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“Give me a cookie,” Ten whines plaintively, sitting at the kitchen table, and reaches out to Lucas, who has already bitten the head off a gingerbread man.

Lucas stops chewing and holds out an entire plate to Ten, filled with assorted cookies shaped like Christmas trees, snowflakes, and snowmen.

“What, no more gingerbread men?” Ten pouts and shifts his gaze to Lucas.

Lucas frowns and starts sorting through the cookies.

“Nope,” he sighs regretfully. “But you can ask Kun to bake some more!” Lucas suggests, instantly perking up. “This is just the first batch.”

“Kun!” Ten yells demandingly.

Silence is the answer, and Ten, huffing, gets up from his seat and peeks into the hallway. 

“Kuuun!” he yells even louder.

“What do you want?” 

The bedroom door slowly opens – and Kun appears in the doorway with a very displeased look on his face.

“Gingerbread men,” Ten says in a tone that brooks no argument.

Kun raises an eyebrow in polite bewilderment. Lucas pops up behind Ten, and, barely holding back his laughter, shows Kun the headless gingerbread figure.

“I need gingerbread men,” Ten states firmly.

Kun waves dismissively and disappears behind the door, slamming it deliberately loudly.

“It’s your problem!” comes muffled from the other side of the closed door.

“Actually…” Lucas says hesitantly, and Ten immediately turns around to him. “We could bake them ourselves.”

Ten purses his lips and drills Lucas with a doubtful stare.

“But you liked my cookies!” Lucas tilts his head.

Ten narrows his eyes even more, then slowly nods.

Lucas flashes a triumphant grin. “Then it’s time to cook!”

Ten snatches the remaining gingerbread man from Lucas’s hand and silently bites off its leg.

“How lucky we are to have a smoke detector…” Yangyang drifts past in the hallway.

“Don’t be a smartass!” Ten snaps instantly.

“The dough’s in the fridge, by the way,” Yangyang says, closing his bedroom door behind him.

“Thanks,” Ten responds acerbically.

Lucas shrugs awkwardly. “Just so you know… I’m not promising anything…”

“You did great last time,” Ten coos, finishing the gingerbread.

“I’m not cleaning up after you this time!” Kun’s angry voice rings out from his bedroom.

“This time?” Ten blinks in confusion, looking at Lucas, who is rapidly turning red.

Lucas jerks his chin and takes the dough out from the fridge. “Last time I got a little carried away.”

“And I only offered to clean up for you two,” Kun’s admonishing reminder comes through the door.

“Kun, come on, I asked you!” Lucas shouts over him.

Ten eyes him with interest. “What did you ask him for?”

“Be quiet,” Lucas shushes him. “You’ll get your cookies.”

A snorting laugh leaks from behind Kun’s door.

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“What's the point of buying fairy lights for a place where the cats will chew through them?” Xiaojun stares wistfully at the rows of Christmas decorations in the supermarket.

“Or the dog,” Winwin corrects him reasonably.

Xiaojun shoots him a dark look.

“Bella has never chewed on fairy lights,” he purses his lips.

Winwin snorts and nods toward the snowman-shaped bulbs.

“Then there will be more for the cats. And there’s nothing you can do about it, my dear friend,” he pats Xiaojun on the shoulder.

Xiaojun sighs heavily. “Then what’s the point?”

Winwin holds up a string of tiny Christmas-tree lights. “For the holiday spirit?”

Xiaojun inhales and exhales loudly again. “Bella will definitely pee under the Christmas tree.”

Winwin snorts but instantly pulls himself together.

“That’s just her way of showing that she fully supports the holiday spirit and joins in with all her heart,” he blinks innocently, looking at Xiaojun.

Xiaojun narrows his eyes and, grimacing, grabs from the shelf a string of lights labeled ‘for extreme weather conditions’. “If the cats chew through this one, I wash my hands of it.”

“And if the dog does?” Winwin asks in a bored tone.

Xiaojun clutches the package of lights to his chest and glares at him furiously. “Bella has never chewed on fairy lights!”

“Well, but what if…” Winwin tries again.

Xiaojun proudly tilts his chin up and stomps menacingly towards the checkouts. “Then there will be more for the cats. Let’s go.”

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“Kun, remind me again, why do we need a second Christmas tree?” Lucas glances sideways at Kun, who’s striding along the festively lit street with his hands stuffed in his jacket pockets.

Kun sighs and buries his nose deeper into his warm scarf.

“I want to put a small, neat one in the kitchen. We spend most of our time there anyway,” he frowns.

Lucas nods.

“And hang only non-breakable ornaments on it,” Kun continues. “Our cats walk on the tables like they own the place,” he grumbles discontentedly.

Lucas starts snickering.

Kun looks at him and squints.“What?”

“Nothing,” Lucas snorts. “I was about to say that you could’ve trained them out of that ages ago, but then I remembered who the real cat bosses are.”

Kun sighs mournfully but says nothing. Suddenly Lucas stops in front of a brightly decorated shop window.

“So what kind of Christmas tree do you want? Like this one?” he points to a regular artificial green tree with classic baubles. “Or like this one?” Lucas pokes his finger at a pink monstrosity standing next to it, which can barely be called a Christmas tree, but every needle winks with different colors.

Kun rolls his eyes and, grabbing Lucas by the sleeve, drags him onward. “Do I look like someone who needs a pink Christmas tree?”

Lucas cracks up and shakes his head in denial.

“No, but Yangyang would like it!” he adds, having stopped laughing. “And Ten.”

“I wouldn’t like it!” Kun snaps.

“You live with Yangyang and Ten,” Lucas reminds him imperturbably.

“And with you,” Kun shoots back.

“And with Xiaojun, Hendery and Winwin,” Lucas continues without missing a beat.

Kun stops in the middle of the sidewalk and narrows his eyes at Lucas. Lucas smirks smugly.

“A pink Christmas tree, seriously?” Kun clarifies angrily.

“Absolutely,” Lucas giggles.

For several seconds, Kun drills him with an annihilating stare, while Lucas just beams wider and wider.

Finally Kun gives up. “Fine.”

“By the way!” Lucas perks up as if nothing happened, spins around and heads straight back to the shop with the pink tree. “I saw some gorgeous gold caterpillars; they’ll look perfect on pink!”

Kun furrows his brow and asks uncertainly. “Caterpillars?”

“I don’t know, maybe they were icicles,” Lucas shrugs. “But they looked like caterpillars.”

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“Look here,”  Ten orders, sprawled on the bed, and shoves the tablet right under Yangyang’s nose. “Do you think Coco would like this?”

“Get lost,” Yangyang cuts him off categorically. “Why don’t you pick Christmas outfits for your own cats?”

Ten flutters his eyelashes with fake innocence and scoots further across the bedspread. “Because mine already have them.”

Yangyang scoffs dismissively and beckons the clearly interested Leon onto his lap.

“Look here,” he cups the cat’s face in his palm and forces him to look at the screen. "Do you like this?"

Leon wriggles free, nips Yangyang’s finger, and moves over onto Ten’s stomach. Ten coos contentedly, vigorously petting Leon’s head; Yangyang huffs, snatches the tablet, and keeps scrolling.

“Reindeer ears?” Yangyang snorts doubtfully.

“Those are antlers,” Ten glares at him pointedly.

“Coco would look better as a snowflake,” Yangyang says, completely ignoring the basic zoological sense in Ten’s words.

“Louis is going to be the snowflake!” Ten objects petulantly.

“Did he tell you that himself?” Yangyang counters.

“Did Coco tell you that himself?” Ten instantly fires back.

For a full minute they just glare at each other in furious silence.

“Let’s play rock-paper-scissors,” Ten suggests with a sigh. “Whoever loses gets the ears.”

Yangyang rolls his eyes. “But those are antlers.”

“Quiet,” Ten snaps. “One, two, three!”

“Damn it!” Yangyang curses feelingly.

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“Here, smell this,” Hendery thrusts a scented candle right under Winwin’s nose and stares at him inquisitively. “Do you think Ten will like it?”

Winwin turns away and furrows his brow.

“Why don’t you ask if Lucas will like it?” he specifies critically.

Hendery raises his eyebrow with a knowing look. “Because Lucas likes whatever Ten likes.”

“Really?” Winwin smirks and walks further down the aisle filled with all kinds of Christmas gifts.

Hendery rolls his eyes.

“Oh come on, they’ve been dating for, like, an eternity already. If Lucas didn’t like something, he would’ve cut this out ages ago,” he notes, setting the candle back on the shelf and immediately reaching for the next one.

Winwin gives an indecisive shrug but eventually nods silently.

“What about this one?” Hendery jabs him with another candle.

Winwin leans in, sniffs, and shakes his head. “Lucas has cologne that smells exactly like this.”

Hendery arches his eyebrows in surprise and practically buries his nose in the wick. “Seriously?”

Winwin sighs and takes the candle from his hands. “You’d make a terrible bloodhound, Hendery.”

“Hey!”

“Ten will definitely like it, don’t worry,” Winwin reassures him, immediately smirking.

“But why aren’t you asking if Lucas will like it?” Hendery snaps sarcastically, but immediately backs down when he meets Winwin’s eloquent stare. “Okay, never mind.”

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“What if I were a snowflake for the Christmas party?” Ten spins in front of the mirror in the practice room.

“You already are a snowflake,” Kun snorts.

“Then you’re an ancient, age-old glacier,” Ten shoots back, narrowing his eyes vengefully.

“But we agreed there would be no costumes,” Xiaojun sighs.

Winwin, having laced up his sneakers, looks up. “Who said anything about costumes?”

“Winwin!” Kun yelps indignantly.

Ten snickers wickedly and daintily adjusts his bangs.

“Now I’m genuinely curious what a glacier costume would look like,” Hendery muses, walking over to Kun and inspecting him from all sides.

Ten gives Kun a deceptively sweet smile but says nothing. Kun responds with an equally fake sugar-sweet grin.

“Well, fine, the snowflake look suits Xiaojun better,” Ten concedes with a sigh.

“But we did agree!” Xiaojun groans.

“Did I miss something?” Yangyang walks  into the room with a puzzled arched eyebrow.

Ten saunters up to Xiaojun and playfully ruffles his hair. Xiaojun ducks away grumpily and retreats to the other side of the practice room.

“Look, Yangyang, who would you pick as the snowflake – me or Xiaojun?” Ten asks ingratiatingly.

Yangyang casts a suspicious look from one to the other. “There’s definitely a catch here. I’m not falling for it.”

“We also have a glacier costume!” Hendery announces triumphantly.

Yangyang blinks a couple of times, then smirks smugly and stretches lazily. “Well, the glacier is obviously for Kun.”

“Excuse me?!” Kun retorts angrily.

“Exactly,” Ten mouths silently to Yangyang and gives a regal nod.

“So, we definitely won’t be wearing costumes,” Winwin sums up unfazed.

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“I could try making some mulled wine,” Ten offers languidly, lounging on the couch with Lucas.

Xiaojun, sitting on the floor in front of the TV, turns around with obvious doubt. Yangyang next to him cranes his neck to give Ten a very expressive look.

“What?” Ten snorts. “We just need to buy the right spices.”

Lucas strokes his hair and kisses the top of his head.

“Kun, would you trust Ten to make mulled wine?” Xiaojun catches Bella as she trots by and pulls her onto his lap.

Kun doesn’t answer and, perching on the armrest, stares at the screen with exaggerated attention. Ten hits him with a cushion and starts huffing discontentedly, whereupon Lucas pulls Ten close and squeezes him in a hug, preventing him from making any unnecessary movements.

“No,” Kun says slowly and with deliberate calm, still not looking at Ten.

Ten wriggles out of the hold and grabs the cushion again, but Lucas deftly snatches it and hurls it into the hallway. Bella instantly leaps up and bolts after the questionable prey.

Ten, narrowing his eyes, glares at Lucas and kicks Kun with his heel. “I actually volunteered to help! And it’s not even hard – you just need to add spices!”

“I know your secret recipes,” Lucas whispers conspiratorially in his ear.

“Shush,” Ten hisses.

Yangyang rubs the bridge of his nose and sighs heavily.

Ten immediately snaps at him too. “Keep quiet.”

“I wasn’t even trying to say anything!” Yangyang protests indignantly.

Xiaojun looks at Kun with hope. Kun silently shakes his head.

“But you know what,” Yangyang suddenly says in an insinuating tone, “if you add brandy, whiskey, or rum to the standard set of spices, it’ll be just right.”

Ten bounces up excitedly. Lucas bursts out laughing.

“Please don’t,” Kun pleads.

“Who went to the store?” Ten purrs slyly. “We should ask them to grab some brandy. Or whiskey? Or rum? Yangyang, what do you vote for?”

“Ten, no, please!” Kun groans.

“We’ll be playing truth or dare,” Ten giggles, twists around, and, taking out his phone, starts typing a message.

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“It’s snowing! Wake up, everybody, it's snowing!” Hendery yells, bursting into the apartment, and races down the hallway, drumming on every door.

“Get lost, Hendery,” comes Yangyang’s muffled groan from his room.

“It’s long past time to change the locks, long past time,” Kun announces gloomily from behind his bedroom door.

“It’s so beautiful out there!” Hendery keeps chattering excitedly, pounding on doors again. “Let’s build a snowman and make snow angels!”

“I’ll make a snow demon,” Yangyang mumbles.

“Make a snow octopus, if you want to!” Hendery chortles, snorting with laughter. “Get your asses out here!”

Kun comes out of his bedroom, squints one eye, and yawns widely. “What the hell brought you here?” he asks, very amicably. “Take yourself right back out.”

Hendery starts bouncing around. “I really didn’t expect such sloth and laziness from you, Kun! It’s a glorious sunny day outside, the weather is smiling upon us, it’s the perfect moment to spend time in the fresh air, to delight the body, and temper the spirit!”

“Why the hell are you so silver-tongued this early in the morning, oh God!” Kun wails and tries to retreat into his bedroom, but Hendery blocks the way.

“Shut up,” comes succinctly from Yangyang’s room. 

“You come out too, I can hear you, which means you’re already awake!” Hendery shouts cheerfully.

Yangyang stays silent, apparently instantly realizing his big strategic mistake.

“Where are those two? Ten! Lucas!” Hendery doesn’t let up, marches to their bedroom door and starts quickly rapping his knuckles on it. “Get up!  Let’s have a snowball fight!”

“Hendery, are there snowdrifts out there?” Yangyang suddenly pipes up again.

“Of course there are!” Hendery answers happily and knocks even harder. “Lucas, Ten, rise and shine!”

“Well, if there are snowdrifts,” Yangyang peeks out from his room, with his hair looking like a nest of a not-so-diligent pigeon, “I’ll find the biggest one and bury you in it, I…”

“We’ve been awake for a long time now,” the door swings open right under Hendery’s raised fist, and Lucas appears in the doorway with a very satisfied grin.

“Very much for a long time, and very much awake,” Ten’s even more satisfied purr is heard from the bed.

Hendery blinks and, nodding at Lucas, pointedly pokes the corner of his mouth with his finger.

Lucas smirks and completely shamelessly runs his thumb across his lower lip in one slow motion.

Ten buries his face in the pillow and dissolves into muffled giggles.

“Don’t worry, Hendery, Lucas was just eating snow,” Yangyang reassures him with a smug, toothy grin, and saunters off to the bathroom.

Ten starts howling with laughter, Hendery covers his eyes with his hand and cackles hysterically, Lucas blushes bright red, and Kun methodically bangs his head against the doorframe.

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“Hi, I’m home!” Kun calls out as he steps into the hallway.

“Hi, we are too!” several voices answer in an off-key chorus – and silence reigns.

Kun takes off his jacket, slips off his shoes, and, listening suspiciously, walks slowly deeper into the apartment. He cautiously peeks into the kitchen, finds no one there, and even more warily pokes his head into the living room.

Xiaojun is hunched over something in the corner of the couch, with Winwin sitting beside him in the same pose. Ten is lying on his stomach on the floor, Lucas sitting cross-legged opposite him. Yangyang has claimed the spot by the TV shelf; Hendery is perched on the windowsill. Everyone is silent, concentrating intently, and only occasionally muttering curses.

Kun’s eyebrows slowly creep up.

“You know,” he begins carefully, "when a house with small children suddenly goes unusually quiet, you need to flee.”

“Mhmm…” Ten hums in agreement.

“Yep,” Lucas supports him.

“And the faster the better,” Xiaojun adds reasonably.

“You can leave the kids behind, though,” Winwin adds under his breath.

Hendery and Yangyang intently keep working on whatever they’re working on without saying a word.

Kun, still standing in the doorway, takes a deep breath in and out. Coco slips past him, flicking his tail. Leon follows, but suddenly flops down in the middle of the hallway and starts furiously licking himself. Louis sits down beside him and stares at Kun without blinking. Bella, clicking her claws on the floor, parks herself next to them.

Kun sweeps his gaze over the entire scene one more time and finally cracks. “Can someone please tell me what the hell is going on here?”

Ten, with barely concealed irritation, rolls onto his back and shows Kun a folded sheet of paper in one hand and a pair of craft scissors in the other.

“And what is that?” Kun clearly understands nothing.

Ten arches his eyebrow meaningfully.

“This is paper,” he points out. “And these are scissors.”

Lucas chortles, Yangyang and Hendery giggle, Winwin stays silent, and Xiaojun lets out a heavy, world-weary sigh. Ten flips back onto his stomach – and Kun hears a metallic clicking sound.

“Okay,” Kun tries again, gathering every last shred of patience. “Let me rephrase. What are you doing?”

Xiaojun looks up and sighs even louder. “We’re cutting out paper snowflakes.”

Louis yawns and lies down right in the middle of the hallway, still keeping his eyes on Kun. Leon and Bella walk into the living room. Coco nudges Yangyang’s arm with his nose, but Yangyang gently pushes him away.

Kun rubs the bridge of his nose because, obviously, the situation is not getting any clearer at all.

Resigned, he decides to clarify, just in case. “So, how is it going?”

Hendery lets out a frustrated huff, Yangyang puts down his scissors onto the shelf with a clatter, and Ten purrs something under his breath. Xiaojun props his cheek on his hand with a mournful look, and Winwin stares blankly into space.

“So far we’re only managing napkins,” Ten finally utters.

“Very ugly napkins,” Yangyang adds.

“That’s not true!” Lucas retorts indignantly and proudly demonstrates to Kun something white, square, and full of crooked holes.

Kun snorts, but instantly regains composure and asks with all possible seriousness. “Have you guys ever considered looking up online how to do that properly?”

Ten, without turning to Kun, raises his index finger warningly. “Quiet. We’re having a competition. Whoever figures out first how to cut a proper six-point snowflake doesn’t pay for dinner for a whole week.”

Kun starts snickering. “And what if I look it up right now and cut you a perfect one, does that count?”

“No,” they all answer in unison.

Kun sighs heavily and, nodding with a chuckle, leaves the living room.

However, two seconds later he peeks into the room again. “Where the hell did you even get that many scissors?”

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“So, now we have a pink Christmas tree,” Ten states with emphasized calmness, not a hint of surprise in his voice.

“Yep,” Lucas proudly demonstrates a clear plastic box.

“And why exactly do we need a pink Christmas tree?” Ten asks in the same perfectly even tone.

“Because it’s pretty!” Lucas beams and carries the box straight to the kitchen.

Ten steps aside and continues to stand in the hallway, shifting his attentive gaze to Kun. Kun ignores him completely, takes off his puffer jacket, and disentangles himself from his scarf.

“Kun,” Ten calls in the same flat tone.

“What?” Kun walks past Ten and strides into his bedroom.

“A pink Christmas tree,” Ten reminds, turning to follow him with his eyes.

“Yes,” Kun replies curtly and slams the door behind him.

Ten closes his eyes and takes a deep breath.

“Baby,” he softens his voice as he steps into the kitchen.

“Hi,” Lucas closes the distance between them in two steps and, wrapping his arms around Ten’s waist, kisses him gently.

Ten laughs in surprise and, pulling back, studies Lucas’s face with concern.

“We just saw each other in the hallway, remember?” he worriedly places his palm on Lucas’s forehead. “I was asking you about the Christmas tree, remember?”

Lucas snorts and, giving Ten a peck on the nose, returns to the half-unpacked box, from which a spiky fuchsia treetop is poking out.

“It was Kun’s idea,” Lucas launches eagerly into the explanation. “Can you imagine,” he gushes, “he saw it in the shop window – and literally dragged me to buy it! He said Yangyang would like it, and you would like it, and everyone else would like it too! I never thought Kun would be the one to suggest a pink Christmas tree when I’d been pushing for a classic one…” he cuts himself off mid-sentence and freezes, staring over Ten’s shoulder.

Kun is standing in the doorway, arms crossed over his chest, drilling Lucas with an eloquent look.

“You keep going, keep going,” Kun says with deceptive sweetness.

Ten’s eyes dart from Lucas to Kun, then back to Lucas again. Lucas’s cheeks flare crimson.

“Well, you did agree eventually…” Lucas mumbles guiltily, blushing even more, and busies himself with the box again.

Kun steps right up to him and flicks the burning ear. Lucas yelps, but doesn’t look up.

“Hey!” Ten indignantly darts toward him.

Kun turns to him.

“What?” he blinks with feigned innocence.

“Hands off him,” Ten hisses threateningly and, slipping past Kun, rises on his tiptoes and kisses Lucas’s ear that’s now red from the flick.

Lucas hides a smile and, finally having dealt with the box, runs his palms over the pink branches.

“Hang on…” he crouches down, fumbles beneath the artificial tree, presses something – and the tree’s needles burst into a cascade of multicoloured twinkling lights. “There,” Lucas straightens up and grins.

Keys jangle in the hallway, followed by lively chatter, and a moment later Hendery and Yangyang peek into the kitchen.

“Pink Christmas tree!” Hendery yells happily and practically flies over.

“Holy shit, that’s pure pop art!” Yangyang whistles appreciatively.

“Kun picked it out,” Lucas brags with a smug smile, and Ten barely manages to wedge himself between him and Kun.

“Hands off,” he growls through clenched teeth, jabbing a finger into Kun’s chest.

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“‘Get two bottles of brandy and ask no questions,’” Winwin reads the received message aloud and looks up doubtfully at Hendery, who immediately tears his gaze away from the stand of glass angel figurines and widens his eyes.

“Are they okay?” he asks uncertainly.

Winwin pockets the phone and shrugs. “They said to ask no questions. Let’s go get brandy.”

Hendery shakes his head and grabs Winwin by the sleeve. “Just like that?”

“Yeah, just like that,” Winwin agrees calmly and heads straight for the liquor section.

Hendery hurries after him and, pulling out his own phone, quickly types a message into the group chat. When the reply comes, he snorts discontentedly.

Winwin glances at him and smirks. “So what did they say?”

“You guess,” Hendery croaks.

Winwin turns between the aisles.

“If you’re told to ask no questions, it’s best not to,” he says meaningfully.

“But…” Hendery starts, but Winwin cuts him off.

“Ignorance is bliss. After I once saw ‘plastic eyes’ on Ten’s shopping list, I decided I don’t want to know anything,” he states firmly.

Hendery snorts. “Aren’t those the same ones we stuck all over the apartment for Yangyang’s birthday?”

“The very same,” Winwin confirms. “But back then I didn’t know the purpose of it. So compared to that, brandy is a perfectly reasonable request.”

They finally reach the liquor section, and Hendery, thoughtfully scratching his nose, eyes the wide shelves.

“We drank this once,” he stops in front of the clear bottles and sighs.

“What is it?” Winwin steps closer.

“Vodka,” Hendery answers shortly. “Vanilla vodka.”

“Huh?” Winwin furrows his brow and picks up one of the bottles.

“Tastes like ice cream.”

“But it’s vodka,” Winwin clarifies, just in case.

“But it’s vodka,” Hendery nods in agreement.

“I guess I don’t want to know whose idea that was,” Winwin clicks his tongue and puts the bottle back.

“You really don’t,” Hendery assures him.

Winwin glances at him sideways and keeps walking.

“See?” he says without turning around. “Ignorance is bliss. It works.”

Hendery opens his mouth to object, but then snaps it shut and sighs again.

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“Secret Santa, you say?” Ten leans back against the kitchen counter and takes a small sip of wine.

“Why not?” Hendery shrugs and, taking a swig of beer, throws his feet up on the table, nearly toppling backward with the chair he’s sitting on. “It’s the little things that count,” he adds after regaining his balance.

Winwin snorts, pouring coke into the rum in his glass. “You’re just too lazy to look for six different gifts.”

“Who said they had to be six different ones?” Yangyang giggles and holds out his almost-empty glass for a refill. “You could just get six identical ones.”

“Sure, Yangyang,” Kun chimes in, appearing from the hallway and stepping up beside Ten. “And then we can’t figure out whose reindeer sweater is whose.”

Ten silently passes him the bottle of wine.

“What difference does it make?” Lucas asks with sincere bewilderment, emerging from behind the fridge door with two cans of cider.

Xiaojun enters the kitchen, snatches one of the cans from Lucas and purses his lips. “You’re right, absolutely no difference. Anyway, someone washed them on the wrong cycle, and now all the sweaters are only fit for cats.”

“Mine’s bigger, mine fits Bella!” Lucas roars with laughter.

Xiaojun gives him a critical once-over and shakes his head. “Don’t flatter yourself. You’re skinny – a one-size difference won’t help here.”

“Anyway, Secret Santa,” Hendery steers the conversation back. “Come on, let’s do it?”

Xiaojun sits down on the windowsill and shrugs. “I’m in.”

Yangyang nods. “Me too.”

“Are we going to have any wish lists?” Ten squints.

“No, that’s no fun,” Hendery objects. “Pure imagination and intuition only!”

“I don’t like where this is going…” Kun mutters under his breath.

“Oh, come on,” Lucas smiles. “We’ll pick the gifts with love.”

“Especially Ten will,” Winwin smirks.

“Hey!” Ten knits his brows. “I love you all very much!” he takes another sip of wine and glances at his glass suspiciously. “And I think I’ve had enough.”

Lucas laughs and, walking up to him, drapes his arm around Ten’s shoulders.

“Okay, if everyone’s in… I’ll be right back,” Hendery pronounces and, springing to his feet, rushes off to the living room.

Kun watches him go. “Where are you off to?”

“I’m back already,” Hendery returns and slaps a sheet of paper and scissors on the table. “Ten, can you bring a marker, please?” he asks, looking up.

Winwin takes a big gulp of his cocktail and smirks. “See, Kun, the scissors came in handy after all.”

Kun clicks his tongue and sighs theatrically. Ten comes back with a marker while Hendery is already cutting the sheet of paper into not-so-even strips. Xiaojun sips his cider, Lucas watches Hendery with a smile, Yangyang winces as the coke bubbles go up his nose, and Winwin silently looks at everyone in turn.

“Alright,” Hendery starts writing names on the scraps of paper. “Kun, hand me some kind of jar. Or a box.”

Kun purses his lips but rummages in the cupboard anyway and pulls out a large one-liter mug.

“That’s not a jar. And it’s not a box,” Hendery narrows his eyes.

Kun mirrors his expression.

“It’s fine. We only need to draw our ‘lottery tickets’,” he makes air quotes.

Hendery sighs and, having rolled each strip of paper into a messy little ball, tosses them into the mug.

“Now we draw,” he commands and pushes the mug to the middle of the table.

Yangyang, Winwin, and Ten are the first to pull out their crumpled slips – and they exchange unruffled glances. Kun and Lucas draw next. Kun frowns at his scrap of paper while Lucas breaks into a huge grin.

Xiaojun gets up from the windowsill, walks over to the table, and fishes around in the mug.

“If only you knew how much I don’t like picking gifts,” he sighs.

Ten pouts and snorts. “Don’t lie.”

Xiaojun eyes him askance but says nothing.

The last piece of paper goes to Hendery, and he lets out a chuckle, but immediately puts on an impassive face. Ten squints.

“I’m almost scared to imagine who got you reacting like that,” he drawls doubtfully.

Hendery bats his eyelashes innocently and downs the rest of his beer in one go.

“Lucas, grab me another, please,” he asks, nodding toward the fridge.

“Anyone else want a beer?” Lucas offers, opening the door.

“Get some coke, please,” Yangyang replies.

“And the rum, too,” Winwin adds.

“Cider for me, please,” Xiaojun nods.

“Kun, is there any wine left?” Ten turns to Kun.

“But you said you’d had enough,” he smirks.

“I changed my mind,” Ten says primly and tops up his glass with the last of the bottle.

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“Are we going to exchange gifts with each other?” Ten asks, poking his nose out of his scarf and turning to Lucas, who’s walking beside him.

“How do you know I didn’t draw your name in Secret Santa?” Lucas giggles and winks slyly.

“You still haven’t told me, how am I supposed to know?” Ten grumbles and burrows back into his scarf.

Lucas loops an arm around Ten’s neck.

“That’s why it’s called Secret Santa – you’re not supposed to tell,” he smirks.

Ten wriggles free and stuffs his hands into his jacket pockets. “You’re terrible.”

“Nuh-uh,” Lucas laughs.

“I thought there were no secrets between us,” Ten says, clearly deciding to change tactics, and sulkily sticks out his lower lip.

“There are no secrets between us,” Lucas reassures him. “Well, except Secret Santa,” he snorts.

“Lucaaas!” Ten whines. “We’re out right now. If we didn’t draw each other, we could combine business with pleasure – and buy the gifts!” he goes on the offensive again.

Lucas lets out a loud sigh.

“What?” Ten turns to him.

“How was I supposed to act if I had actually drawn you in Secret Santa?” Lucas asks reproachfully.

“Oh, so it’s not me?” Ten perks up.

“It’s not,” Lucas replies, exhaling. “But next time I’m opting out of this whole lottery,” he grumbles.

“Who did you get then?” Ten asks, ignoring the complaint, darts ahead of Lucas and plants himself right in front of him.

Lucas ruffles his bangs and, accepting defeat, gives in. “Yangyang.”

Ten snorts.

“What?” Lucas looks at him pitifully. “I have no idea what to get him!”

“That’s exactly why you need me,” Ten grins triumphantly.

Lucas jerks his chin. “And who did you get?”

“Kun,” with a sudden change of expression, Ten responds gloomily.

Lucas bursts out laughing.

“What?” Ten complains indignantly. “I have no idea what to get him!”

“That’s exactly why you need me,”  Lucas returns the line and smiles smugly.

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“Honestly, Ten, I’m completely worn out from traipsing around shops,” Xiaojun sighs heavily, stopping in the middle of the mall corridor. “My eyes are already blurring from the amount of fake snow, fake presents and fairy lights everywhere.”

“You’re the one who asked me to help pick a gift for Winwin,” Ten grins. “And also,” he hooks his arm through Xiaojun’s, “we still need to decide on costumes.”

Xiaojun yanks his arm free. “Cut it out, I’m not being a snowflake!”

“We could all be snowflakes,” Ten says in an endearing tone.

Xiaojun squints suspiciously. “I don’t believe you in the slightest.”

Ten laughs and gives him a conciliatory nudge with his elbow. “Don’t take this so seriously. Nobody’s forcing you into a tutu to perform ‘The Nutcracker’. Just a few details.”

“Like what?” Xiaojun arches an eyebrow.

“Like, we could buy glitter hairspray – and we’ll all douse ourselves in it.”

Xiaojun stretches his lips into a less-than-friendly smile. “Actually, I’m in.”

Ten slowly tilts his head to the side, in an obvious demand for more context.

“Since all of this will be happening at your place, you guys will be the ones to clean up the glitter afterward,” Xiaojun snorts. “And comb it out of the cats too. Especially Coco – he’s got the longest fur.”

Ten sighs tragically and, leaving Xiaojun behind, walks ahead.

“Come on, let’s go look for snowflake costumes,” Xiaojun smirks, catching up to him.

Ten glares at him and shakes his head.  “You’re not a very nice person, Xiaojun.”

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“Caterpillars?” Winwin arches his eyebrow. “Really, Lucas, caterpillars?” he repeats.

Lucas cracks up and nods. “Yes. Kun refused to buy them along with the tree, saying it was too much for him.”

“So it’s not too much for me, I see,” Winwin closes his eyes.

“Yep,” Lucas nods again.

Winwin walks into the shop and gives Lucas a questioning look.

“Lead the way. I’m not sure I want to know what caterpillars you’re talking about. And you know,” he adds sarcastically, “the fact that we lived together for a couple of years doesn’t give you the right to exploit my kindness and understanding.”

Lucas claps him on the shoulder and laughs loudly. Winwin shoots him a disapproving sideways glance.

“Anyway – the caterpillars,” Lucas announces solemnly, pointing at the display of Christmas ornaments.

“Those are icicles,” Winwin counters reservedly.

Lucas throws his head back and roars with laughter. “They look like caterpillars!”

Winwin sighs heavily. “I’d say you look like a caterpillar yourself, but you don’t. Unfortunately.”

Lucas starts picking up the golden icicles one by one and shrugs nonchalantly. “Ten says I do look like a caterpillar when I wrap myself in a blanket.”

Winwin gives Lucas a long, critical look and follows suit, taking a few golden decorations. “Ten has a vivid imagination.”

“That’s what I think too,” Lucas agrees. “Because how can I be a caterpillar if my feet are sticking out of the blanket?” he asks sincerely.

Winwin grabs two more ornaments and nods affirmatively. “Like I said: Ten has a vivid imagination.”

Lucas smiles back very contentedly.

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