Chapter Text
It was a genuine relief that the week of exams before the Christmas holidays had finally come to an end. Each day had been more exhausting than the last, with countless hours of studying and barely enough time to even stop for half an hour to eat, let alone sleep. But with every day that passed, there was one less step separating them from the long-awaited Christmas break and a well-earned two weeks of rest.
Calm reigned in the Academy’s student residence.
The silence filled the Academy’s student dormitory,until the door to the room burst open abruptly.
“No, no… how could I forget? Damn it…” Jayce stormed in like a whirlwind, bringing the cold air from the hallway with him. “Viktor!” His expression flickered through several emotions, from fear to relief, when his eyes finally focused on his roommate, who was lying on the bed reading a book.
“What’s going on, Jayce?” Viktor asked, lifting his gaze from his reading only after finishing the page he was on, utterly unperturbed. “Close the door, please. I’m freezing.”
Winter had arrived without warning. One day, autumn sunsets lit up the fallen leaves on the trees as if they were glowing bulbs; the next day, the cold had settled in. Damp and snowless, but accompanied by hail.
“Of course!” Jayce nodded, quickly closing the door.
Jayce was a good roommate, attentive and considerate, though messy. Each half of the room was clearly defined, not by a line but by organization. Viktor watched as his roommate discarded his coat by tossing it onto the bed and dropped his backpack beside his desk, already overflowing with papers. Viktor’s side of the room was tidy: notes perfectly arranged, clothes neatly stored, and the sheets smooth, except for where he now lay on them.
“What are you going to do over the holidays?” Jayce blurted out suddenly, visibly agitated. He paced back and forth like a caged animal.
“Nothing. Maybe I’ll go out for dinner somewhere on Christmas Eve. Any recommendations?” Viktor replied with a shrug. He had never placed much importance on celebrations, in fact, the sparse Christmas decorations in the room had been entirely Jayce’s doing. As he spoke, Viktor kept his tone calm, hoping to counterbalance his roommate’s nervous energy.
“No, no… it’s just that… I need you to do me a huge favor.” Jayce sat down on the edge of his bed, looking at Viktor. “You don’t have to say yes if you don’t want to, it’s just…” He shook his head, embarrassed. “I’ll pay you if you help me! Please!”
“Pay me?” Viktor sat up, bending his good leg while the other remained comfortably stretched out. His eyes stayed fixed on Jayce’s as an amused smile spread across his face. “Jayce, don’t talk to me about money when you haven’t even told me what you need.” he said with a soft laugh.
“Right, right.” Sometimes his thoughts moved faster than his words, and when he tried to say too many things at once, they all got tangled together. He sighed and stood up again. “You see, my… my family asks me every year, ‘Oh, when are you going to bring someone special to Christmas dinner?’ You know.” he said, raising his voice slightly to imitate his mother. “During the long weekend a couple of weeks ago I went home, like you know, and… everyone was there, and of course, they asked again.” He pinched the bridge of his nose, mortified. “They started joking that I’d always be single, and I told them they were wrong, that this year I was bringing someone.”
Jayce rubbed his face with the same hand and continued, now gesturing with his arm. “And then everyone burst into cheers, my grandma got emotional, and my uncle laughed, saying not to get their hopes up, that it was obviously a lie, and that if I made any excuse to skip Christmas dinner, they’d never let me forget it.”
From his spot on the bed, Viktor watched the whole performance, doing his best not to laugh at his friend and the ridiculous situation he was describing. What did Jayce want? For him to help find someone to go with him to dinner?
“And of course, I defended my story tooth and nail, insisting I was telling the truth… so that’s why I need your help.” He sat down again, his eyes now locked onto Viktor’s in a pleading gaze. “I need you to come with me, please. Pretend you’re my boyfriend and come to the dinner with me. Please…”
“What?” Viktor asked incredulously, his eyes widening. From the shock, the book he had been reading just moments before, nearly slipped off the bed.
Jayce then rummaged through his coat until he found his wallet.
“I’ll cover all the travel expenses, and I’ll pay you for coming! Please, Vik, you have to help me.”
“And why me?” He shook his head. “You could go with anyone, Mel always cheers you on at games, for example.”
“But I need someone I trust, and you’re the one I trust most for this…” Since they had started sharing a room, Jayce had discovered that Viktor was someone reliable. It didn’t matter if he left things lying around, or even forgot his wallet on the floor—Viktor had never touched anything that wasn’t his without permission. “No one knows me as well as you do.”
“I don’t know, Jayce… Did you say a travel?”
“Yes. Every year we all get together in my hometown, up north. We’ll need to bring warm clothes because it’ll snow, but you won’t be cold, we’ll light the fireplace, and… my whole family will be there. There’ll be good food, and… and… you’ll be with us!” He rushed on. “That way you won’t spend Christmas here alone…”
Viktor looked away, shaking his head. Was he really going to give up a peaceful holiday to become a fake boyfriend and immerse himself in Jayce’s family for two full weeks? Having no family of his own, it might be an interesting change from his bland holiday routine, but… two weeks surrounded by people who were, by all accounts, as intense as his roommate sounded like too much.
The flicker of doubt in his friend’s eyes didn’t go unnoticed. Jayce decided to play his final card, exploiting a weakness of Viktor’s he had learned during long nights of studying.
“Both my mom and my grandma make amazing desserts! You can’t miss the smell of freshly baked cookies—don’t forget the chocolate chips—or the hot chocolate, or even roscón de reyes! Sometimes they fill it with whipped cream. Come on, it won’t be that bad…”
“You’re playing dirty, and you know it.” Viktor huffed, rolling his eyes, an amused smile tugging at his lips.
“Please, Vik, this way you can also get to know my hometown… and we’ll spend Christmas together! And the snow… you’ll love the snow!” His voice was sincere, tinged with desperation.
Jayce genuinely enjoyed spending time with him, and the holiday weeks always left him with a bittersweet feeling. As much as he longed to see his loved ones, he knew he was leaving Viktor alone on campus, with no family to visit. A part of him wanted to change that, to make sure his roommate wouldn’t spend yet another Christmas Eve alone.
“How many cookies are we talking about?” Viktor smiled. With that look, he was incapable of saying no.
“As many as you want!” Jayce replied, rocking in place with excitement. He had been silently begging for Viktor to say yes, but the answer still took him by surprise, he knew what he was asking was too much. This felt like a miracle.
Finally, Viktor ducked his head to retie his bun and sighed. “All right.”
“Really?!” Jayce could hardly believe it. He even wondered if he’d heard him right, but he was already getting up and shaking his roommate’s shoulders in delight, repeating, “Thank you, thank you, thank you!”
Viktor let out a soft laugh. Jayce’s hands were warm, completely covering his shoulders.
“But don’t ever do that again, you almost dislocated my spine.” he said with a grin, his teeth showing slightly.