Watching them all open their presents, Hyuk-jae felt strangely hollow. This happy, cozy scene — was this how lots of other people remembered Solstice, growing up? Was this what people meant by 'normal' families? His own Solstices were always… well, not like this. His parents scraped by, he remembered that. Attempting holidays happened when he was very small, but not in the years that followed. Too much work for something that could so easily be ruined, he supposed.

The Ryugazakis were all so happy. They pleasantly exchanged thoughtful gifts for each other, indulged their son, went out of their way to be nice to Hyuk-jae — it was surreal. Nagisa's beautiful present of a lovely, brand-new radio was exquisite. He was obviously pleased, shouting over it and staring at it with big, wide eyes. It really was a beautiful gift! Hyuk-jae thanked everyone profusely, unable to conceal his shock at receiving yet another gift.

When his boyfriend curled up with him, Hyuk-jae ruffled his hair. "I see," he said, as Nagisa explained the plan. Bed sounded nice, actually. Pot luck tomorrow sounded a bit less nice, but it would probably go all right. Nagisa was clearly quite sleepy, too! His mother passed him some warm milk. Declining any further refreshment, the Firebender allowed himself to relax in his seat for a little while. It was warm and comfortable in the house.

Was he having fun? "It's the nicest Solstice I ever had," Hyuk-jae said. He wondered, idly, if they'd be sharing a bed for the night. Would they? What would Nagisa's parents think? He almost wished they'd go back to his place… a cold night was perfect for finding inventive ways of keeping warm. Shifting beneath Nagisa's head on his shoulder, Hyuk-jae glanced at Sano and Megumi.

"I'm actually pretty tired," he said, after a moment. After all, he'd gotten up early, thanks to Nagisa. Yawning a little, the orange-eyed young man looked out the window. Snow was still falling, perfect flakes of white. They'd probably wake up to a thick blanket of it. After a gentle inquiry, Hyuk-jae was directed to was looked like Nagisa's old room.

A full-size bed, tucked with clean, crisp sheets stared at him from underneath a carpet of stuffed animal toys in various stages of disrepair and love. The room was pleasantly wallpapered in a striped muted red and cream, matching the dark red linens on the bed. Wooden furniture was quite serviceable and obviously well-worn. Hyuk-jae scooted a stuffed tiger seal toy to the side, followed by an eel hound toy and sat on the bed, stretching. He glanced about.

Well, his boyfriend certainly had a menagerie, didn't he? Experimentally, the Firebender picked up the elephant rat toy to his right and squeezed it. It squeaked. Pulling the red tie from his hair, he released it from its small, low ponytail-esque style and ran a hand through it. A bit of a headache throbbed at the back of his eyes, probably from all the excitement and the lights. His bag sat by the bedroom door, next to Nagisa's.

Did he have to put on the pajamas, he wondered? It seemed so unnecessary...

Wait, next to Nagisa's? So they absolutely would be sleeping in the same room. He grinned to himself, rubbing the back of his neck. Nagisa's parents were more open-minded than he'd expected. Hyuk-jae pulled another stuffed toy onto his lap and played with its ears, noting the wear around its seams.

Hyuk-jae glanced at the lion-seal plushie, and then at some of the others. Nagisa clearly had played with them well, making up all kinds of stories for them. In fact, he probably still did. Laughing, the Firebender set Miss Sally aside. "Don't tell me, you're making up a drama for them, right? Who cheated on who?"

But he received no reply. Turning around after pulling off his sweater, Hyuk-jae smiled softly. Nagisa was already sleeping, curled around a stuffed toy. The tall young man slipped into bed beside his boyfriend, careful not to disturb. He fell quickly to sleep himself, stretched out in the bed with Nagisa pulled up against his side. Hyuk-jae fitfully turned in his sleep, but soon settled down.

He slept quite late. It was already nine in the morning when he cracked his eyes open, and Nagisa was gone. Remembering his instructions about pajamas, Hyuk-jae pulled them on distastefully before appearing in the kitchen like a shadow. He asked very quietly for coffee, not much of a morning person. The young man had no taste for the sweet breakfast foods, declining them altogether. It seemed he was the last person up.

Taking a seat by the window, Hyuk-jae stared out at the snow. He wondered what his parents were doing. Had they celebrated Solstice together with him gone? Were they all right? Still living in the same house? He'd thought about happening by more than once, but pride and shame both stopped him. Resting his chin in his hand, he sat brooding with his coffee until a very cheerful Megumi Ryugazaki interrupted his thoughts with scrambled eggs and three pieces of bacon.

Bacon was a simple way to Hyuk-jae's heart.

Hyuk-jae, after eating, felt better. Nagisa's family was too happy and warm to resist, and they soon were playing a card game in their pajamas, teamed off couple against couple. Soon able to forget his own family, Hyuk-jae bantered with Megumi and Nagisa and, from time to time, chatted idly with Sano about music. He was happy to show off the guitar Nagisa gave him, as well as discuss songwriting with the older man. At first, he declined a request to play, but after a little wheedling by his boyfriend, the Firebender agreed to sing after lunch.

As he stood in the kitchen with Megumi, helping to prepare their afternoon meal, Hyuk-jae asked questions about the block party. What was it? What was involved? Would he have to do anything specific or special? He'd never been to such a thing. That lingering headache still sat at the base of his neck, but as he drank tea with Sano, he was able to ignore it.

The piano music was sweet and warm, and Hyuk-jae found himself humming along while in the kitchen with Megumi. Her explanation of potluck was simple. Hyuk-jae had never been to such a thing, of course. His parents hadn't wanted him socializing like that. Too dangerous.

Hyuk-jae laughed with Sano. Yes, Nagisa did seem quite like his mother. He took out his guitar and tuned it carefully. The man had asked, after all, to hear some of his work. Nervously, the dark-haired young man started with a simple song, voice and acoustic accompaniment only. One of his older songs, this one was melancholy and quiet.

"Such are the things that make a kingdom rumble and shatter
The same dynamic that another day would never matter
It really just depends on who's giving and who's receiving
And things that don't make sense are always a little deceiving..."*

Outside, the bustle of people could be heard in the street. Hyuk-jae looked up as he finished, catching Nagisa staring at him from the doorway. The younger man's eyes were bright and... tear-filled? Setting the guitar aside, Hyuk-jae stared back, concerned and flustered. "A-are you okay?"
Nagisa cleared his throat. "I'm fine," he said.
"What's wrong?"

Sano glanced between them, amused. Megumi bustled through the living room, waving her arm at her son. Apparently they were meant to be getting dressed. Hyuk-jae stashed his guitar and went to find his coat, a forest-green piece with toggle buttons. He always had a little trouble with the toggles, but it was cheap.

"Can... Can I introduce you to everyone as — as my boyfriend?"

Surprised, Hyuk-jae stopped mid-button and stared at Nagisa. "Well .. I am your boyfriend," he said, "how else would you introduce me?"




*lyrics borrowed, not original. song 'river' by lights. sorry, i'm not a lyricist or poet.

It seemed the Ryugazakis lived in a very open and accepting neighborhood. Hyuk-jae was frankly surprised by how… nice everyone was to him. The warm introduction he received from Nagisa's family was heartening, as well.

Allowing Nagisa to help him with foods was his only safe bet — Hyuk-jae knew he could eat something they'd brought, and with his boyfriend's help he was mostly successfully able to navigate the rest of the spread. People asked him questions and he answered his best. Hyuk-jae tried to be social and play games, but rapidly became fatigued. He wasn't used to large groups of people or interacting with them, and found it difficult.

The holiday lights blinking on bothered him a little, but as his boyfriend snuggled up to his side, the Firebender realized he could not think of a single place he'd rather be. "Happy Solstice," he returned the wish, and bent his head to kiss Nagisa sweetly in the dark.

"Oh, you must stay tonight! Until the weather clears. It'll be great … get to know each other better!"

Absolutely not. Appearing slightly alarmed, Hyuk-jae looked to Nagisa. His boyfriend seemed to share his apprehension. Putting on a bright smile, Hyuk-jae shook his head. "We couldn't," he said, "really. I appreciate your hospitality, but I'd really like to get home." He glanced at Nagisa, obviously hoping for a little support. Megumi, like her son, could be… overbearing.

Sano at least seemed to have an understanding of young men and why they wouldn't wish to stay. He gave Hyuk-jae a look that raised a dark brow in return.
"The boys will get home all right," Nagisa's father said.
Megumi protested again, but Hyuk-jae was already bringing his bag to the door. He would not be stuck in a childhood room for one more night! There were a million things he'd like to do with Nagisa for Solstice and all of them involved not being in a house with thin walls and Nagisa's parents.

They ended up getting back to Nagisa's apartment with no trouble at all. The snow began falling in a thick blanket, but it wasn't much trouble for them. Hyuk-jae spent their night teaching Nagisa about patience and stamina.

Bright winter days after Solstice passed in a blur of work. In between a large group of new clients, attracted by their confrontation with Nima and keeping up with the old ones, Hyuk-jae barely managed to find the time needed to go find a recording studio, make an appointment, and polish songs. In the end, he got his record for Nagisa recorded and finished at the last possible moment — the night before the young man's birthday.

As he finished frosting a raspberry cream cake with lacy, careful icing, Hyuk-jae glanced at the record. Was it a cop-out, giving his boyfriend something that Nagisa had also given his parents before? He'd been careful to only put original work on it — well, original work and one cover. It seemed like something Nagisa would like, unless he cried… the Firebender hadn't missed his response to the song he'd played for Sano. Hyuk-jae purposefully left that one off in favor of sweet songs about love, for the most part.

Unfortunately he'd written more than his share of melancholy songs. Happy material was hard to come by, though he was trying. The cover song had required him to pay a fee for use, but it was the song that had been playing at the Club the night they'd both accidentally confessed. Hyuk-jae wondered if Nagisa remembered it?

A glance at the clock revealed it to be almost the time he'd told Nagisa to come 'round. Hyuk-jae carefully set the brightly-wrapped record up next to the cake and lit candles, turning off all other lights.

What felt like hours passed before Nagisa opened the front door. Hyuk-jae held his breath, the glow from the candles barely illuminating the kitchen. His boyfriend's gasp brought him from the living room up behind him, and as Nagisa asked where he was, Hyuk-jae slid his arms around the young man's waist.

"Happy birthday!" he said, just as Nagisa turned around in his arms. Leaning down, the Firebender pressed their lips together in a sweet kiss even as he used his left hand to close the door with a shove. Turning Nagisa loose, he went around to the cake. "C'mon. Sweets for the sweet." Hyuk-jae waited for Nagisa to stand in front of the cake, urging him to make a wish and blow the candles out.

It really was a beautiful, if small, cake. Fluffy white icing laced the outside, top studded with raspberries, and when cut into the cake revealed even, perfect pink layers. Sweet but tangy with raspberry, the cake had the effervescent taste of champagne in its layers. Hyuk-jae would never admit it to Nagisa, but he'd taste-tested at least three cakes on co-workers in secret while trying to prepare.

The key he'd had made felt like it was burning a hole in his pocket as he carefully set a piece of cake out onto a plate and handed it to his boyfriend. He wanted to deliver the key casually, so the moment had to be right. The record was wrapped as the main gift, anyway. Smiling, Hyuk-jae poured both of them a small glass of pink champagne — left over from the cake, of course. "I hope it tastes all right."

Going to the recording studio had taken a lot of nerve. He'd very painstakingly picked the track listing, trying to make the record tell a story if listened to properly. As such, sadder songs came first with a hopefully middle and very happy ones after. The record ended in what was probably the most embarrassingly sweet love song he'd ever written. Hopefully not a single soul besides Nagisa would hear it, else he might die of mortification.

Sitting down, Hyuk-jae leaned his chin in his hand and stared at his boyfriend. The fluffy-haired young man had been excited about his birthday for weeks, talking of nothing else. It seemed that Nagisa liked getting older. As such, his quiet boyfriend wanted the day to be perfect. Handing the brightly-wrapped package over, he tried not to chew his lower lip as Nagisa ripped into the wrapping.

"… well?" Hyuk-jae looked from the record to Nagisa's face. "I hope you don't mind," he started to say, but cut off talking at Nagisa's expression. Did he hate it?

"Um. Do you... want to listen to it?"