𝐇𝐎𝐌𝐄 𝐅𝐎𝐑 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐇𝐎𝐋𝐈𝐃𝐀𝐘𝐒. ( 𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘣𝘰𝘺 )

merry christmas

Ponyboy stirs awake as he felt someone shake his shoulders. He'd gotten a lot better about sleeping through the night as he got older. The nightmares faded away slowly but surely, leaving him with mostly peaceful dreams. Unless he worked himself into sleep, then there was nothing at all.

The redhead cracks his eyes open to be met with the dimly lit face of his boyfriend, his phone screen making that possible. He stares at him for a moment before lazily smiling. The younger male was surprised to see him in his room.

"What time is it?" Ponyboy manages to get out through his tiredness.

"It's around three 'o'clock."

"In the morning?"

"Yeah..."

Ponyboy slowly sits up, turning on the lamp that was on his nightstand. Steve sits next to him, pressing a gentle kiss to his cheek. That's when the redhead took notice of a gift box in his hand. He furrowed his eyebrows.

"What's that?" The younger male murmurs.

"Your present," Steve answers quietly. "I thought that I should give it to you now before anyone wakes up."

The older male hands Ponyboy his gift, watching as his boyfriend opened the box. He smiles sheepishly as the redhead pulls out a polaroid camera. It was already out of the package and the film was in it. Steve had managed to figure it out after ten minutes of fiddling with the thing.

"A camera?"

"Mhm," the older male hums. "I wanted... I wanted the first picture to be you and I."

Steve's cheeks were hot from embarrassment. He was worried that Ponyboy would think the gift was stupid. Or that his idea of the first picture to be stupid. The brunette thought it was sweet. He never did anything like this with Evie, nothing terribly special. It was all stuff he did that he thought girls liked.

"God, you're so fucking perfect," the redhead finally answers, giggling gently. "Thank you, Steve. I love this so much."

He moves to wrap his arms around his boyfriend, burying his face into his shoulder. Even when he was younger, he never thought that dating Steve would feel so perfect. But here the older male was, breaking all of his expectations.

The older male hugs him back, pressing a kiss to the top of his head. He was relieved to know that Ponyboy enjoyed his gift and the idea behind it. He just wanted to give the younger male something to remember him by when he went back to college.

They could easily take pictures on their phones, yes, but this felt a lot more special to him. It was something physical that he could hold and carry around or pin up on a wall if he wanted to. The brunette thought that it was cute.

"You're welcome," the older male murmurs. "I was hoping you'd like it."

"You could give me a box of shiny rocks and I'd still love it."

"What if they weren't shiny rocks? Just dull ones."

Ponyboy giggles.

"I would still love them because you gave them to me. Plus, I know that if you did give me a rock... there'd be a reason behind it."

Steve grins widely and he nods his head in agreement.

"Now," the redhead starts. "Let's take a picture. I wanna take it before anyone wakes up."

The brunette nods his head again, watching as Ponyboy pulls away to mess with the settings on the camera. It seems like he knew how to use it and that made the older male wonder briefly if he already had one. Either way, he was excited. Steve wasn't one for pictures, but Ponyboy seemed to break down a lot of his walls.

"Alright, c'mere," the redhead says gently, wrapping an arm around his boyfriend's shoulders. "Give me a big smile."

Steve simply does as he's told, wrapping an arm around Ponyboy's waist. He grins widely, pressing his and the redhead's cheeks together. The brunette didn't like his smile. But if Ponyboy did, that's all that mattered.

The younger male giggles as their cheeks press together, his own smile taking over his face. He lifts the camera up and away from them, angling it the best that he could. The male then pressed the button, listening as his new camera made a noise before pushing out the picture.

Ponyboy grabs it carefully and he watches as it develops, snuggled close to his boyfriend comfortably. Soon enough, he was able to see them both in the photo. Both looked so sweet, cheeks pressed together and big grins on their faces. The redhead couldn't wait to treasure this one.

"We look so cute," the younger male says. "And look at your smile. I love it so much."

Steve smiles sheepishly.

"I'm glad you actually like my smile," he says gently.

"I'll always love your smile. Now let's take another one."

"What for?"

"For you, silly," Ponyboy answers, pressing a kiss to his cheek. "I want something you can hold onto, too."

The brunette presses a kiss to Ponyboy's cheek. It was all he could reach while sitting down with him, anyway. He keeps his lips pressed to the younger male's cheek. The redhead gets the hint, lifting the camera again and angling it how he did before, smiling widely.

Another click sounded from the camera before it printed their new picture. They both watch as it slowly develops, their faces eventually taking up the photo. Steve takes it gently from Ponyboy's hand, staring at it fondly. He was going to treasure this photo always. He'd probably stick it in his wallet or in the back of his phone case, like one of those cheesy couples that were proud to show one another off. And he was proud to admit that he was that kind of person with Ponyboy.

He wanted the whole world to know that they were in love.

"Thank you," Steve says gently. "I can't wait to carry this around with me all the time. Like you're always with me, even when you're all the way in California."

"And I can't wait to do the same with my picture," the redhead answers, leaning his head against his boyfriend.

Ponyboy yawns, closing his eyes. He was still tired. After all, it was about three 'o'clock in the morning. Steve gently rubs his side, carefully taking the camera and their photos and placing them on the younger male's nightstand.

The brunette turns off the light before guiding them both to lay down, holding Ponyboy close. He figured that falling asleep with him wouldn't do any harm. Steve would be awake before the redhead, and he knew it. Ponyboy had always been a night owl. He'd just slip out of the room before anyone came knocking on the door.

"Merry Christmas, baby," Steve murmurs.

"Merry Christmas."