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43 | mistletoe

"it's christmas! it's christmas! it's chri-"

jinyoung cut himself off as he fell out of bed and rolled straight onto jaebum, who was still softly snoring on the mattress on the floor. jaebum let out a groan and his eyes fluttered open.

"sorry, what day is it?" he asked, his voice husky with sleep, "i didn't quite catch that, jinyoungie." he smiled and jinyoung laughed.

"it's christmas," jinyoung repeated, trying his best to roll his eyes.

jaebum wrapped his arms around jinyoung and turned onto his side, so that they were both curled up nose to nose on the floor. jinyoung buried his face in jaebum's neck. he smelled of home - of the parks' washing powder and coffee. he'd been staying with them for the last few days, taking up on the offer as soon as he could make it over.

"i wanna go and open presents," jinyoung whined, his fluttery breath tickling jaebum's neck, making him squirm.

"but we can sleep longer," jaebum objected. his hands gripped the fabric of jinyoung's pyjama shirt as he refused to let go.

eventually, jinyoung got his way and the two of them headed downstairs for breakfast and present unwrapping. jinyoung looked over at his present to jaebum and bit his lip. would he like it?

"ah, jinyoung, this is for you," said jaebum.

he'd just finished unwrapping mr and mrs park's gift to him, which were cute air fresheners for the car that smelled of fresh flowers and fruits. "might be nice for spring," mrs park had explained.

now, jinyoung took his gift from jaebum. the package was squishy, wrapped in plain red paper. jinyoung tore it open, the curiosity killing him as to what lay inside.

"you got me... a hat?" jinyoung murmured as the present fell out of the paper.

it was a beanie in dark blue, and the wool was soft to the touch. the tips of jaebum's ears turned red in embarrassment.

"it isn't much," he said, "but you're always cold, so i figured you'd need it."

"see," said mrs park, "i'm always telling you to keep your head warm, jinyoung."

"alright, mom," jinyoung huffed, but he was smiling. "thanks, jaebum... uh, this is for you..."

he handed over his present, which was narrow and rectangular. jaebum took it from him and carefully peeled away the wrapping paper. when he finally got a peek at the gift underneath, he let out a loud laugh.

"romeo and juliet?!" jaebum exclaimed, holding up the book to get a better look at it, "and in perfect condition."

"you didn't have your own copy," said jinyoung, feeling more than embarrassed. "it's got all my annotations as well..."

"no, no, it's perfect," jaebum assured him, still laughing, "i love it."

"that's kind of you, jinyoung," remarked mr park.

jaebum started flicking through the pages, but jinyoung lunged over and slammed the book shut. "you can't look at it now!" he blurted, eyes wide. "not- uh, not on christmas day!"

jaebum frowned, but put the book down.

after lunch, they played monopoly, which of course led to arguments. jaebum wanted to be the car because he owned one, but jinyoung insisted that he should be the car, because it would guarantee him good luck on his driving test next year. in the end, mr park was the car, mrs park was the iron ("because i'm always ironing your damn shirts, jinyoung"), jinyoung was the dog, and jaebum was the top hat.