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It was one of those winter days where the cold didn’t hurt—it just made you feel more awake. The air smelled like snow even though none was falling, and Conor pulled his scarf a little higher as he stopped in front of the line of Christmas trees.
“That one’s crooked,” he said critically.
Shane stepped up beside him, glanced at the tree, then shrugged.
“It has character.”
“It has a bend,” Conor corrected.
Behind them, Zach and Mason laughed almost in unison. Mason already had his phone out, snapping a picture before Conor noticed.
“I’m telling you,” Zach said, “you’re discussing trees like you’re buying a house.”
Conor shot him a look. “This is important.”
Shane grinned. “He takes Christmas very seriously.”
“Someone has to,” Conor muttered, moving on and stopping in front of another tree. This one was slightly smaller, more even, its branches full and dense. He studied it for a long moment, then nodded slowly.
“Okay. This one.”
Shane looked at him. “You sure?”
“Yes.”
“That tree’s taller than you.”
Conor turned to him. “Shane.”
“What?”
“That’s rude.”
Mason laughed loud enough for the seller to glance over. In the end, that was the tree they bought—carefully wrapped in netting and carried to the car with far more coordination than necessary.
---
The moment they got home, everything turned chaotic.
Music played softly in the background. String lights were tangled across the floor, and somehow Zach had managed to get completely wrapped up in one of them.
“I’m trapped,” he announced.
Mason crouched in front of him, laughing. “Don’t move.”
“I’m not moving.”
“You’re moving.”
“I’m breathing.”
Shane just shook his head and grabbed a handful of ornaments. Conor had already positioned himself strategically, hanging each ornament with exaggerated precision.
“That one needs to be higher,” Conor said, adjusting an ornament by maybe two centimeters.
“No one’s going to notice,” Shane said.
“I will.”
They worked side by side without really looking at each other. It was quiet. Comfortable. Like something they’d done a hundred times before.
At some point, Zach and Mason disappeared into the kitchen. Cabinets opened, voices overlapped, laughter echoed. Shane and Conor were left alone in the living room.
The tree was almost done.
Conor picked up the star from the table, held it up, and looked at the tree. Then at the tree again. Then back at the star.
He sighed.
“Okay,” he said slowly, “theoretically…”
Shane looked at him. “Theoretically?”
“…I’m not tall enough.”
Shane grinned immediately. “Shocking.”
Conor raised an eyebrow. “I was thinking of using a chair.”
Shane looked at the chair. Wobbly.
Then back at Conor.
“Or…”
Conor understood instantly. “No.”
“Why not?”
“Because—” He stopped, looked at Shane, and huffed. “Because you’re saying it like it’s the most normal thing in the world.”
“It is.”
Conor hesitated for only a moment. Then he stepped closer.
“Okay. But just for a second.”
Shane placed his hands at Conor’s waist and lifted him easily, steady and sure, like he’d done it a thousand times before. Conor instinctively grabbed onto his shoulders, laughing softly in surprise.
“Don’t drop me,” he murmured.
“Wasn’t planning to.”
Conor carefully placed the star on top, adjusting it until it sat just right. A small, focused moment.
“Okay,” he said finally. “It’s good.”
Shane didn’t set him down right away.
Conor looked at him. Their faces were close—too close not to notice, but not close enough to feel uncomfortable.
“Stay there a second,” Shane said quietly. “Looks good from here.”
Conor smiled. A small, real smile.
“Yeah,” he said. “It does.”
Shane lowered him slowly. Not rushed. Not immediately.
They stood side by side, shoulders touching, looking at the tree.
That was when Zach and Mason came back in.
Mason stopped short. “Oh.”
Zach grinned. “Okay. We’re interrupting.”
“I’ll get the cocoa,” he added, already turning back around.
---
Later, all four of them sat on the floor in front of the tree. The lights were on, the room warm, the cocoa too hot.
Conor leaned against Shane without really thinking about it. Shane didn’t move away.
The tree wasn’t perfect.
But somehow, everything felt exactly right.