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Shun was staring defeatedly at the men's section. He had gone through the whole department store searching for the perfect Christmas gift for Hyoga.
Usually, Shun would skip the wandering and go straight to get the item he had in mind; he hated giving impersonal, shallow presents. But on this occasion, he was absolutely clueless about what he would give his boyfriend for Christmas.
They only had one rule: nothing exceptionally expensive.
That didn't mean it had to be something cheap; they could show how much they loved each other with a pretty thing, just not too over the top.
That left a great selection of ideal gifts; the problem was that Hyoga was a reserved man with few interests, and Shun had already run out of ideas.
Cygnus had everything he could need or want.
He liked vodka, liquors, and spirits, but he had a great collection of bottles and stuff, plus he owned a pub. Surely, there was nothing else Shun could give him to fulfill that passion.
He also loved ice figure skating, but Andromeda knew little to nothing about that sport; he wouldn't know where to start. Besides, Hyoga owned a pair of skates, a ton of leg warmers, and a bunch of sports clothing.
Cygnus was also a refined and elegant man, always dressing smartly. Shun had abused that aspect of his boyfriend more often than not. For many years, Shun gave him a lot of colorful ties, elegant cufflinks, tie pins and tie bars, and even a not-too-expensive wrist watch. At this point, it would be redundant and predictable to give him yet another one of those articles.
With that in mind, Shun went through the whole store searching for something Hyoga would want. He looked at books, kitchen supplies, mugs, bags, sunglasses, elegant Christmas ornaments, picture frames, DVDs, CDs, videogames, gadgets, collectible items, figurines, and even toys, but nothing caught his attention.
His last resource was a nice dress shirt or jacket—anything wearable and good-looking, actually.
Shun glanced at a soft, warm gray sweater. He grabbed it with a sigh, unfolding it to get a better look at it.
It certainly was the softest thing he had ever touched; the materials were of high quality, and the price was not bad either.
"I hate giving sweaters as gifts, but I guess you will have to do," he said, trying to convince himself that clothes could be a nice gift when chosen properly. It was better than a pair of socks in any case.
Still, Andromeda felt his choice wasn't good enough, not because of the plain design of the garment—Hyoga would not wear it otherwise—but because it was just a piece of fabric.
He then thought about Natasha, Hyoga's daughter. The girl was always giving him and her father a bunch of drawings or handcrafts she had done herself, and they were lovely, perhaps a little bit crooked and deformed, but it was the intention of the little girl and the beautiful sentiment they brought within that mattered.
If only he could do something like that without being inconsiderate.*
When the cashier lady asked him if he wanted the sweater wrapped for a gift, he declined; the least he could do was try to wrap it himself.
Shun rushed to the hospital; his shift was about to start. He ran into the 'Doctor's Room' to leave his jacket and the blessed sweater, put on his white coat and stethoscope, and left for the ER to start his rounds.
"Amamiya sensei, they need you in curtain two," one of the nurses told him the moment he showed up at the reception. There was never a dull moment in that hospital.
"Coming," Shun sighed, grabbing the patient's history.
"Good afternoon. I'm Amamiya Shun, and I'll be your doctor. What seems to be the problem?" the greeting came out almost automatically and a bit drowsy.
"My son has a fever; nothing seems to lower it down," a man explained, probably the father of the child.
"I see. What's your name, darling?" Shun asked with a cute and soft tone in his voice.
"Shuichi," the boy pouted.
"Alright, Shuichi-chan, when did you start feeling like this?"
"This morning."
"Do you feel tired? Headache? Nauseous? Another thing that bothers you?" Shun questioned the little one, carefully observing the child's appearance and body language to catch anything the boy or the father could've missed.
Shuichi slowly shook his head. Shun smiled. The kid was adorable.
"I don't think it's anything serious, but we'll make some tests in order to get a complete diagnosis," Shun explained to Shuichi's father. The man looked worried, but nevertheless, he calmly nodded.
"I want mommy!" Shuichi's quiet behavior immediately crumbled as tears began to run down his face and his little hands clenched against his father's jacket.
"Oh, baby! Mommy is not here right now; she is on a business trip, remember?"
"I don't care! I want mommy!"
Shun smiled; that tantrum reminded him of Natasha. Hyoga pampered her so much that sometimes he lost control over her.
"What do we do when mommy is away and we need her?" the father asked, taking Shuichi into his arms. The boy remained quiet for a moment, then he grinned.
"We sing her song!"
"That's right!"
Father and son began to mumble a nice, out-of-tune melody. Nevertheless, it was beautiful, and it made Shun's heart melt.
In that very moment, the Andromeda Saint had a brilliant idea to turn his dull, boring gift into something special.
On Christmas Eve, late at night, after a joyful Christmas film and a chocolate mug, the long-awaited hour of gifts arrived.
"Can I go first? Can I go first? Can I go first? Pleaaaaaaseeeee!!!" Natasha begged.
Hyoga and Shun laughed.
"Only one, baby. Okay?" Hyoga replied.
The little girl rushed to the Christmas tree to get the biggest present she could find, and then she proceeded to open it desperately.
"Yaaaaaaasssss!" Natasha's cheerful scream startled Shun a bit. "Is the one I wanted!!!! Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!"
Both Saints smiled as they watched their daughter run through the apartment with her new acquisition in her hands.
"I thought those dolls were sold out," Shun whispered in Hyoga's ear. The latter smiled cheekily.
"I called in many favors."
Shun chuckled. "You can't deny her anything, can't you?"
"Nor to you." Cygnus took a small turquoise box from the small table beside them. "Merry Christmas."
"Awww! Thank you!" Shun answered as he softly kissed Hyoga's cheek. "What is it?" he asked excitedly, quickly untying the white ribbon that decorated the box.
When Shun opened it, he stared at the inside in awe... and a bit of disappointment.
He should've guessed it when he saw the box**, but he thought it was meant as a joke or something of the sort.
Inside the gift box, elegantly displayed, was a beautiful bracelet, made in white gold and shaped as a chain.
It was simple and beautiful, not to mention luxurious and, as Shun dared to imagine, extra expensive. At least expensive enough to break the "expensive gift rule".
"Hyoga-chan..."
"Do you like it?"
"I... I love it! But..." Shun struggled to get the words out of his mouth. "It's too expensive, ducky. I can't accept it."
"Nonsense!"
"Hyoga, it is beautiful, but we have a rule for a reason. To not impoverish ourselves! We have enough money to live comfortably, but we are not rich, and we have a daughter, and..."
"It's Christmas! And I love you to death! We certainly can afford this kind of expense once in a while. Plus, it's super simple! There were things far more expensive than that, believe me."
Hyoga took the bracelet out of the box and put it around Shun's wrist. It looked perfect.
"It's gorgeous, Hyoga-chan," Shun mumbled, leaning to kiss his boyfriend's lips.
"Now, what did you buy me?"
Shun smiled lightly and stood up to get his gift from their bedroom.
His gift was as mundane as it could be; he liked the thing he had added to make the sweater special, but after receiving Hyoga's gift, it became boring and lame again.
"Here. This one's for you. Though it will look pathetic next to yours."
Hyoga chuckled loudly, then began to unwrap the gift as a kid.
When the sweater came out of the box, Shun wanted to die, and as for Hyoga, his eyes were filled with joy.
Cygnus didn't care if Shun gave him a diamond ring or a rag; the fact that it was from Andromeda already made it special for the Russian.
"I love it, bunny!" Hyoga said, staring at his gift as if it were the most precious jewel in the world, "I shall wear it forever."
Shun giggled, blushing a bit from embarrassment.
"Actually, it's for special occasions only," stated the Andromeda Saint, approaching his boyfriend and looking for the garment's tag.
Sewed inside the sweater, a tag printed specially for Hyoga could be read:
"Wear this if you ever need me and I'm not around. I love you, and I'll always be with you.
- Shun"
"I know it is rather simple... and compared to this–" Shun pointed at his new bracelet– "it certainly isn't much."
"Are you crazy?" Hyoga frowned. "This is the most perfect gift I could've asked for!"
"You're lying!" Shun giggled.
"Hell no! Shun, you are worth more to me than you can imagine. I love you so much, my love."
Hyoga moved through all the wrappings and boxes to set a kiss on Shun's lips.
"I love you too," Shun whispered. "Merry Christmas, Hyoga."
"Merry Christmas, bunny."