Chapter Text
“Do you think we will see Santa here?” Seungmin asks as he pulls on Hyunjin’s arm, and Hyunjin softens, chuckling at Seungmin’s excitement.
Ever since they met, they’ve always celebrated Christmas together, because for some reason, Seungmin’s parents never told him that Santa isn’t real and they refused to celebrate it anymore after a certain age. Hyunjin always gets angry thinking about how neglectful Seungmin’s parents have been to him (fortunately he doesn’t live with them anymore), so Hyunjin wants to give him the best Christmas experience every year, taking him to see Santa, giving him gifts, and singing carols with him among other things.
“Yeah, I heard that he’ll be here today to ask what everyone wants to have,” Hyunjin says, trailing his hand down to hold Seungmin’s hand. They’ve been teetering on the edge of confessing their feelings for a while now, Hyunjin feels, but for now Hyunjin wants to focus on Christmas, even if he’s pretty sure they both feel the same. He doesn’t mind holding hands and cuddling in the meantime.
“Yes! There he is!” Seungmin points out, lighting up, and Hyunjin loves the contrast between serious and put together Seungmin, and this more silly and carefree and childish side. Seungmin pulls him along before he pauses and looks at Hyunjin. “Are you sure you don’t want to talk to Santa this year? You always say you don’t need any gifts, but Santa doesn’t only give to kids like some think.”
“I’m really okay, my wish for every year is that you have a good time, and Santa already knows that,” he says, and Seungmin’s eyes widen before he looks away with red cheeks.
“That— Now I feel selfish asking for gifts!” Seungmin says, and Hyunjin barks out a laugh, pulling Seungmin in for a hug.
“You’re not selfish, Minnie, otherwise Santa wouldn’t listen to your wishes, right?” Hyunjin says, and Seungmin purses his lips. He hopes that he didn’t go too far with saying that, but he knows that Seungmin often doesn’t know how to react to Hyunjin’s cheesy words, and if the smile on Seungmin’s lips is anything to go by, he appreciates it.
“I guess you’re right. Now let’s go see Santa!” he says, pulling Hyunjin to go stand in line.
As expected, it’s all parents and their kids, but they’re used to that now, and Seungmin luckily doesn’t question it too much, thinking parents just feel embarrassed to ask for gifts.
“And where is your kid?” a mother asks them when her kid is up next, and Hyunjin’s heart drops, but before he can think of what to say, Seungmin speaks up.
“We don’t have a kid, I’m here to see Santa,” he explains, and Hyunjin hopes that she’ll drop the subject at that, but she doesn’t.
“ You? But you’re a grown man!” she exclaims, looking at Hyunjin in disbelief. “You know that the guy you’re seeing is just someone in a costume right?”
“Wh-What? No, that’s not true— I mean, sometimes people dress as Santa for fun, yeah, but this one is the real Santa—” Seungmin stammers, looking at Hyunjin for help, and Hyunjin just freezes up, unsure what to do.
“You don’t believe in Santa either, right? Here— Just ask Santa yourself when my son is done,” she says before taking her kid with her, and Seungmin already walks over to him before Hyunjin can stop him.
“Wait, Seungminnie—”
“Is that woman right? Is Santa not real?” he demands, and Hyunjin curses under his breath when he sees that they replaced the usual Santa, who knows about Seungmin.
The Santa looks around to make sure no kids hear him before he replies, “No, of course I’m not real— Is this some kind of prank?” Shit.
Seungmin turns around to Hyunjin with wide, teary eyes. “So– Everything has been a lie? Was– Did you know?”
“Yes, I— But I– I just wanted to make things fun—” Hyunjin stammers, pulling Seungmin along with him so the other kids can still see Santa, and Seungmin pulls his hand away.
“Let go! How could you not tell me? I— Ugh! I don’t know what to think anymore!” he exclaims, pressing his palms against his eyes, before he makes a run for it.
“Seungmin! Wait—” Hyunjin calls after him, but Seungmin doesn’t listen, so he curses under his breath. He just never had the heart to tell Seungmin and ruin all the fun… Would it really have been better to tell him?
Hyunjin wants to make a move to go after Seungmin, but he hesitates, before he comes up with an idea, and he hopes this can make Seungmin feel better.
The beard is tickling Hyunjin’s chin and the outfit is pretty itchy, too, but he pulls through as he heads to Seungmin’s secret safe place, the abandoned playground near his childhood home. He hopes that Seungmin is still there, because it took quite a while to find a Santa suit and change into it and then get here.
As soon as Seungmin spots Hyunjin, he jolts in shock and seems to want to run away, but he doesn’t, and he relaxes, even smiling softly.
“Ho Ho Ho! I felt the presence of a good person in distress,” he says with his best Santa voice, and Seungmin chuckles wetly, standing up from where he sat on the swings as he approaches Hyunjin.
“Your beard is a bit off, Santa,” Seungmin tells him amusedly, gently taking off the beard, and Hyunjin blushes. “I appreciate you doing this for me, Jinnie.”
“I’m sorry that I didn’t tell you,” he whispers, but Seungmin shakes his head, caressing Hyunjin’s cheek. Hyunjin wonders why Seungmin is being so sweet while he looks like he’s been crying for the past hour.
“It’s okay,” he assures, and Hyunjin softens. “I… I’ve gotten some time to think, and– I realize you only did it to keep the magic alive, I understand that you didn’t want to disappoint me. And besides, it was my parents’ responsibility to tell me.”
“I guess… I’m just sad that it had to go this way,” Hyunjin says, and Seungmin agrees.
“Me too— but I know that you do so much to make me happy, and— I just appreciate it so much,” he says, and Hyunjin swallows thickly, getting emotional, too. “I– Everything kind of makes sense now, and realizing it wasn’t Santa, but you who made all those Christmasses so magical makes me love you even more.”
Hyunjin’s eyes widen and he can’t help but spill tears at Seungmin’s sweet words. “Seungmin— I love you, too.”
“Can I kiss you, Hyunjin?” Seungmin asks, and Hyunjin answers by rushing forward to kiss him, glad that he isn’t wearing that beard anymore as he melts into the kiss.
“Santa may not be real, but the warmth we shared every Christmas is still real, and I will still do everything to make every Christmas magical for you,” Hyunjin whispers, caressing Seungmin’s back as they hold each other. “My love for you is real.”
Seungmin swallows and kisses Hyunjin again. “My love for you is real too. And– I guess I don’t need Santa if I have my own right here.”
Hyunjin chuckles and nods. “You have all of me, Seungminnie.”