing, gets up and skips over to sniff the snow on Wooyoung's shoes before rubbing a soft round head against his pants leg.

"This is Bingsu," San says. "She's usually pretty shy so she's been here a while, it's hard for her to get adopted, but she's a darling, we're best friends. I've never seen her greet someone the first time like this, she must be able to tell that you're a good person!"

Two more kittens, a little older, come jumping down from platforms to examine Wooyoung too. San introduces them as Gong, black short-hair, and Coin, pale peach with a stump tail. He always talks about them like they're people. Wooyoung gives them a pat each and gently reminds San they need to leave to catch the bus.

"Oh right," San says.

One of the very few downsides of dating a romantic is that San gets absorbed in things and loses track of time, especially books and cats. Once he left for a quick visit at the shelter and was gone for three hours, another time he was going to make ramen on the stove and managed to boil the water down until it burned the bottom. Since then he's banished from most kitchen appliances, only allowed to use the microwave.

"Sorry, kids, I have to go!" He swoops the cats up, and they patiently allow him to gather all three in his arms. After putting the cats back in their cages, they head out. San peers at the snow coming down, mildly hesitant.

"You don't have to come."

"Of course I'm coming," San says. He wraps the big red knitted scarf around his neck that Wooyoung gave him at the start of winter, that he's worn every day since. "It'll be interesting. And you said there's taste samples?"

They're going to a Christmas themed farmer's market that Yeonjun told Wooyoung about, with a lot of homegrown and homemade ingredients and products.

"You're only coming with me because there's delicious free food?"

"Yes, and also because you're delicious," San teases and plants a kiss on his cheek, but immediately scowls in disapproval. "You're so cold!"

It is cold. This winter is unusually cold, and Wooyoung's apartment can barely hold up, he has to wear warm sweaters and slippers at all times. It's become the excuse for a lot of cuddling, though, so he can't complain too much. At least the bus is warm and San cuddles him there too, and the market is set up in a big hall indoors that should be heated by all the people.

♡

Wooyoung falls asleep on San's shoulder on the bus. He sleeps irregularly because of the odd work hours. San hadn't realized what hard work it is being in the restaurant business, or how complicated it is to get life to flow when your schedule changes from week to week. So San lets him be and watches the world fly by outside the window, his mind drifting.

Sometimes Wooyoung has left for work by the time San gets home. Because San is asleep when Wooyoung comes home and has left by the time Wooyoung wakes up, they sometimes go several days barely seeing each other. Wooyoung never complains, only apologizes. He also teases San for not being able to stay awake until he comes home, saying his boyfriend has the sleep habits of a little old lady wanting to be tucked in at ten. San can't really say anything about that, because it's true.

So they've found other ways to spend time together. San still texts about treasures he finds. They talk on the phone or just have a call open while working or doing chores or playing games. Sometimes San reads to Wooyoung, like a live audiobook. Wooyoung takes home leftovers that San brings as lunch, and San tries to guess what it is. Wooyoung loves how awful he is at it, teasing and cheering if he gets more than two ingredients right. Their domestic life is perhaps a little unusual, but no less warm and happy.

When their schedules allow it, they try to do normal couple things to make up for it. Go grocery shopping together or carve a Halloween pumpkin. Wooyoung has done the single-in-the-city version of Christmas before, meeting up with friends and getting mildly drunk on mulled wine, so the prospect of celebrating Christmas with a boyfriend set him off already in October.

"We don't have to do Christmas gifts," he'd said suddenly.

"Of course we're doing gifts," San had protested.

The next time they'd talked about it was when San had moved his computer over, because he spent more time in Wooyoung's apartment than his own and it's closer to the bookstore anyway. "Do you want to decorate," Wooyoung had said, in the middle of trying to figure out how to fit San's things into the tiny space. "For Christmas. We could get some things together."

San had known him well enough at that point to see that Wooyoung was trying to not give away that he'd already planned the whole thing down to fine details.

"Alright," he'd said, waving at his boyfriend to go ahead. "Give it to me."

Blushing a little at how easily San had seen through him, Wooyoung had explained how they could handcraft decorations themselves that would be the start of their Christmas tradition. Every year they'd add something, so that every Christmas as they took them out they'd remember the time they'd spent together.

"Sorry, I know it's a lot," Wooyoung had said at the end, worried about coming on too strong. It wasn't necessary, San had been smiling since two sentences in. "Honestly I'm not very good at making things, though."

"I'll find some books," San had promised him.

In November, Wooyoung had expressed careful interest in a Christmas Tree, but quickly come to the conclusion that there was no way it could fit if they didn't strap it upside down to the ceiling. They had to put that venture on ice until they got a bigger place. A mini tree in plastic would have to do, to display the garlands and decorations.

"Would it be crazy to get an apartment together just so we can fit a tree?" San had asked, mostly joking.

"We won't be able to get a new place in time for Christmas," Wooyoung had answered, taking it literally.

"You'd move in with me?"

"Um, I… I mean… You pretty much live here already, or why else is your computer taking up half my living space," Wooyoung had pointed out.

"So you're saying I might as well give notice on my apartment?"

Wooyoung's cheeks had warmed a pretty pink, framing his happy smile. "Yeah, I guess, if you want."

They had gone on a classic date for Wooyoung's birthday at the end of November. Neither of them were exactly swimming in cash, so Wooyoung had been fairly impressed with San's choice of restaurant.

"Spending all this money on me," he'd said, flustered but enjoying himself.

San had looked through the menu and said, "Well, I expect the same treatment in July."

With a giggle and a decisive nod, Wooyoung had declared, "Okay! Call!"

On the first of December, San had come home from work to a simple but cozy meal and the apartment smelling of classic spices; cinnamon and saffron.

"I just wanted to open Christmas month with something," Wooyoung had said.

San had placed supplies on the counter. "I actually thought we could make Christmas candy. I asked mom for instructions for the ones she usually makes."

"Your mother? You're going to teach me your mother's Christmas candy recipes?"

San had seen Wooyoung's disbelief and realized, "I guess you know a lot of better things though," starting to feel stupid. "You're an actual chef."

"No, no!" Wooyoung rushed over to take his hands. "I'm not a confectionary chef! Not any fancy kind at all. And anyway that's not the point! Your mom… I mean, these might be passed down generations… This is your childhood! You really want to share it with me?"

Not sure what to say, San's mind had stalled. Wooyoung put such value on food, San had just thought the chocolate-coated marzipan animals were cute, and the caramel was really good but there was no way he could make it himself.

Wooyoung dropped his hands. "It's not that deep," he seemed to say to himself. "Sorry, I ran away with it, I mean it's just candy, nevermind, okay, is that marzipan?"

San had gently taken Wooyoung's head to kiss his hair. "I told mom you were working on Christmas so I wouldn't come up, and she invited us both before New Year's instead."

"To m-meet your parents?" Wooyoung had asked, mental functions shutting down.

San would have taken Wooyoung to see his parents sooner, but work made it difficult. To be honest he'd just gotten lost in the days passing comfortably, leaned back behind the counter at work with Wooyoung's voice in his ear, narrating Yeonjun and Soobin trying to chase a bird out of the restaurant. It felt like no time at all had passed since summer.

Seeing Wooyoung's mind running away with him again, San had put a chocolate bar in his hands. "Please can you melt the chocolate because she told me to absolutely not do anything involving heat myself."

Because their time had been limited before Wooyoung had to go to work, they'd eaten and made Christmas candy at the same time. A dangerous venture where San had barely dodged drinking scalding hot melted chocolate instead of his blackberry tea, but Wooyoung's first marzipan creature had not been so lucky and met its end dipped in coffee.

"So we're doing gifts and decorations and candy, and I'm obviously cooking us something, it's almost like we're doing a real proper Christmas," Wooyoung had mused. He'd had a smudge of nougat on his cheek from sneaking a piece when San wasn't looking, after he'd himself scolded San repeatedly saying they shouldn't eat any before Christmas. His second little creature had been successfully coated in chocolate and he'd looked so incredibly proud of whatever it was - perhaps a pig, cat, dog, or literally anything with four legs - that San hadn't been able to stop himself.

"I love you," he'd said and watched Wooyoung's wide eyes fix on him. "Even if you're a candy thief."

Wooyoung had laughed, and San had wiped his cheek before popping a mint drop in his mouth and kissing him. Wooyoung had whispered "I love you too," against his lips and never made it to work that night. Instead they tested what else could be dipped in chocolate, and Wooyoung complained a lot about chocolate stains on his mattress in the morning.

Finally, Wooyoung had told him about going to the farmer's market with Yeonjun, and talked about it constantly until San asked if he should come along. This morning Yeonjun suddenly dropped out. Now, looking at the top of his boyfriend's head resting on his shoulder, San wonders if Yeonjun was ever involved or if Wooyoung has used him as an excuse to get San to come. He still thinks all his plans are a bother to San and he has to keep San happy and entertained so he puts up with them, when they're what puts the magic in San's days.

♡

Wooyoung wakes up when the bus stops, and yawns and shivers stepping out into the cold air. It has at least stopped snowing. It's easy to find the place because it's decked with Christmas lights and wreaths, and coming inside is like setting foot inside a fairy tale. The air in the huge open hall is filled with gingerbread and peppermint, the walls and tables dressed in red cloth. There's sections for various categories, like foods and crafts.

They walk up and down the rows of tables. San is mostly interested in trying the various foods and candies and Wooyoung loses him to some bears made of honey and a variety of nuts, and wanders ahead by himself. He's on the hunt for some specific ingredients and perhaps some materials for crafts.

He ends up at a table with some small boxes; thin agile wood woven loosely like in baskets. The guy who sells them starts chatting with him, so Wooyoung explains how he wants to weave small LED-lights into the sides and tie ribbons around them to make them look like presents. "But then they can't be opened," he thinks. It would be cute to store candy or other small things inside.

The guy thinks that's easy. Glue the ribbon to the box sides and cut it. It'll still look like a present, but the lid comes off. Wooyoung buys two small and one slightly larger box, they're not crazy expensive. He's continued to the next row wondering if golden Christmas balls are brave or gaudy when San catches up, offering him a fruity gelatin cube.

"I know what you like," San says proudly when Wooyoung says it's surprisingly not too sweet.

"Hey!" The guy that sold him the wooden boxes slips around a table to come up to them. They've come down on the other side of his stand, and he holds out a box with LED-lights woven into it like Wooyoung said he wanted. "This is genius. They sell these lights down that way if you need some. I'm thinking I should partner up with them because this looks awesome. It's your idea, so I wanted to say thank you."

Wooyoung laughs and waves it off. "I stole the idea from one of Sannie's books," he says, nodding at San.

"I'm going to try the ribbons too, later. Really, I'm just good at making these things, not selling them. You've got the right thinking for it, I can tell." He grins and says, "Maybe I should partner up with you instead."

Wooyoung stutters some thanks and good luck, flattered but awkward, and San steps in between them with an "Excuse us," before ushering Wooyoung ahead and away. "Do you know that guy?"

There's a slight sharpness in his tone and Wooyoung rubs his arm to reassure him. A brief look of shame floats over San's face, before he turns his attention to some old ladies making candles in a corner. A moment later they've been offered to try it, and get absorbed in carefully dipping wicks in vats of paraffin.

San has tiny battles with jealousy occasionally. Wooyoung doesn't mind, it's not invasive at all, but San is very self-aware and ashamed of it. His attempts at making up for it, joking it off and smoothing it over, are more awkward than the jealousy itself. He's walked like a wary cat around the subject of his one serious ex, but Wooyoung is fairly sure he was cheated on.

Wooyoung had been so excited about going to this place with Yeonjun that he'd gushed about it for days, before he'd realized Yeonjun's name coming up all the time was making San uncomfortable. He doesn't think San is genuinely suspicious of Yeonjun, and he'd never ask Wooyoung to not go with him, but the flicker in his eyes is heartbreaking.

So Wooyoung has told San that Yeonjun canceled this morning, but in actuality he asked Yeonjun to stay home. He knows it probably wouldn't have mattered, especially since San came along, but watching San relax and laugh with the candlemakers, helping them when their old hands struggle to tie knots on the wicks, he thinks he wants San to always smile like this.

♡

They come back from the market to crash onto the couch, feet hurting, fingers freezing and numb just from walking inside carrying the bags with their purchases. Neither of them are up for unpacking, San quickly throws the things that need to stay cold in the fridge. When he collapses back on the couch, Wooyoung snuggles him.

"That was fun!" San declares.

Wooyoung snickers against his collarbone. "You ate so much candy."

"Yeah I think I'll need to walk a lot of steps tomorrow." Wooyoung mumbles something into his shirt that he can't quite hear. "What?"

"Or you can burn it now," Wooyoung repeats, still very quietly, hugging himself tightly against him.

"Oh really? I can? You didn't eat any candy?"

Wooyoung squeals when he flips them over and tickles him. He tries to tease San by claiming to be too tired to even take off his shoes, but San's response is to take his shoes off for him and carry him to bed.

They are however actually exhausted and end up falling asleep in each other's arms, but that's okay because for once they get to wake up together, rested and in no hurry, a perfect winter morning.

Part 2 - One day before Christmas

"Tadaa!" Wooyoung says, holding up the first box with lights and ribbons. "If I put plastic on the inside we can keep the gingerbread we made in it!"

San smiles and nods where he is curled up on the couch in a blanket, reading. He goes through several books a week, using the book shop as his personal library, handling the covers and pages very gently so he can return them to the shelves. He can't keep them, there's no space, so instead he keeps careful record of what he reads, meticulously noting down plots and thoughts so that he'll never forget them. Once he has a bigger living space he'll collect all his favorites, he says.

"Why don't you read on your phone instead," Wooyoung asked once at the start of their dating, and he'll never make that mistake again because he'd gotten the most horrified, disgusted glare like he'd asked why not drown kittens. It still makes him smile to think about.

Wooyoung has time to finish all three boxes and put some gingerbread in one before he has to leave. They've agreed to celebrate Christmas tomorrow morning, because after that Wooyoung will be working double shifts. He would have argued that the holiday pay is great, but his boyfriend hasn't raised any questions, calmly adapting to Wooyoung's crazy schedule. San will have dinner with his friends tomorrow evening so he won't be alone.

The apartment is perfect. The candles they made at the farmer's market are propped up in wooden candle holders they've painted, the food prep is done and Wooyoung will do the last touches for a Christmas morning buffet when he comes home. The frosting on the windows looks great. The candy they made is mysteriously already gone, so for next year they should make it later in December; the only thing that remains is Wooyoung's marzipan pig that sits on a little plate next to the fridge, judged decoration not food. It has been named Jiji - by San of course - and San says good morning to Jiji every day. The little plastic Christmas Tree is the only thing not finished because San asked to take care of that himself, to have something to do while Wooyoung is at work. Everything is prepared.

Wooyoung watches San curled up on the couch and thinks he looks so natural here, like the place breathes with him, soft and steady. San is beautiful everywhere, but most of all here, on Wooyoung's couch, with messy hair, chewing on his lower lip.

"San-ah," Wooyoung tries, but San is so caught up in the book that he's forgotten about the rest of the world. Thinking he's mostly talking to himself, Wooyoung says, "I'll see you in the morning. Bye."

"Bye! Have fun!" San answers when Wooyoung is already closing the door behind him. He chuckles and makes off down the stairs.

♡

San waits, staring at the page without reading, listening for the front door to the building opening and closing. He waits a good while after he's heard Wooyoung leave. Then he gets up and into his outerwear and shoes and takes off.

He's not slept in his own apartment for over a month at this point. It's a stupid waste of money to keep it, so he won't; he's already canceled the contract and started boxing up his things. The first of February he'll be officially living with his boyfriend, although said boyfriend doesn't technically know that yet.

He picks up the box he's here for, huffing a little to himself about Wooyoung cleaning so meticulously that there's nowhere for San to hide anything, so he has to lug the box all the way across the city to keep his project secret. Their lives being open books to each other is great except when trying to prepare a surprise.

Back at the apartment he starts setting things up. There's a lot to do and he needs to have time to fix it if it doesn't work. It does indeed not work, because why would it, so he takes a break to eat and watch some TV and gets back to it. Time is passing faster than he'd like, and he's getting a little stressed. He's up on a chair fighting a wire that won't stay on its hook in the ceiling when his phone buzzes. It's the groupchat with the guys.

sangieluv
snie pls
@sn snie
hwa won't stop spamming me
is everything ready for dinner tomorrow

TheCatBoss
@sangieluv I keep asking because you don't answer me

sn
Hyung it's all good.
Eight thirty.

TheCatBoss
Eight thirty?
20:30?

sangieluv
…did I say half past seven to everyone?

sn
Sangie, ily but istg.
You had one job.

sangieluv
dw I fix
@everyone we start at 20:30 tomorrow
good thing hwa kept telling me to ask I guess

YuBeenPuppied
???

MintotheGi
???????

BrotherChoi
I already asked to end my shift early
@sangieluv I will bill you for work hours lost

Got_Nuts?
R we meeting at the shelter or ur place or where?
ffs who changed my nick again

<Got_Nuts? is now known as IAmYourFather>

IAmYourFather
…
Park Seonghwa dont think I dont know this is u

<IAmYourFather is now known as KHJ>

TheCatBoss
boring

sn
[kitten falling asleep meme]
Guys I gtg I can't get this light thing to work.
I'm a book guy not a tech guy T.T
And I'm so sleepy omg, I'm not used to being up this late.

He gets some compassionate shoulder slap memes and pockets the phone again, but has time to see a couple of messages flash by.

MintotheGi
guys what do we do about woo tho?
sangie

BrotherChoi
DM me

At first he thinks nothing of it, but then he starts wondering. Most of his friends have only briefly met Wooyoung. Of course they were all there at the restaurant the first time they met, when Wooyoung stopped by their table and met San's eyes and seemed to lose contact with reality, but they didn't talk to him then. Hongjoong has offered to help him start up his own catering business, he plays games with Yunho sometimes. But Wooyoung hasn't spoken a word with Yeosang until last week when he came by the shelter for the first time, and then only a greeting in passing while picking San up, so what would Yeosang have to do with anything?

What do we do about woo , like there's a problem. He picks up the phone again to ask them, but it rings; it's the man himself. Why would Wooyoung call now? As far as he knows, San is asleep.

"Hey, love?" San says, wary.

"Oh, hello, is this San?" an unfamiliar voice says.

He tries to stay calm, to keep his voice steady. "Yeah, who is this?"

"Hi, I'm Wooyoungie's boss, he forgot his phone here at the restaurant. I thought I'd let him know so he doesn't think he's dropped it in the snow somewhere."

The instant emotion is relief that nothing worse has happened, but then San's stomach cramps. "He left?"

"About twenty minutes ago."

"Sorry but doesn't his shift end in an hour and a half?"

"Not on the December schedule, he and Yeonjunnie negotiated hard to leave earlier on Tuesdays, Thursdays and today, since they're working through the holidays." The man chuckles, almost like a Santa. "You've got yourself a wicked businessman."

San trusts Wooyoung, unconditionally. Wooyoung has always been upfront and open with everything, has given of himself like it's as natural as breathing. He wouldn't. Not on Christmas! The wire slips from his hand and falls, and he twitches and almost falls off the chair from the resulting crash when a light bulb hits the floor too hard.

"Okay, thank you, I'll let him know about the phone," he says and hangs up.

He trusts Woooyung, he reminds himself as he cleans it up. Except… He's never known, or cared, what time Wooyoung has come to bed, only snuggled him and gone back to sleep. Now he checks the app that connects to his fitness watch. For the past months, it's been visible in his sleep log when Wooyoung comes home because it registers him waking up for a minute or two. There's no difference between the weekdays in December. Wooyoung has come home the same time every day, despite leaving work almost two hours earlier some days. With Yeonjun.

If Wooyoung left work twenty minutes ago, he should be home soon. Giving him some extra time because of the snow, San sits quietly on the side of the bed, trying to stay reasonable. 

What are we going to do about Woo? Like maybe the guys know something San doesn't? He throws the phone aside because he doesn't want to ask them, he wants to ask his boyfriend.

It's taking too long. San gets up and grabs his jacket and shoes and takes off, thinking he'll meet Wooyoung on the way. It'll be cute, just a slightly overprotective boyfriend making sure his lover gets home safe in the snow and darkness, after finding out he doesn't have his phone. Nothing wrong with that, not unhealthy, maybe even a little romantic.

♡

Wooyoung stops in front of the apartment door to yawn, happy because preparing San's present met some complications but in the end went faster than he'd thought. He'll have to get up again in a few hours to celebrate Christmas, so every minute is precious. Coming inside it's pitch black, and in the light coming in from the hallway, Wooyoung can see the bed is empty.

What?

The light switch doesn't work. He goes to put the box in the bathroom, and coming back out, San's phone has lit up, left on the bed. Someone is calling San, namely Wooyoung himself.

"Hey," his boss says immediately. "Listen, uhhh about what I said before-"

"Boss?"

"Wooyoung? Oh, you're home, good! Right. Uhh… is everything alright?"

"Sannie is gone," he says, confused.

"Riiight… Remember how I'm divorced because I'm awful at relationships? Well, I called San to tell him you forgot your phone, and he was surprised that you'd already left work, and I told him you and Yeonjun have left early on Tuesdays and-"

Wooyoung groans and ruffles his hair in frustration. "Boss! What the fuck!"

"Yeah, so, I just realized that I should not have opened my big, fat mouth. Whatever you and Yeonjun are up to it's none of my business-"

"Yeonjunnie was helping me prepare a Christmas gift for Sannie!" Wooyoung angrily hits the lightswitch a few times but it doesn't spontaneously fix itself. So he opens the door to get light from the hallway and realizes San's scarf is still here, only his jacket and shoes are gone, he's gone out in the middle of the night during the coldest December in a decade without even a hat. "You better give me a nice Christmas bonus after this! I got to go!"

He takes hat, gloves and scarf in his arms and heads out, thinking the only direction he can imagine San has gone is towards his restaurant. Snowflakes start floating down under the streetlights.

Even if it was for a surprise, he shouldn't have lied and hidden things from San, he thinks. With anyone else he'd be terrified at this point that he's fucked it up and become too much trouble - it would be fair for San to feel that way - and they'd leave him. But San loves him, trusts him, would forgive him for anything. Strangely, he feels sure that it'll be okay, he just has to find San and get him inside and explain.

He trudges on as the snowfall increases, keeping his head down to not get snow in his eyes. There's a sound that makes him look up and a lonely figure is coming his way, huddled up with his arms hugged around himself.

"Wooyoung-ah?" San calls, voice trembling.

"Idiot!" Wooyoung runs forward, trying to not trip on snow and ice, and swiftly wraps the scarf around his neck. He's been hugging it so it's reasonably warm. "Why are you out here like this! You'll freeze to death!" San quietly lets him put the hat and gloves on him but as soon as he's done San hugs him.

"Sorry. I don't know why I… I'm sorry."

"Sannie, I love you," Wooyoung promises.

"I know."

"Yeonjun is my best friend, and that's all he is."

"I know."

"I would never-"

San separates them. "Then where have you been?"

"I've been getting your present ready. Come on. I'll show you."

They walk hand in hand back through the quiet city night. Wooyoung thinks about San walking him home that first night. They'd talked the whole way, barely a moment of silence, summer dawn on the horizon. Now it's dark and cold and they don't speak a word but they look at each other and smile, and San squeezes his hand.

Inside, Wooyoung flicks the light switch and sighs. For a second he'd forgotten about this problem. "Did the bulb break?"

"I took down the lamp," San says.

"I- what?"

San drags over a chair and gets up on it. In the light from his phone screen he plugs something into the socket in the ceiling. "But it won't work, I tried a hundred times and-"

Wooyoung flicks the switch and draws for breath.

There's a canopy over his bed, made from wires that spread out over the whole apartment ceiling like spider web. All of it is filled with warm lights - tiny naked frosted bulbs - and between the lamps hang all the decorations that they've made together. Paper snowflakes, wire figures, red ribbons, origami stars, gingerbread cats with colored frosting, balls of glitter. There must be a hundred things in Wooyoung's ceiling and he bursts into tears.

"But it didn't work when I-" San mumbles, before he spots Wooyoung and jumps down from the chair. "Young-ah, don't cry!"

Wrapped in San's arms, Wooyoung doesn't know what to say, he just cries and hugs and looks at the magic in his ceiling. "It's too much," he mumbles.

San shrugs. "Grand and cheesy romance," he reminds Wooyoung, who can hear his smile. "It was supposed to look like a Christmas Tree, but it sort of… grew."

"San-ah, this is the most beautiful thing I've ever seen in my life… I shouldn't have lied about work. Even if it was for a surprise, it was stupid."

"I lied to you too. I didn't go for a walk last Wednesday, I was stashing stuff in my apartment and learning how to hook up the lights and things. And I've given up my apartment without telling you because… I wanted to tell you now. It's okay, it's just white lies, I'm being stupid. I trust you," he insists.

"So stubborn!" Wooyoung sighs. San's heart is so warm and genuine, so selfless that he refuses to burden Wooyoung even with the idea of his past wounds. "It's not okay, it was cruel and unnecessary. Let's not do this again. I mean, we're doing this ceiling thing again, it's beautiful, but let's not lie. White lies suck."

San looks both a little disappointed and a little relieved, maybe. "Yeah, I guess you're right. Okay. No more lies of any color."

"You would have loved my gift no matter if you knew about it or not," Wooyoung claims. San raises an eyebrow to ask where this fantastic gift is, then. "Wait here."

♡

Wooyoung doesn't know what a Christmas miracle it is, San thinks. He couldn't get the damned lights to work no matter how much he tried, and right before he left he broke a bulb. It shouldn't be possible, but nonetheless the ceiling is perfect and he said he'd given notice on his apartment and Wooyoung didn't even bat an eyelash. Somehow everything is working out exactly as he'd hoped.

Wooyoung comes back with a big plastic box, puts it in San's hands and opens it. Before San's disbelieving eyes, Wooyoung lifts out, not just any cat but, "Bingsu?"

Wooyoung takes the box and hands him the cat instead.

"We can't take care of a cat, we work too much," San says, scratching the white and orange cat's chin. She has not enjoyed her time in the box and squirms in his arms, irritable and restless.

Wooyoung continues to pick things out. Two bowls, a few toys, a harness and a leash, a brush… It's slowly sinking in that Wooyoung is serious.

"We work a lot but one of us is actually home most of the time," Wooyoung says. "The days when she'd be alone for too long, the guys have promised that she can hang out at the shelter. She knows the place so she'll be fine there."

"The guys…?"

"Back in November, I went there and talked to Mingi, and he said Bingsu was your favorite so I met her, but she… really didn't like me." Wooyoung cringes a little at that, as if Bingsu's judgment of his character will damn him in San's eyes. "So I started going over to spend half an hour with her after work, so she'd get used to me. One of the guys came and unlocked the door for me, first Seonghwa and Mingi, then this last week Yeosang."

Half an hour at the shelter, which is in the completely wrong direction for Wooyoung so the trip would take a while, and then around twenty minutes to get home. Almost two hours. Twice a week after work, sleepy and exhausted, Wooyoung has gone across the city in the snow to win the favor of the cat San likes. He tries to blink tears out of his eyes, and has to set Bingsu down. She's tired of their drama and wants to explore.

"Yeonjun lives in that direction anyway so he helped me. We started training her to accept a leash too, so we can take her out without a carrier. Yeosang was supposed to open the door tonight and help me pack her up, but he had to help his sister with something urgently, and Mingi was busy, so it was a mess, but Seonghwa passed the key to Jongho who came and unlocked the door."

What are we going to do about Woo? Mingi asked in the group chat. Sangie.

"I love you," San whispers and pulls Wooyoung in to kiss him.

"I mean," Wooyoung says before he gets there, "I know it's like getting a kid after being together for four months, we don't even technically live together yet, and it's a commitment, fifteen years maybe, so like, I'm jumping to-"

"Shut up and let me kiss you," San commands.

He does.

♡

They should sleep, but neither of them can. Wooyoung takes out some of the prepared food, and they sit on the bed under the lights and eat while watching Bingsu familiarize herself with her new home.

"While we're coming clean, I asked Yeonjun to not come to the farmer's market last week."

San has no idea how to take that, Wooyoung can tell. "Why?"

"Because I didn't want you to feel… I know I talked too much about him."

Understanding makes San close his eyes for a second to gather himself. "I haven't asked you to," he says. "I don't want you to change what you do because of that."

"I know, I'm sorry. I won't do it again." In hindsight, it was patronizing to do it over San's head, Wooyoung thinks. And incredibly stupid to try to help someone with trust issues by lying to them. "I love you."

"I love you too."

"Sannie," Wooyoung asks carefully, "what happened with your ex-boyfriend?"

"Don't eat Jiji!" San flies up and across the apartment to remove the marzipan pig from the cat, putting it in the fridge, while informing Bingsu that she shouldn't eat chocolate. After that speech and a few pats, San takes a deep breath and comes back to bed.

For a second Wooyoung is afraid San will dodge the subject this time too, but San rubs his mouth a little thoughtfully, and finally tells him. It's painful for him to talk about, but Wooyoung holds his hand and once he's done they hug for a long time.

Bingsu comes wiggling in between them, demanding San's attention as if she disapproves of the cuddling and wants to make clear who San belongs to. Wooyoung narrows his eyes at how San immediately abandons him to coo over the cat. He may have brought his own worst rival home himself. Fortunately they're too adorable to be jealous over.

The apartment looks as if it's come to life out of a story book, and they feel like a family, he thinks, exchanging gifts on Christmas morning. The first of many, many Christmases to come.

Extra - Christmas Day

"Wooyoung," his boss says, "I need you to take care of table four. Vickie had to go home."

"Are you kidding me?" Wooyoung asks, stirring sauce in between cutting vegetables.

"I'll take you off the other stuff, Yeonjun and Soobin can handle that, but there's a big party coming and they'll need to be attended, and you know you're good with people."

Wooyoung sighs. He decided to take the double shift on Christmas just because the pay is so good and he can put it towards a bigger apartment. He knew it would be hard work, but he hadn't expected to have to kiss ass too.

Half an hour later, Soobin comes by to signal him that his table is here. He heads out, seeing only a half dozen or so winter jackets, guys brushing off their hoods and shoulders. Great, probably some kind of office party, some entitled middle-aged businessmen here because they're avoiding their families.

"So, can I start you out with drinks?" Wooyoung asks with forced cheer and holds out a menu.

"Sure, love."

He raises his head and meets his boyfriend's eyes. "What-"

"I told you," San says, smiling. "I would have dinner with my friends. They're giving me this as a Christmas present, so they even paid the restaurant to give us a personal chef, at our disposal the rest of the night."

Yeosang and Jongho are snickering like kids, Seonghwa waves happily, Hongjoong has already managed to nab a menu and started arguing over food choices with Yunho. Wooyoung shakes his head at them, still in disbelief.

"Merry Christmas!" San winks at him. "Who knows, if the food is good, the chef might get a kiss?"

The other guys jeer at them, asking if they're five years old and if a chef as cute as Wooyoung can't get better than a kiss.

"Mm," Wooyoung says and leans down to get in level with San's face. "Let me choose your food, and if you can guess more than two ingredients per dish right, maybe you get lucky tonight."

"And if I can't?" San asks.

It's Wooyoung's turn to wink. "Then I do," he says and laughs at how the guys erupt in cheers around them.

San plays annoyed, but his cheeks have gone a beautiful pink, and Wooyoung knows he's more than happy to take that bet. It's what you'd call a win-win for everyone involved.

End