holiday spirit ✓

☃️ ET FINIR!

"MERRY CHRISTMAS!"

Bryce laughs as Michael waves a hand at the group in an attempt to get them to allow him to sleep, before he finally gets out of bed.

They're all shouting and cheering despite it being four in the morning and every single person in the house being mildly hungover. Obviously, their neighbours will probably have some complaints tomorrow, but it's Christmas, the only time of year they can actually do this.

Luke has his arms around Bryce as they try to get downstairs without falling and destroying anything i.e their pride. They both know for a fact Calum is filming live to Twitter behind them, and so eventually, they're in the living room and grinning at each other as Bryce gently throws a few of the gifts across to his boyfriend.

Boyfriend. It feels so surreal, and yet it's somehow true.

— ✨ —

An hour later, Bryce is curled up next to Luke on the sofa as the two of them play All Time Low on Luke's vinyl player, plugged into the mains and slowly sapping energy from the tour bus - which will later lead to the group requiring an emergency pit-stop somewhere in France, but who's really keeping track?

Michael is furiously tapping away at the latest Pokémon game on his Nintendo Switch, Ashton is attempting to cook the turkey with Reece - Bryce suspects there's something going on between the two of them - and Aaron and Calum are watching Season 5 of Brooklyn Nine-Nine on the sofa.

All in all, it's a perfect scene of festivity, with snow coating the field behind them and wrapping paper all over the tiny section of floor; they look like something off a Christmas card.

Luke turns his head to look over at Bryce, and they spend a while just staring at each other like that, lost in the moment (lost in reality, if you wanted to go there), until Michael cheers loudly and they snap up to glare at him simultaneously.

"Oh, nothing. Shiny Mimikyu, that's all. Go back to being soft boyfriends." Aaron and Michael then end up in a debate about how Mimikyu is super rare and also found three quarters of the way into the game, and how therefore, it must be a lie.

Bryce sighs and shuffles around to face Luke properly just as The Irony Of Choking On A Lifesaver starts playing, and they instantly start lip-synching along very violently, until it calms down a little and Bryce takes that chance to kiss him.

"I love you." He says softly, and Luke smiles back.

"I love you too, sweetheart."