EXO, December, 2014 (The Winter’s Tale)
Whenever winter rolled around, bringing with it the promise of colder days and holidays, Hansel always looked forward to food the most. Gingerbread cookies, in particular.
Hansel leaned against the kitchen counter, chin propped up on his hand as he looked over a recipe on his phone. Last year, his batch of cookies had been good, but he was convinced that they could be better. After all, these were treats that he’d be gifting to his co-workers before his break for the holidays.
“Nicho?” Hansel called out. “I don’t know about this one.”
He heard Nicholas before he saw him, the telltale melody of carols in the air as Nicholas hummed to himself. “You say that for every recipe you find. The cookies last year were great, why don’t you make those again?”
Turning around, Hansel let his back rest against the counter as he crossed his arms across his chest. Nicholas’s posture mirrored Hansel own from where he stood beside the fridge. He raised an eyebrow as a question, truly curious as to why Hansel were putting himself through so much trouble.
“They were too dry. I don’t want the cookies to be rock-hard.”
Nicholas chuckled, tickled by Hansel’s explanation. “Babe, they’re gingerbread. I think they’re all gonna end up a little dry anyways.”
“That’s not gonna stop me from trying.” Hansel picked up his phone once more, focused only on the screen as he continued to search.
A pair of arms settled around his waist, Nicholas coming over to stand beside him as he leaned his chin on Hansel’s shoulder. “You know, we could always just buy cookies instead of making them.”
“It’s not the same, I want to make these. It makes me feel like I’m actually good at baking.”
Nicholas pressed a kiss to Hansel’s cheek, his hair tickling Hansel’s face. “You are good at baking, babe. Those five pounds I’ve gained in the past year can speak for that.”
“You’re overreacting,” Hansel told him with a small giggle. “And you need that extra weight anyways, you’re too skinny.”
“Does that mean I get to eat some of these cookies too?”
“Only if you run to the store for me.”
Nicholas groaned before giving you a small squeeze, still holding onto Hansel. “What do you need?”
“Most of these recipes call for the same ingredients. The only thing I’m missing is decorating gel.”
“Any specific colors you want?”
Hansel turned to face him, kissing him in thanks. “It doesn’t matter, you can pick. Thanks, Nicho.”
“Of course. Anything for you.”
Hansel walked him to the door, watching as he pulled on his coat and shoes. Just when Hansel thought he was about to leave, he turned back around, a grin on his face as he came closer. Nicholas’ hands reached for Hansel’s face, the rough pads of his hands a familiar sensation against Hansel’s cheeks as he kissed Hansel once more. Compared to the other kisses, which were short and innocent, this one was more lazy and drawn-out. Hansel pulled Nicholas closer to him, a hand resting at the nape of his neck and brushing against the ends of his hair.
When Hansel finally pulled away, out of breath and heart racing, Hansel were glad to see Nicholas looked just as lost for words. His cheeks were flushed pink, a crooked smile on his face as he watched Hansel warmly. “I’ll be back,” he murmured gently, reaching for the door handle.
Nodding, Hansel gave him a small wave. “Drive safely.”
And with that, Nicholas was gone, the door closing shut behind him. Hansel locked the door and quickly got to work, tying an apron around his waist and getting his materials ready.
Of course, any baking session wasn’t complete without some music.
A quick glance through Hansel’s phone led him to a playlist that he had almost forgotten about, one that he had simply labeled “For A Good Day”. The opening notes of a pop song filtered into the air, instantly putting a spring in his step.
This is the first Christmas that he and Nicholas were spending together, but something about the holiday season always managed to make both of them more clingy around each other. More often than not, the temptation of being lazy at home won out over walking outside to see the snow.
For some reason, Nicholas had been increasingly more affectionate with Hansel than usual. Hansel had teased him about it, saying that he must be trying to make up for doing something bad. Nicholas had only given him that curled smile of his before snuggling beside Hansel.
Hansel thought about this as he mixed the ingredients together, his hands on auto-pilot as he worked. Maybe Nicholas had been having a hard time at work? Hansel rejected that thought instantly - if he had been, he would have told him. It could just be winter blues, people were known to be more prone to states of melancholy during the colder season. But that didn’t make sense to Hansel either. Nicholas was just as cheerful and transparent about his feelings as ever. He stopped mixing and let out a sigh, hair blowing away from his face for a brief second.
Choosing to focus on his cookies, Hansel made quick work of putting the dough in the fridge to chill. As he was washing his utensils in the sink, a new song began to play from his phone.
He laughed as soon as he recognized the tune. A couple of years ago, Felix had shown him a video of Drake’s “Hotline Bling” as a remix to Wii music. At the time, Hansel had rolled his eyes even as Jisung danced along. The tune was so catchy though, that he even let them download it onto his phone. Hansel had no doubt that they had added this to his playlist as well.
The front door opened with a squeak, the sound of shoes stomping against the floor. Hansel heard Nicholas give a small laugh, and he came into the kitchen with crinkling eyes as he giggled at Hansel’s choice in music.
“I come home to you getting turnt to Wii music in the kitchen.”
“You can thank Jisung for this. Oh, and Felix.”
Nicholas snorted in amusement as he held out a bag of groceries to Hansel, cheeks red from running around in the cold. “Your gel, as requested.”
“Thanks, Nicho.” Both of them looked through the assorted colors, setting them out onto the counter and imagining what kinds of designs to draw.
Baking was essentially a long waiting game, and once the dough had chilled long enough, Hansel and Nicholas cut the cookies out and got them into the even. Thankfully, they only needed about 10 minutes.
Nicholas peered over your shoulder as Hansel got the cookies out, setting them down to cool. “So when do we get to decorate?”
“Hold your horses, Nicho. They’re still too hot, you’re gonna burn your fingers.”
“Do you always wait this long when you’re baking?”
“Hey, it’s not my fault you have no patience.” Hansel turned away with a giggle as Nicholas tried his best to refute this, a long-winded comeback falling from his lips. As much as Hansel loved being affectionate with Nicholas the most, teasing him came in a very close second place.
When Hansel finally announced that it was okay to start decorating, Nicholas’s face lit up with excitement. He reached for a cookie and a tube of green decorating gel, biting down on his tongue in concentration as he tried his best to draw even lines. Groups of colorful gingerbread men and women, even children, began to take shape. The cheerful faces looked back up at Hansel, bright lines of gel giving the impression of tiny shirts, dresses and suits on the baked goods.
But one cookie had escaped Hansel’s eye, one that Nicholas had spent extra time on. At first glance, it appeared to be similar to the other cookies: generic smiley-face, winter outfit and all. But on the gingerbread cookie’s left hand, Nicholas had discreetly drawn a tiny line in yellow gel: a ring. A ring that Nicholas had meant to resemble the one hiding away in an old suitcase in the bedroom closet.
He watched as Hansel stacked all of the decorated cookies onto a plate, briefly assessing each one before setting it down. A knowing smirk played at his lips, oh, how he wanted Hansel to notice so badly.
Oblivious to this, Hansel continued to pile up his cookies, even picking up Nicholas’s special one and placing it with the rest. He almost wanted to point it out to Hansel, but that would ruin his entire plan. Nicholas wasn’t even entirely sure why he had decided to leave such an obvious hint. Part of him wanted to propose to Hansel already, to ask you the question that had been on the tip of his tongue for weeks.
“Why are you looking at me like that?”
Nicholas flinched in surprise, his hand slipping from the counter as Hansel cast him a worried glance. “Like what?”
“I don’t know, you tell me. What’s on your mind?” Hansel covered the cookies with plastic wrap, working efficiently as he waited.
Nicholas pursed his lips as he thought, one foot tapping aimlessly against the floor. “I’ll tell you soon.”
“But how soon is soon?” Hansel inched closer to him, hoping to coax the answer out of him with his charms.
“Oh no, that’s not gonna work on me.” Despite his words, Nicholas pulled Hansel close to him in a tight hug, his face only a few inches away from Hansel’s.
“Please, Nicho?” Hansel pleaded, a pout forming.
He groaned, eyes closing shut before opening once more. “I’ll tell you on… Christmas.”
Nicholas thought of the ring once more, his hands coming to run over Hansel’s fingers.
