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This probably had to have been one of the dumbest things he had ever decided to do. For starters, he was currently slushing his way through at least 2 feet of snow and still had at least ten more minutes of walking before he got to Ty's house. He had thought taking the shortcut through the trees would have been faster until the snow started to get deeper and deeper, but by then turning back would have taken too much time.

But maybe that would have been a good thing. Maybe it was the universe trying to tell him that this was all a horrible idea.

The box he had carried all this way was now being hugged against his chest, but it refused to give off any warmth. The bow vibrated subtly as a chilly breeze caressed both it and the orange Cat holding it.

Fuck you too wind.

Gabriel's teeth chattered loudly as he forced his way through the snow under the darkening sky. It was already pretty dark. And in the snow, it definitely wasn't smart to be out here right now. But damn everything he had had to try. Christmas would be over in a few hours, so this was his last chance to give Ty his gift.

Ty was a yellow-furred Dog, one of Gabriel's best friends, and the object of his affections since high school freshman year. Gabriel had no idea if Ty was gay, but lately they had been spending more time together, and a few days ago Gabriel thought he finally found proof.

They were at Ty's house, sitting on the floor against the bed and eating pizza. The video they had been watching on Ty's computer had just finished.

"That was great," Ty had said, and Gabriel agreed. Somewhere during the video they had leaned closer to each other. Ty held his phone between them, checking for any notices. Gabriel had leaned in closer just to look at the phone's screen. But then Ty leaned in a bit too.

Their eyes met, but they didn't look away like they were supposed to. Gabriel, initially enjoying the moment, waited for Ty to inevitably look away or jokingly call him on it, but the seconds passed, and with each one Gabriel's heart started beating faster and faster. Ty's eyelids fluttered, and he leaned just a bit closer, not even an inch. His gaze broke from Gabriel's eyes to somewhere lower on his face.

And then he stopped.

He sat back up and asked if Gabriel had another video to show him.

And it was all over, come and gone in under seven seconds.

Neither of them said anything about it, but Gabriel had never stopped thinking about it.

So now here he was. Cold, walking through the snow and trees in the dark, to give a present to someone he liked and, based on literally seconds of evidence, could possibly like him back. And the closest thing he had to a plan was to hand Ty the present and hoped he liked it. He hadn't thought any farther than that.

This was a terrible idea.

What was he even going to say? Maybe he didn't have to say anything. Friends give each other gifts all the time right? This could just be one friend giving a gift to another. This gift might have been crossing a line though. Would he be able to play it off as strictly platonic?

Maybe.

But maybe not.

Finally he could see light from Ty's windows through the trees, the back porch light now serving as his beacon. But the closer he got the less sure of himself he became. What if them staring at each other hadn't actually meant anything. Maybe Ty never actually leaned toward him, maybe he just thought he had. The room lights hadn't been on, just the grey glow from the cloudy sky and the laptop screen.

He stood at the backdoor, listening to voices from inside. He hadn't even thought about what his family might think. This had definitely been a terrible idea, what was he even doing here? No, this was bad. He should just rip off the name-tag sticker, leave it by the door and run.

But then he knocked and he heard someone coming and it was too late.

"Gabriel?"

It was Ty's father.

"Hi Mr. Buckly. Is Ty here?"

"Yes, come in. Nice to see you."

Mr. Buckly opened the door for him, and Gabriel gladly stepped into the warmth of their kitchen.

"Gabriel!" cried out Ty's mother happily when she saw him. "Merry Christmas!"

"Merry Christmas," he replied with a shiver.

"Ty," called out Mr. Buckly as he walked into the living room. "Gabriel's here for you."

"Nice to see you," she said warmly "You're family doesn't miss you?"

"No, my parents work early tomorrow so we kind of end things early anyway."

"That's a shame. Here let me get you some hot-chocolate," she walked over to a large pan on the stove. "Is that for Ty?" she asked, indicating the present he was holding.

"Yeah," he replied, trying not to sound self-conscious. But she just said how nice it was and told him to put it on the table before handing him a warm foam cup. Gabriel happily accepted it, lifting it so the steam could warm his face just as Ty appeared in the doorway. He wore socks, jeans and a red and green Christmas sweater that Gabriel assumed he had just received today. He looked amazing.

Ty smiled widely when he saw his friend standing in the kitchen. "Hey Gabe," he said happily, making the Cat an even better kind of warm.

"Hey," he smiled back.

"Do you want anything to eat?" asked Mrs. Buckly, offering Gabriel the various foods they still had left.

"No," he replied. "That's alright. I already ate a lot today."

"Alright," she smiled before leaving the two alone in the kitchen. They seated themselves around the little island counter of the kitchen.

"Hi," said Gabe again, tail wagging happily.

"Hey."

"What are you doing here?"

The warmth left, the anxiety came back.

"Uh...I um, I got you this," he answered, pushing the box over to the Dog.

"What?" he said, smiling embarrassedly as he grabbed it. "...You didn't have to get me anything."

"Yeah...um, I wanted to though."

"Thanks," he smiled. "Um, should I open it now?"

"Uh, yeah. Go ahead."

"Alright."

His fingers started to tear at the wrapping, and Gabriel could feel his heart beat harder in his chest. When Ty finally got the box open, his eyes widened for a second before his face broke out in a huge grin.

"Mega cookies!" he cheered.

Mega cookies were the name he gave to the monsters they had formed when they had once tried to make cookies from scratch. They had all blobbed together in the oven to make several large misshapen cookies. But they tasted fine just the same, and they actually looked kind of cool, so the two started making them like that on purpose.

"Thanks Gabe," he beamed.

"Yeah. I actually tried to make them look like Christmas tree's but uh, yeah."

"Mega cookies just weren't meant to be tamed," he joked, and they both laughed. "Hold on," he said as he got up and grabbed two large mugs and filled them both with hot chocolate. He handed his friend one before breaking off a chunk of cookie and eating it "Man, these are great. Come on, get some."

"O-Okay."

Gabriel broke off a piece, heart still hammering in his chest. A piece of paper was sticking out from under the cookies, and he knew at any moment Ty was going to notice it.

"Something wrong?" asked the Dog.

Gabriel looked up at him, surprised. "Huh? What do you mean?"

"You seem...funny,"

"Uh, just cold."

Ty nodded, but he didn't seem very sure. Gabriel took a bite out of the cookie. That, at least, tasted fine.

"I'm really happy you're here," said the Dog.

"Yeah?"

"Er, yeah," replied Ty, suddenly seeming self-conscious. "You know, Christmas and everything."

"Yeah," agreed Gabriel. "I'm...happy I get to see you today too."

They smiled at each other, awkward but happy.

"Why'd you come so late?" asked Ty, making Gabriel's tail twitch nervously behind him.

"I made these today," he answered. "I uh...I wanted them to be fresh. Didn't want to give you stale ones you know?"

Ty smiled again, and Gabriel realized he had the slightest bit of a blush on his face. "Thanks Gabe. Uh...but you could have just made them tomorrow though you know, so you didn't have to walk through the cold."

"Yeah," Gabriel agreed, starting to feel self-conscious again. "Yeah, I...I guess I should have..."

"I mean," added the Dog quickly, "No, just so you wouldn't have had to walk through the cold. I'm glad you came today. Really. It...I mean like I said, it makes me happy that you wanted to come see me."

Gabriel fought hard to keep the butterflies out of his stomach. "Thanks."

"Yeah. You're my best friend, and...Um, wait here."

He went through the living room, leaving Gabriel to try and figure out whether or not this had been a good idea or not. Ty did seem happy to see him, but Gabriel was acting like a weirdo. And he still didn't know what Ty was going to do when he saw the little paper under the cookies.

When Ty came back he was holding a present. He handed it to Gabriel, now definitely blushing.

"I um...got this for you. I was going to give it to you tomorrow, but since you're here, you know...Merry Christmas Gabe."

Gabriel looked from the shy acting Dog to the wrapped blob in his hands. He felt his heart whirl.

"I...Thank you."

"Open it," he encouraged.

He did, pulling away the wrappings to reveal a second layering of newspapers. When he stripped those away he found himself holding a yellow scarf.

"I remember you said you wanted one," explained the Dog. "So...Do you like it?"

Gabriel looked up and saw Ty's anxious expression.

"I...Yeah, I love it."

His friend beamed happily as his tail started to wag.

"Really?"

"Yeah, I needed this." He happily rubbed the fabric against his face. "It's so warm."

"Awesome," he replied, relieved. "I'm glad I could give it to you today."

"Yeah," agreed Gabriel. "Me too."

Then to keep himself from blushing he wrapped the scarf around his neck.

"So warm," he repeated.

"I-It um," Ty stuttered, "It looks nice on you."

Gabriel felt his heart skip a beat.

"...Yeah?"

"Yeah."

Their eyes met.

Where they should have looked away, their eyes lingered.

Their smiles were nervous.

Gabriel felt paralyzed. Ty's sweater made him match too closely with all the decorations his family had placed around the house, making him look like he was embodying all the warmth and happiness the holidays were supposed to bring.

To Gabriel, anyway.

He shivered, and not just from the cold.

Again, Ty broke first.

"Um...Want to go to my room?" he asked.

"Okay," Gabriel replied quietly.

He had definitely not imagined that.

Ty refilled the mugs and then motioned for the Cat to follow him. "Bring the cookies."

They walked past his parents in the living room, who both smiled kindly at Gabriel again before returning to their Christmas program, and then they were off to his room. Gabriel closed the door for Ty as the Husky sat on the floor. He handed Gabriel one of the mugs as he sat down across from him and opened the box of monster cookies.

For the first few moments they just sat dipping chunks of cookies into their mugs, enjoying the special taste of homemade sweets.

"Do you want to borrow some pants?" asked Ty after swallowing a large mouthful.

"Hm?" mumbled Gabriel, having been pulled out of thought.

"Do you want to borrow my sweatpants?" he asked again. "You seem cold...And your jeans are wet."

"Oh," replied Gabriel as he looked down at himself. "Oh, sorry. I walked with wet shoes through your house."

"It's fine," chuckled Ty as he got up. "I'll lend you some socks too."

Gabriel stood up too, putting his shoes by the door and stuffing his socks into them, and then when Ty handed him the sweatpants, slid off his jeans. He had always been a bit hesitant to undress in front of the Dog, but this time it felt especially awkward, and he was glad when he was clothed again and they could sit back down.

"Better?" asked Ty.

"Yeah, thanks."

The Dog smiled before reaching for another cookie. But then he noticed the paper. Gabriel felt a cold pang of fear.

So much for better.

"Whats that?" he asked as he pulled it out. His eyes scanned it for a second, his mouth cracking into a confused smile. "Did you buy the cookies?"

"No," he answered, watching the Dogs eyes get wider as they read the receipt. "I...It's your other present."

He had hoped that maybe Ty would just be really happy and excited about it, but his face was just shocked.

He looked at Gabriel. "You...you pre-ordered the new Flame Shot game for me?"

Yes, Gabriel decided with dread, it had been too much.

"Y-yeah," he answered, avoiding the Dog's gaze. "I just...I knew you wanted it so..."

Ty looked at the receipt again. "And you paid for all of it already?"

"...Yeah," he answered, wondering if he could still find a way to play it off. "I mean, it wouldn't be much of a gift if I made you pay, right?"

"Gabe, that cost..."

"Yeah. But, I mean, you're my best friend."

This was it. It was do or die time now.

"And, you know, I...care about you."

He glanced up at the Dog, who just stared at him, so he looked back down and tried to hide the pink he knew was shining through his ears. His stomach was tightening up in knots.

"...Care about me," Ty repeated quietly. "...Like..."

"Like," interrupted Gabriel quickly, but then he didn't know how to continue. "Just...I don't know."

He knew Ty didn't have a problem with gay people at least, but this was more than that. Everything in his body felt awful. This had been a horrible idea and now he was going to have to live with it.

"Gabe...do you...I mean, do you have...feelings for me?"

Gabriel could almost feel tears start to sting his eyes, but then he felt a hand grab onto his, and when he looked up he saw Ty watching him with a strange expression on his face.

And very red ears.

Was he...Did he...

"I...yeah."

"...Like...I mean you feel..."

"I feel..." started Gabriel, trying to remember the words he had always imagined saying in his head. "I mean...you're my best friend, and I like being around you, and...and I know I can tell you anything, and when you go...I mean, I don't like it when you do. Cause I just want to be around you. And even if...I mean if you only want to be friends, I mean that's fine...cause I just...I just don't want you to stop being my friend. But...I mean, if..."

If.

He felt out of breath. His body was trembling. He couldn't talk anymore, it was his friends turn now.

Ty stared at him, and Gabriel could see it on the corners of his lips, the absolute slightest hint of a smile.

"You...you like me?"

"...uh-hu."

Ty hadn't let go of Gabriel's hands yet. But now Gabriel was too confused to know how that made him feel.

"Gabe...I..."

Gabriel's heart began to hammer in his ears. Things he barely dared to dream were starting to surface his thoughts.

But then the Dog let go of his hands.

"Wait here okay?" said Ty as he stood up and left the room.

Gabriel stared after him, now even more confused. Had this gone well, or horribly wrong? Ty had smiled, but what did that mean? Where did he go?

He felt his anxiety build until Ty came back, holding something in his hand. He closed the door behind him and locked it, making Gabriel's heart beat faster. Ty stared at him for just a second before reaching over and turning off the lights.

The room didn't go dark though.

Gabriel watched as the Dog walked over to the window. Outside on the windowsill was a small layering of snow. Above that, hanging from the roof and glowing in the now darkened night, were Christmas lights.

"C'mere," he said to Gabriel, motioning with his free hand. His voice was noticeably unsteady.

Nervously Gabriel complied, going over to stand near, but not too close to, the Dog.

"I..." began Ty, who was still very red. "I um...I only got you one thing. And uh...I mean, you are my best friend Gabe...and...but I mean, you're more than that too."

He looked at Gabriel like he wanted him to say something, but the Cat's mind was far from being able to form words, so when he didn't answer he kept going.

"I...I mean...I care about you too Gabe."

_That_brought some words back to him.

"Y...You do?"

"Y-Yeah," replied Ty shakily. "You know...all those things you said...um, me too, you know? I...I feel that like that too...about you."

He tried smiling, and when he saw Gabriel try to give him one back he became a bit steadier.

"So...So since I only got you one thing...um..."

He turned around and stretched his arms above the window, and Gabriel saw what he was pinning to the wall above his head.

Mistletoe.

When he turned back around, even in the dim light, Gabriel could tell he was even redder than before.

"You know...since it's Christmas I thought...I could put that up and then...you know, you can..."

"...um..."

"...use it...if you want."

Ty waited. It was Gabriel's turn again, but at first he had no idea what to do.

And then he knew exactly what to do.

He stepped closer to the Dog, now wishing he hadn't stopped so far before because this part was really awkward. But then he stood across from him and Ty held out his hands to him, and when he grabbed them he felt comforted to know that the Dog was shaking too.

Their eyes met.

Then lingered.

Ty, again, broke the silence.

"You don't...you don't have to, if you don't want to...right now..."

Gabriel couldn't remember wanting anything more in his whole entire life.

But he hesitated. "Do...do you want me to?"

Ty's mouth moved to answer, but instead he just nodded.

He wanted him to.

Gabriel looked at Ty's lips.

They held each other's hands tighter as they inched closer.

There was a song playing on the T.V. from the living room, and had either of them been paying attention they might have noticed how lovely it sounded.

But they were lost in their own world, busy finding out what it felt like to kiss the person they loved.

~*~*~*~*~

Their lips parted.

Ty smiled.

Gabriel smiled.

"Um...want to do that again?"

"...Okay."

They did it again.

~*~*~*~*~

Gabriel turned off his phone.

"You can sleep over?"

"I can sleep over."

They both smiled.

Ty pulled out a bow he had grabbed. "So since you got me more than one present," he said as he stuck in on his shoulder, "can I be your other Christmas present?"

It was probably one of the dorkiest things he could have done.

It was the best thing he could have done.

"Okay."

They held each other's hands.

"So what do you want to do with me?" he asked.

Gabriel smiled.

So they kissed again.

~*~*~*~*~

"So...what do you want to do?" asked Ty.

"I don't know."

"Um, are you still cold?"

"Yeah," answered Gabriel. "Kind of."

"'Kay. Come here."

He pulled the covers over them as they lied on their sides facing each other, holding each other and keeping each other warm.

~*~*~*~*~

X

Outside it was snowing. Midnight came and went and Christmas passed.

But inside, two people fell in love, oblivious to the passage of time.

The Christmas lights shined on.

~*~*~

X

O

And so that story is done.

Hope you liked it. And guys, this might be the 1:38 AM talking, but one of the best feelings I get is when people like my stories, so thank you all for reading and I mean it with as much sincerity as I can be conveyed through this words on an author's note type of area when I say that hope you all have great holidays and stuff! You all deserve it! <3 <3 <3