Holiday Special: Christmas in July

〈 A/N 〉 Hey guys! Hope you are having an amazing holiday season, getting together with loved ones, eating yummy food, and opening presents! My family has a mix of religions and traditions so I get to celebrate a little of everything♡

This chapter is just a cute seasonal side-story, so please take note that it is not exactly chronological to the previous and next chapters, but I wanted it to fit in nicely so it still takes place in July, not December. Just keep reading and you'll see, trust me, it all works out magically!

Thanks for reading! Enjoy!

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"Blessed is the season which engages

the whole world in a conspiracy of love."

—Hamilton Wright Mabie

"My idea of Christmas, whether old-fashioned

or modern, is very simple: loving others.

Come to think of it, why do we have to wait for Christmas to do that?"

— Bob Hope

"What happens under the mistletoe,

stays under the mistletoe."

—Unknown

└⋯─────────✩*⋆⍋⋆*✩─────────⋯┘

The rain soaking my hair and shirt almost feels refreshing in the end-of-July heat.

A record breaking day, the news had said this morning. I caught the headline as I left the house, just before stepping outside into the sauna.

On my birthday, of all days.

Another fucking miserable birthday—it's like my childhood all over again. Not that it even matters; nobody's bothered to say anything to me about it. No "Happy Birthday", no "what do you want to do this year", not even a fucking "good morning" before I left the house.

I can't really blame Kal and Ronan, it's not like they'd know since it's never come up in conversation (I figured out Kal's in November sometime but I've no clue about Ro's). Wren, Jasper, and Aster however...

I was hoping for something.

It kind of hurts.

Whatever. It's probably my fault for not saying anything, I just didn't want to be the one to bring it up.

I grit my teeth and adjust my sopping wet backpack, debating if I should jog the rest of the way home. I made it about halfway from my last class before the overcast sky finally let loose.

It's times like these I wish I had Ronan's hydroweaving... or at least an umbrella.

I decide to jog.

Colorful rain jackets blur in my vision as I splash down the last street. The house is in sight, and I—

I step in a deceptively deep puddle. "Fuckin' A!"

My sock and sneaker now hopelessly waterlogged, I climb the steps to our front door and let myself in.

The living room is empty. No chatter indicating anyone's home. Both cars are in the driveway and there's a few lights on, so I let myself foolishly think that maybe...

But no.

I sigh, leave my shoes at the door, and climb up to my room to change.

Jasper's not in our room either. Not that I'm surprised at this point.

I peel my clothes off and replace them with dry ones, and just as I'm pulling out my notebook there's a knock on my door.

"You in there, Hotstuff? I saw your shoes at the door."

"Yeah, c'mon in Kal."

The door pops open and he wastes no time waltzing in—

In a winter jacket. He's wearing a puffy winter jacket. With a striped, knit scarf wrapped around his neck.

"What the hell are you wearing?" I question.

"Perfect timing! Put pants on and then follow me!" He effectively doesn't answer my question, but his 100-watt smile is almost enough to make me not care.

"Kal, why are you so bubbly?...it's a nasty-ass day outside. And I'm already wearing pants. Does this look like underwear to you?" I gesture wildly to my legs.

"Because I'm excited! And no, I can see you're wearing shorts. Put pants on... and a long sleeve shirt too, while you're at it."

..."why?" I give him my best have-you-lost-your-damned-mind look.

"Just do it! Pleeeeease? Do it for me?" He bats his eyelashes at me like he thinks that'll change my mind.

I hate that it works. The cute little shit.

"Fine," I grumble.

As I turn to my dresser I reach over my head and yank off the shirt I just put on, then dig to the back of my drawers to find the clothes he requested. I toss them on my bed and reach down to unbutton my shorts... only to remember I have an audience.

A flush courses up my neck when I fully turn to him, because sure enough, he's leaning against the wall next to the closed door, with a small tilt of his head, one lazy eyebrow raised, and a matching half-smirk. Somehow the winter gear doesn't soften the look.

"Enjoying the show?"

"Oh, yes. Feel free to continue." His eyes sweep up and down, and despite the fact that he's seen me shirtless quite a few times I still feel super exposed. Something about him actually watching me undress makes it way worse.

However, I really don't feel like arguing with him about it.

I roll my eyes, suck up my pride, and ignore his burning stare as I undress the rest of the way to my briefs. Then I pull the the new ones back on before facing him again.

He thankfully averted his eyes at some point, so now he's inspecting the metal art pieces on my desk while his foot taps impatiently.

"Alright, do you approve now, Kalum? What are we doing that you're so excited for?"

He ignores my snippy tone, instead his face lights up again and he's practically bouncing in his toes.

"Come on!"

I follow him downstairs and through the empty living room, but we pause before the kitchen where two sets of boots await us. One pair are heavy winter boots I don't recognize, but the other are my combat boots... which I forgot I still owned. I'm pretty sure I threw those in my closet ages ago. I cringe realizing someone must've dug through that messy black hole for them... who knows what else is forgotten in there. I probably still own gloves. Ha! Like I'd ever need those again! Now there's a funny thought.

He puts his boots on and I follow his example, not entirely sure why. Obviously something's going on but I'm trying not to get my hopes up. I am starting to get curious though, especially if it's making Kal so antsy.

"Ok, we're going to the backyard but close your eyes first!"

"Why—"

He turns me around and puts his hands over my eyes like a blindfold.

"I'll guide you out, just trust me for a sec. I promise I won't run you into anything... though it's tempting."

"Oooohkayyy... you wanna tell me what's going on?"

"Well," he starts as he pushes me slowly through the kitchen, "do you know what today is? July 25th? It's a very special day."

So he does know! Man, he had me fooled! "Of course I know, it's my birthd—"

"It's Christmas in July!"

My heart drops.

Of fucking course it is. What else?

We pause and I hear the backdoor slide open before a chilly gust of wind blows in.

Wait, a chilly wind?

Sure enough, as we step outside, I suck in a silent gasp as the the air temperature suddenly drops enough to make my balls shrivel. Ok, maybe wearing pants was a good idea.

I take a few more steps and there's a crunchy resistance underfoot.

What is going on?

Kal takes his hands away and I'm immediately blinded by white—

Snow.

Everywhere.

The whole backyard is blanketed in a layer of fresh snow as more of it slowly falls from the sky. It glistens as it tumbles, since the orange, descending sun is finally peaking out from behind some clouds.

My jaw drops. It's snowing. In our backyard. In July.

I hold my palm out to collect a few crystals but they melt as quickly as they land.

Then I see the pine tree in the center of our yard that was not there before today. It's so tall I might not even reach the top of it on my tippy-toes. There's a gold star at the peak, and twinkling lights and ornaments shine between the branches. It's a Christmas Tree. With presents underneath. Wrapped and bowed and delicately placed.

Next to the tree is a snowman, and standing around the snowman I finally notice the rest of my friends. They're laughing together with steaming mugs in their hands, wearing a mishmash of sweaters and jackets, gloves and hats. Ronan jams a carrot into the snowman as a nose, and they stand back to admire the finished product.

Kal clears his throat behind me and they all turn to look.

"HAPPY BIRTHDAY AIDEN!"

They all shout in unison, as if it were rehearsed, and the effect is... is...

My damned traitorous heart picks itself up from the depths and lodges itself in my throat.

"What... H-how..."

Did they do this, for me?

"You guys, this is... amazing..." I glance around again in awe. "I didn't even think you remembered..." I practically whisper.

Kal moves up next to me and puts a gloved hand on my shoulder as I look out to the others. They all grin back at me, but it's Jasper who says, "You idiot, we've been friends for forever and a day, you seriously think we'd forget your birthday?"

"We celebrate every year, Aideebear! We all felt really bad but we had to purposely avoid you all morning so we didn't spill the secret on accident. Sorry if we were a little too convincing." Wren adds.

They were right, of course. How could I be so stupid? We've celebrated my birthday every year together—they know how much it means to me, since my mom never even acknowledged it when I was a kid. Of course they would remember.

I blink back the wet tears that threaten to spill over. I have the. best. friends.

"How did you do it all? This is crazy. Like, in a good way... it's just... how? There's a heat wave today, it was raining!"

"Well," Wren begins, "you can thank Kal for the most part. It was his idea. We mentioned last week that your birthday was coming up and he organized the whole thing."

I turn to him with wide eyes, and he looks back sheepishly. His scarf is pulled up over his nose, but his cheeks flush red as he tries to dip his head further down. He's normally so confident about shit, it's refreshing to see him shy for once.

"Everyone helped," he mumbles. "Ronan helps me make the snow: he has to solidify the rain a bit before I can turn it. It's just in our yard, the rest of the world is normal—we're in a snow globe of sorts."

I peer past our fence, and sure enough, there's still rain out there.

He continues, "Jasper helped prepare the ground so the snow would last longer and not melt right away. Aster made our Christmas Tree, Wren decorated it, and we all helped with the other random stuff."

I smile at him, amazed and unrestrained, and when his eyes crinkle in a smile back I momentarily wonder if the elated fluttering and tingling through my chest, fingers, and head is a symptom of a heart attack.

"I love it, thank you guys. Really, this is amazing."

Wren waves her hand in the air. "Bah! Stop blubbering and get some hot chocolate. Oh, and cookies! We have cookies!"

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A snowball collides with the side of my face. Another hits my chest.

I gasp before peering around, then I swipe some snow to form my own revenge. I narrow my eyes to find my target, weighing the newly packed ball in my hand as a few melted drops run down my fingers.

There! A dark hat with a few tufts of red hair sticking out, dead ahead! I cock my arm back and let it fly...

Whack!

Success!

Jasper whips around, a hand fumbling to wipe the snow from his shoulder. "HEY!" He shouts across the yard, flipping his middle up in everyone's general direction.

Did he not throw the snowball at me? Whoops. My bad.

There's a small snicker from Aster to my right. I was having a conversation with her before someone launched snowballs at me. But I guess I just did the same thing to Jas...

I watch as he now bends to get a handful of snow, packs it, and launches it... to hit Kal? Did he think Kal threw it?

Kal yelps, then waves his hands around in the air frantically. "I dunno who did that so you're ALL gonna get it!" With a sudden flick he sends giant, loose-packed snow clumps in all directions to pelt us all with a loud whack, whack, WHACK!

I register Aster's small shriek before I get hit square in the chest, making me grunt with the impact. The clumps break apart as they collide, showering all of us in a fresh coat of freezing snow!

"SNOWBALL FIGHT!" Ronan yells as all hell breaks loose.

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Many cups of hot chocolate were needed.

So we sat to catch our breath as I re-warmed our drinks, then sipped and munched gingerbread cookies.  We took the opportunity to open up presents because it turns out those nicely wrapped boxes under the tree weren't just decoration like I had initially thought.

I guess they had set up a mystery exchange between them and all chipped in to get me double presents.

A new sweater for Kal, film for Ronan, hair ties and colorful socks for Aster, earbuds for Jasper, earrings for Wren, and for me...

A new, actually good A/C unit and a huge case of those Cokes that come in a glass bottle! Yeeeeessssss.

We were all ecstatic with our gifts and tried them out, then continued talking and messing around until the sun began to set, alighting the yard with a combination of its warm glow and the Christmas lights twinkling off the snow.

Ronan surprised us all when he pulled out some mistletoe... and then proceeded to pop up randomly next to someone and plant a smooch on their lips.

Somehow I think it's something that only Ronan could get away with doing. Anyone else would probably get punched.

He managed to steal a peck from Wren when he first brought it out. Not that it was a hard sell, all he did was shout, "Mistletoe!", hold it above them, and she happily puckered up.

Aster's turn was next and I was expecting some resistance, but after watching Wren and him she just gave a nervous giggle and resigned shake of her head before leaning in for a quick peck.

Ronan saunters over to me and Jasper next, and as soon as he leaves the girls I catch Aster heading inside and Wren going to sit next to Kal on the patio steps.

Their backs are to me but since they face each other I can still see them talking and smiling. It gets harder to discern because Kal keeps covering his nose and mouth with his scarf, and eventually he just leaves it up. Ronan and Jasper's bickering becomes backround noise as I focus more heavily on reading his expression. It's totally none of my business, but I'm kind of curious what they're talking about. What's making his icy eyes crinkle and his shoulders shake in a laugh? Even Wren is grinning while her Christmas Tree earrings sway, so they must be getting along.

For some reason it gives me that warm, fuzzy, slightly awkward feeling that I'm not quite sure how to handle.

I still can't believe my friends did all this for me. It stopped snowing awhile ago, probably because the sky cleared up and I'm assuming it stopped raining in the "normal" world too. But the yard is still blanketed in snow and there's still a crisp chill in the air.

Kal is probably exhausted from using his weaving so much. And freezing—I can see the red tips of his ears from here. I hope he knows how much I appreciate it...

"Hey, Jas?" I turn to them, interrupting Ronan's failing attempt towards earning a smooch. "Do you have another hat?"

He pinches his brows but nods. "Uh, yeah, I brought an extra one in case anyone needed it. Here..." He fishes into his jacket pocket and yanks the beanie out.

"Thanks." I take it as I stand and turn away.

"Don't think you can run away from me! I'll be over when I'm done making out with Jas!" Ronan comments gleefully.

"What! That is not happening..."

I tune them out again as I come up behind Wren and Kal. Wren sees me first and puts on a sly smile. "Weeell, Kal, I best be off. It's really nice to talk with you, but I just remembered I've got something else I need to do!"

Kal's a bit caught off guard but nods.

"Ta-ta, enjoy the party. Don't mind me, just gotta go... charge my crystals. Yep." She gives me a pointed look as she heads past, but Kal doesn't notice, he's still muttering to himself, "Charge her crystals...? Do they need charged? With what?"

My crunching steps must've been covered by her retreating ones, since Kal doesn't even notice me until I'm bending down behind him.

"Hey," he jumps at my greeting, "brought you something to keep warm."

I fit the hat over his head and make sure his ears are nice and tucked.

"Oh, a hat, thanks!" He tilts his head to look up at me.

"Yep. Well, that, aaand..." I bend down again, this time going all the way to sit behind him. He shifts to give me room, and I put a leg on either side of him while wrapping my arms around his middle. "...me," I finish.

"Even better." His words are muffled by his scarf as he thumps his back against my shoulder. "How are you still so warm when you're only in a thin shirt?! I'm in like twenty layers and I'm still cold!" He shivers right on cue.

"Yeah, well, you have been using you're weaving for all this." I gesture with my chin, until I realize he can't see me. "That's gotta make it worse."

"A little... I guess. Totally worth it though!"

"Well, actually that's part of the reason I came over... I didn't get to give you a gift, and—"

"It's your birthday! You don't give us gifts!"

"—and, I wanted to say thank you. Really, honestly, thank you for this. It's incredible." I have to pause a moment, to let it sink in for him, and also because my heart is racing and I'm worried my words will come out a nervous jumble if I don't. When I take a deep breath I continue, "I know my words won't really do it justice, so I wanted to give you this instead... "

When I reach up to pull his scarf down a little, he tries to turn to look at me in confusion but I'm quicker. I turn and give him a kiss right on the rosy apple of his cheek.

He goes still, his eyes widening a fraction.

Shit, that was actually kind of weird, wasn't it?

Too late. No regrets.

"Just a token of gratitude, or something, I dunno, I know that sounds stupid, but like actions speak louder than words or whatever, right?"

His lashes flutter a few times before he chuckles under his breath and leans his head back against me again. "I know I've kissed your cheek before too, but I'm happy to be the receiver this time."

I snicker, "You like to be the catcher, eh?"

"Pfft, shut up." I can still feel his shoulders shaking in a laugh, betraying him.

I let my chin rest on his shoulder, inhaling a deep breathe in the quiet moment. My nose tingles with the smell of peppermint, fresh snow, and dreams-come-true.

"Ya know," he begins slowly, "you can call me 'Kalum', if you want to... Yes, I heard you earlier, trying to annoy me by using my full name. But it doesn't bother me; my family always called me 'Kal' so I'm just used to it, but I like my full name too. It feels kinda special when someone uses it, I guess."

"Hmm, I was sort of hoping you forgot about that." I grimace. "But good to know, Kalum."

"Don't wear it out, please."

"Of course not. I would never."

"Mmhm."

"Well I give you permission to use my full name too."

"I-Isn't... Wait... Isn't your name just 'Aiden'??"

"Yep."

"...So..."

I'm about to snort out a breath at his incredulity, but Ronan chooses that moment to pop into our frame of vision. Like literally I'm looking at snow and trees one second, then he's just there the next. Poof.

A wicked grin on his face, he holds his hand out to Kal, who's not nearly as miffed by Ro's sudden appearance as I am. He's probably used to Ronan's antics by now.

Sure enough, Kal grips the outstretched hand and is yanked out of my grasp to his feet.

"Your turn!" Ro announces, as he pulls the mistletoe out from who knows where.

Kal rolls his eyes. "This again...? Ro you made me do this last Christmas, too. Isn't one kiss a year enough?"

"Nope! Pucker up! I need those cold lips!" He squeezes his lips together in a kissy face.

Kal rolls his eyes a second time, yanks his scarf down, and leans forward to plant a chaste peck on his lips.

It lasts all of two seconds, two heart pounding seconds, of watching their lips meet. Watching Kal willfully, if not entirely happily, kiss someone. Kiss his bestfriend—so I know it's not romantic in the least. It's just Ronan being ridiculous and overdoing the holiday traditions, and Kal being friendly and going with the flow.

It's a small festive kiss, it's honestly no big deal. So when Kal takes a step back and Ronan reaches a hand down for me this time, I take it. And when he holds up that mistletoe above me with that stupid not-entirely-innocent-but-definitely-playful smirk, I don't think about it and just close my eyes with a half-hearted huff. It's quick and painless, and not nearly as weird as I thought it would be.

It was actually weirdly exciting.

Not because I kissed Ronan—ew—just in general. It's fun and goofy, which might have to do with the whole festive and fun atmosphere around us.

"Yay!" Ronan cries joyfully. "All complete!"

Kal grumbles to himself unconvincingly.

I just shake my head, lighthearted. "Does that mean we're off the hook until actual Christmas?"

"Off the hook from kissing me, yes!"

"...Right?"

"But not from other people! Muahahahaaa!"

"What—"

The mistletoe is back above my head.

And Kal's head.

"Your turn!"

Uhhhh....

Kal's eyes go wide as he finally processes the situation. "Ronan!"

Kal looks back and forth between me, Ronan, and the mistletoe above us. His cheeks are pink, from the situation or the cold I'm not sure.

His vision lands on me again and flicks down to my lips. It stays there a second before moving away, back to Ro.

Does he want to kiss me?

He starts rambling, "We both just kissed you... I have your cooties on my lips! He has your cooties on his lips! I have to room with you so it doesn't really bother me but I could totally understand if he doesn't want to deal with it cause—"

Is he trying to defend me? He thinks I don't want to? But I do want to...

He still going, "—it might be weird or something since we've never done this and he might not want to but it's fine with—"

I step forward and grab the front of his scarf so it stays out of the way. His eyes are so wide I can see his whole blue irises as they lock onto my lips again.

"It's fine, Kal. Just a mistletoe kiss, right?"

He nods as best he can with my hand still gripped on his scarf.

I pull him gently to me and he leans in until we meet.

His lips are as cold as I expected but surprisingly soft too, and his lashes flutter lightly against my cheek as his eyes close.

That tiny little jealous tickle that had bloomed in my mind is satisfied, but now there's a new warm feeling thumping in my chest. It wants to keep going. To lean in, to pull closer, to feel more.

But it's just a mistletoe kiss. A fun tradition, a friendly game. And I'm ok with that, for now that's enough.

I pull away after a few torturous seconds. It was just a small peck, but I can still feel the imprint of his lips on mine in their absence. I open my eyes to meet his with a soft look.

He gives me a tight lipped smile, small dimples forming in his red cheeks.

I clear my throat lightly when I realize how close we still are, and pull my hand back before we both take a small step away.

Someone gives a short admiring whistle and we both whip back to a nearly-forgotten Ronan, who's still standing not two feet from us.

"Fucking voyeur." I shoot in his direction.

"Only for a good show." He counters, looking way too content with himself. "Alright, no more mistletoe for you guys tonight, I'll go surprise Wren and Aster with it later. Enjoy the rest of your party!" He winks at us as he walks off.

Just me and Kal again. And the awkward elephant in the room known as "we just kissed".

I clear my throat again, not finding any words to say.

He breaks the silence first. "So this has been a fun evening."

I glance over to him, still finding it hard to look directly at him. He's pulled his scarf back up, his hand now holding it over his nose and mouth.

"Yeah, it has been. I've loved everything." The surprise, the snow and lights and treats, the kiss.

"C'mon," I hold my hand out and he grasps it, "let's go finish those cookies."

He doesn't let go of my hand even when we make it over to join the others. I look around at them all—my friends backlit by the reflective snow, and with a mouthful of cookies I find myself blurting out, "Thank you guys again, this really was perfect."

They grin at me with cookie crumbs on their jackets and hot chocolate on the corner of their mouths, and Kal gives me squeeze of his hand.

"Happy Birthday, Aiden! Merry Christmas in July!"