Work Text:
22nd of December
During lunch break, all of Class 2 gathered around a few desks that they had pushed together. The noise of chatter and laughter filled the school air.
The topic was brought up by the girls.
“Guys, it’s Christmas in a few days! Are you excited?” Eve asked enthusiastically in between bites.
“Not really. Celebrating Christmas with my mom isn’t fun…” Peeta replied, dragging her spoon through her food, her eyes fixed on the plate.
Some of the girls exchanged knowing looks, but kept silent. They understood how complicated Peeta’s relationship with her mom could be.
The mood shifted as the others slowly started to join the conversation, sharing their own Christmas plans.
“It’ll just be me and my butler at home,” Chatjen said with a small smile. “He’ll probably order someone to make us an English Christmas dinner.”
Everyone erupted in oh’s and aw’s playfully teasing Chatjen to invite them.
“What about you, Eve? Any plans?” Chatjen asked, trying to tune out his obnoxiously loud friends.
Eve’s cheeks turned slightly pink. “Airy and I want to spend it together, but we’re still figuring out where.” She admitted with a shy smile.
“Awww, look at the lovebirds!” their friends teased.
Amidst the laughter, Chatjen suddenly looked around the classroom as if he remembered something. His gaze landed on Shin and Saint, who were sitting in the back, quietly conversing.
“Shin, Saint, what about you two?” Chatjen asked, reminding everyone of the presence of the two boys.
Sharing a quick glance with Shin, Saint replied, “We’ll be celebrating at Shin’s.”
“Boring!” one of the twins chimed in playfully.
Shin raised his eyebrow and questioned “And what fun plans do you have planned then?”
The twins exchanged a mischievous glance and then looked at Ken. “We’ll kidnap you first, and then we’ll see…” they said, smirking. While Ken appeared annoyed at first, his friends could see a hint of gratitude in his eyes.
“Kidnap me, eat a bunch of sweets, and then fall asleep in the middle of watching Christmas films– that’s their plan.” Ken said with a teasing smile.
The twins looked betrayed while their friends laughed because they knew Ken was talking from experience.
“That was like one time!” whined Nate, crossing his arms dramatically but joined his laughing friends soon after.
Chatjen happily soaked in the carefree air filled with his friends’ giggles and teasing.
“Ah, guys! Why don’t you all come hang out at my house for Christmas?” asked Chatjen, his eyes sparkling bright.
A brief silence fell over the group as they processed their classmate’s sudden invitation.
“Chatjen, are you sure you want us all over?” asked Airy.
“Yeah, we didn’t mean to pressure you… we were just joking before.” Eve continued.
“No! I want you guys to come!” said Chatjen hurriedly. “We’re friends and… and Christmas is all about being together.” He added, his cheeks flushed with a mix of excitement and nervousness. Chatjen looked at each of his friends, hoping they would agree.
Shin only flashed a warm smile at Chatjen, while Saint answered for the both of them. “Of course we’ll come.”
The others quickly nodded and voiced their agreements.
“Omg this is so exciting!” said Eve, her voice high from excitement as she turned around to find Airy already looking at her with a matching smile.
“You’ll all be able to finally see Chatjen’s iguana.” Cable reminded them.
“Forget the iguana! I can’t wait to see his house!” chuckled Knot.
——————————————————
25th of December
The sun cast a soft glow over Chatjen’s house when the door bell rang. Excitement surged within him as he quickly ran to answer it, his butler trailing closely behind, worryingly urging him to slow down.
Chatjen flung the door open, his heart racing in anticipation.
There stood Shin and Saint, their hands full with plastic bags stuffed with decorations and baked goods, bickering as usual.
“You guys made it! Come in!” he exclaimed, stepping aside. The duo shuffled past him, grinning wildly, despite struggling under the weight of their bags.
“What did you bring?” Chatjen asked.
“Saint insisted we shouldn’t come empty handed, so we baked cookies all night,” replied Shin, rolling his eyes affectionately.
“Don’t complain! You stayed up with me willingly.” Saint shot back.
Feigning shock, Shin retorted, “I didn’t have a choice! Did you see the kitchen? My mom would’ve had a stroke if she’d seen it in the morning. Someone had to clean up.”
“Thanks, guys. You really didn’t have to.” Chatjen said nervously, before another argument could start. He decided not to mention the frequent sleepovers they’d been having.
After a warm welcome, the living room buzzed with festive energy. As Shin and Saint began unpacking, Cable and Peeta arrived and quickly offered to assist. Cable helped Shin and Chatjen hung decorations, while Peeta and Saint arranged cookies and other desserts on plates.
Before long, more friends trickled in. Airy and Eve came next, followed by Tangmay, Thiu, First and Ging, the latter practically bouncing with excitement. Ken and the twins were the last to arrive, blaming their near-failed kidnapping mission for being late.
As the last guests settled in, the atmosphere was full of laughter and teasing. Chatjen’s house smelled like a dream.
Speaking of dreams…
“Wow, Chatjen, your house is so cool! I still can’t believe you have a pool!” Eve exclaimed, her eyes lightning up.
“Thanks, I guess?” Chatjen giggled. “If you want, you can take a swim later.”
The girls exchanged excited glances and unanimously exclaimed, “You’re the best, Chatjen!”
After finishing their catch up session, a sense of calm filled the air as they moved to the dining room to enjoy the famous English dinner that they’d heard so much about over the past few days.
“Remind me to steal your butler for my next family dinner,” joked Knot with mouth full of mashed potatoes.
With their bellies full of delicious food, they were ready for some fun.
“Let’s spice things up!” suggested Nate, playful glint in his eyes.
“How about a game of charades?”
“Oh! Count me in!” Eve exclaimed, excitement evident in her voice.
The group quickly divided into pairs, each duo having one minute to guess the words acted out by their partner. The pair that guessed the most number of words right would win.
Both Knot and Nate wanted to partner up with Ken, the matter was solved with a game of rock paper scissors ending with Nate and Ken as a team. The following pairs were Cable and Chatjen and Eve and Airy. Knot paired up with First since Ken was already taken by his brother, Ging quickly paired up with Peeta and Thiu partnered up with Tangmay because Shin was glued to Saint as usual.
Chatjen and Cable began the game. Although Cable was a little shy at first, he quickly started to enjoy it and proved to be quite skilled at mimicking. Chatjen struggled with understanding some of the things acted out, however he did manage to get two words right.
The next pair was Ging and Peeta, Ging insisted she was better at guessing but it soon became clear she preferred shouting random words while Peeta mimed the words with a pained expression. They managed to get two words as well.
It was only natural for Nate to be the actor and Ken to be the guesser. Nate strutted to the centre of the room, puffing out his chest dramatically. The others leaned in expectantly as he pretended to swim through the air, making fake splashes.
“Swimming? No! Diving?” asked Ken, squinting in concentration.
Nate shook his head aggressively and began flapping his arms like a bird. All his friends were dying laughing while Ken finally shouted the correct answer.
It was a dolphin. They got four words correct despite the chaos.
When it was Eve and Airy’s turn, Airy pretended to lose a shoe because her word was Cinderella. Eve found her so cute that she forgot to start guessing. The whole room erupted in giggles, but they still managed to get three answers right.
Tangmay scolded Thiu every time he attempted to act something out, saying he didn’t put in enough effort. In act of frustration, they switched places in the middle of the game, which resulted in them losing points. Nevertheless they managed to secure one point.
Next up were Knot and First. No one knew how the two had become a pair, but their teamwork was surprisingly good. Knot excelled at acting, while First was quick at guessing, and together they scored six points–a new record! Out of breath from all the jumping around, they high-fived each other in celebration.
As the last pair in line, it was finally Shin and Saint’s turn to show off their teamwork. Their classmates fell silent, curious to see how the duo would perform. Without exchanging a word, they took their positions. To everyone’s surprise, Saint was the guesser while Shin took the role of the actor.
Shin began by looking down at the imaginary clock on his wrist.
“You’re waiting!” Saint immediately shouted.
Quickly moving to the next word, Shin bent his arms close to his body and tried making his neck seem long as he put his head down.
“Oh, an ostrich!” Saint said confidently.
Their friends couldn’t believe their eyes, they were surprised by their ability to understand each other in a split second. Shin’s acting also caught them by surprise, especially his close friends, who never saw him as competitive type in games.
For the next word, Shin stood completely still, gazing at Saint with the saddest eyes imaginable. Everyone held their breath. Saint took a step forward, almost reaching out to ask Shin if he was okay, but he caught himself at the last second and shouted, “You’re devastated! Devastation!” With searching eyes, he quickly looked at Shin, hoping he was right. He got his confirmation when he saw Shin’s proud smile.
“Wow, I didn’t know you could act like that.” First commented, looking impressed.
Ken and the twins let out a chorus of whistles and girls were gasping in amazement.
Shin sent them a wink and focused back on the game. As time ticked away to its end, they scored another five points, bringing their total to an impressive eight points, pushing Knot and First out of their spot as the charades champions.
The room erupted in cheers and claps as Saint victoriously spun Shin around, while Knot and First shook their heads in disbelief. “We were robbed!” Knot complained dramatically, pressing a hand to his forehead, with his brother playfully fanning him from the side.
Once their friends finished throwing praises at them, the group wandered over to the dining table full of snacks, still buzzing with laughter and throwing playful jabs at each other. Saint still smiling from their win, grabbed a plate and began piling a bunch of snacks on it. Shin, watching him with a mix of intrigue and concern, commented, “Saint, you’re going to give yourself diabetes!”
“Dummy, I’m getting snacks for the both of us! Look I even got three pieces of that sweet bread you like.” Saint said defensively with his puppy eyes on display. Their friends jokingly complained, asking why they didn’t get the same treatment.
Shin’s ears turned slightly pink as he murmured a quiet, “Thanks.”
As Saint turned his head, he noticed a spring of mistletoe resting on a nearby cabinet, likely left over from the holiday decorations. A mischievous grin spread across his face as he turned to Shin.
“Could you grab that Christmas hat for me please?” he asked, trying to coax Shin into standing up.
“You do have legs, you know,” Shin sighed but he still got up, muttering something about a “lazy bastard.”
As he grabbed the hat, he turned around to find Saint standing just inches away, a sweet smile gracing his lips. Shin felt momentary confusion and wanted to scold Saint for teasing him, but before he could speak, Saint quickly picked up something and held it above them.
“Isn’t it a tradition to kiss under the mistletoe?” he asked, smugly raising an eyebrow, “What do you say?”
Shin’s cheeks flushed slightly as he glanced around, noticing the twins’ exaggerated expression as they waited in anticipation. Peeta and Cable were stopping Ging from filming, while Airy sulked, wishing she had been the one to come up with the idea. Meanwhile First and Tew pretended to look away, but they were too excited to hide their interest in seeing Shin flustered.
Shin hesitated, a nervous yet exciting feeling coursing through him. As they stood beneath the mistletoe, time seemed to slow. When their eyes locked, the entire room seemed to fade away, electricity hanging in the air between them, the playful laughter surrounding them faded into something softer. Shin levelled Saint with a smirk. “I wouldn’t want to break the rules.” he finally replied.
With that, Saint leaned in, their lips meeting softly. The teasing atmosphere that surrounded them melted away as Saint deepened the kiss, drawing him into their own world. It wasn’t their first kiss, no, but it was a kiss that uncovered their relationship and showed everyone the truth. Gone were playful denials and words like “Just best friends” were long forgotten. After they pulled apart, they let their eyes do the talking as they slowly pressed their foreheads together, feeling free.
Their gentle moment was quickly interrupted by loud cheers, with Chatjen clapping as if he had just witnessed the best part of a holiday movie.
“You guys are so precious!” Eve shouted, beaming, while Ging pretended to wipe away fake tears for not being able to capture the moment. Knot, ever the drama king, recited a love poem Miss Jan had taught them, his hand dramatically placed to his chest.
Ken observed the chaotic group of friends, ~his~ chaotic group of friends, with an affectionate smile. “Alright, enough mushy stuff!” he declared.
The group exchanged knowing looks, smiles lighting their faces as they all opened their arms and trapped Ken into a group hug.
“Merry Christmas, everyone!” Chatjen said, his voice muffled but clearly full of pure happiness.