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Leo had been trying very hard not to cough.
The cold hadn’t been that bad inside, but every so often it still crept into his chest, catching him off guard. He pressed his sleeve to his mouth and turned away from Claude, hoping it would pass quickly.
Claude noticed anyway.
He always did.
Without saying anything, Claude nudged a glass of warm water toward him and turned the heater up just a fraction. Leo shot him a look. “You’re not subtle.”
Claude smirked. “Wasn’t trying to be.”
The Christmas lights glowed softly around the room, the tree casting uneven shadows across the walls. Leo sat cross-legged on the rug, eyes practically sparkling as he looked at the small pile of wrapped gifts between them.
“So,” Leo said, trying to sound normal and failing miserably, “are we doing this now or are you going to pretend you’re not excited for another ten minutes?”
Claude scoffed. “I’m not excited.”
“You reorganised the presents by size.”
“…That’s just efficient.”
Leo laughed, and immediately had to stop to cough again, short and rough. He waved a hand when Claude leaned closer. “I’m fine. Promise.”
Claude didn’t argue. He just waited until Leo nodded, then pushed one of the gifts toward him. “Open yours first, then.”
Leo’s fingers tingled as he peeled back the wrapping. Inside was a small box. He opened it and froze.
A phone charm rested inside, the familiar tiny design instantly recognisable. A valorant gun buddy. One of the ones he’d mentioned liking once, offhandedly, during a late-night stream.
“Claude,” Leo said softly.
Claude cleared his throat. “There’s… another one,” he admitted, pulling out his own phone and flipping it around. Attached to it was the matching charm. “They’re a set.”
Leo stared, then grinned so wide his cheeks hurt. “You matched us.”
Claude looked away, ears twitching. “Don’t make it weird.”
“I’m absolutely making it weird,” Leo said, already attaching the charm to his phone. He held it up proudly. “Look at that. Perfect.”
Claude watched him for a second, expression unreadable, before handing Leo his second gift. “There’s more.”
Leo opened it to find a soft scarf, warm, thick, and unmistakably chosen with care. He pressed it lightly to his face, breathing in the faint scent of Claude’s detergent.
“…You’re really bad at pretending you don’t care,” Leo said.
Claude rolled his eyes. “You’re really bad at not coughing when you get excited.”
“Unfair,” Leo protested, then paused, coughing quietly into the scarf. “Okay. Maybe fair.”
Claude reached out, adjusting the scarf around Leo’s neck with careful hands. Their fingers brushed, just briefly, and neither of them moved away.
Leo swallowed. “Your turn.”
Claude opened his gift last. Inside was another box, this one heavier. When he lifted the lid, he found a mug, custom-made, with a silly inside joke from one of their shared streams printed across it.
He blinked.
“…You remembered that?” Claude asked.
Leo shrugged, smiling shyly. “You laughed. I figured it mattered.”
Claude stared at the mug for a long moment before setting it down carefully. Then he leaned back against the sofa, quieter than before. “Yeah,” he said. “It did.”
They sat there for a while after, lights glowing, phones resting beside them with their matching charms catching the light. Leo leaned over without thinking, shoulder bumping gently into Claude’s side.
Claude didn’t move away.
Outside, the snow kept falling. Inside, the movie resumed, the heater hummed softly, and the world narrowed down to shared space, quiet laughter, and small, thoughtful gifts.
Leo smiled to himself, fingers brushing the charm on his phone.
He liked this.