It was December 8th. A Friday. The snow still lay like a thick white blanket on the streets, completely obscuring the grass and even the cars. It was already a little later in the evening, the sun was setting and could only be seen as an orange stripe on the horizon. The friends were standing in the hallway getting dressed. They all had plans together this evening. They wanted to go to a Christmas market. They left the house together and got into two cars because one wasn't enough. Then they made their way into the city. Once there, it took a while until they found the right parking space. When Malcolm finally parked the car, Angus was jumping around excitedly on the sidewalk. Brian stood next to him and giggled at him. It was so cold that there were white clouds in front of their faces when they breathed. The rhythm guitarist locked the car and the six friends made their way into the market. Cliff happily held Phil's hand as they followed Brian and Angus, who ran ahead. Malcolm and Bon walked a little behind them. Malcolm had his hands in his coat pockets and was looking at the floor. Bon gave him a sideways glance. They hadn't talked much today and he wasn't really sure why.

"We're going to the arcades!" Angus shouted, dragging his boyfriend over to the games to throw darts at balloons. Phil giggled and kissed Cliff gently.

"Do you want to play a game too, darling?" He asked. Cliff shook his head. "Do you want something sweet?" Phil pointed to the stall that sold candied apples. The bassist smiled and nodded, so the two of them also went a different route.

Bon sighed and looked over at his boyfriend. Malcolm had walked to a stall that sold punch. Bon smiled softly as he saw the small figure in the large winter coat waiting in line. Malcolm was really quite small. He sighed and made his way over. The younger one had bought himself a mulled wine. A warm wine with cinnamon and other spices.

"And you didn't buy me anything?" Bon asked disappointedly as Malcolm put his cup down on a high table to put his wallet back in his back pocket. The younger man rolled his eyes and handed Bon the blue ceramic cup. The singer giggled and sipped the hot liquid. They stood like that in silence for a while without saying anything before Angus suddenly came running. He was holding a huge penguin in his arms. The stuffed animal had a hat on and a light blue scarf around its neck. The lead guitarist beamed happily and ran towards Bon. The singer giggled, the penguin was as big as Angus' entire torso.

"Look!" Angus shouted excitedly and showed Bon his penguin.

"Where did you get that, Ang?" Bon chuckled.

"Brian won it for me!" Angus shouted proudly, nuzzling the stuffed animal against his cheek like little children did. Brian appeared behind Angus and smiled at his boyfriend.

"How did you do that?"

"Throwing darts." Brian said, shrugging his shoulders. Angus enthusiastically showed the stuffed animal to his brother. Malcolm reached out to touch the stuffed animal, but Angus quickly pulled it back.

"You'll only make him dirty!" He shouted indignantly and pulled the penguin tightly to his chest. Brian giggled at his boyfriend and kissed him gently on the cheek.

"I love you, Angus."

"I love you too, Brimi. Thanks for the penguin." Angus hummed, leaning against Brian's broad chest. Brian watched with fascination as Angus's long eyelashes spread across his cheeks as he blinked and as the little cloud appeared in front of his nose as he exhaled. Almost as if he was smoking. It was really cold today.

"Anything for you, my darling." Brian smiled gently.

It didn't take long before Cliff and Phil appeared. Cliff had a colourful scarf hanging around his neck and was happily holding Phil's hand. In the other he held a candied apple on a stick.

"Where did you get that scarf from, Cliff?" Brian asked, puzzled. "It is really beautiful."

"Phil won it at boxing." Cliff smiled and gave his blonde boyfriend a quick look. Phil smiled and took a bite of the apple Cliff was holding. "Hey! That's mine!" The bassist shouted indignantly, looking at the big hole that Phil had bitten into the apple. The friends laughed. Malcolm sipped his cup and rolled his eyes.

"I want a scarf too!" Angus exclaimed, looking at Brian. Brian giggled and kissed him on the forehead.

"Maybe I'll try to get one for you later." Angus smiled.

"Really?" He asked excitedly.

"Sure thing." Brian giggled.

"So. It looks like the only one who hasn't gotten anything yet is Mal." Phil said, giving Bon a reproachful look.

"Huh?" Bon asked puzzled.

"You have to win something for Mal too." Repeated the drummer. Bon rolled his eyes.

"Mal doesn't need something like that. He's no longer a child. Besides, these games are just rip-offs anyway." Said the singer. Phil nodded a little. It was quiet between the friends. Nobody knew what to say. Malcolm broke the silence:

"I'll get myself another mulled wine." With that he disappeared back into the queue.

"Don't overdo it!" Angus called after him. Brian nudged Bon with his elbow.

"Huh?" Bon asked puzzled.

"Come on, Bon. Take Mal to some booth and win him something."

"For what reason? He doesn't need anything like that, Brian." The singer repeated himself. Phil rolled his eyes.

"Oh come on, man. I'm sure it would make him happy." The blonde nodded his head at Cliff and Angus, who no longer paid attention to the conversation and proudly showed off the prizes they had gotten. Bon rolled his eyes.

"Mal isn't like Cliff and Ang. He's not that..."

"Happy?" Brian asked, raising an eyebrow.

"What? No! He's happy!" Bon exclaimed.

"Does he look happy to you?" Phil asked, giggling a little as he looked at Malcolm, who was getting a new cup.

"Yeah, he..." Bon sighed loudly. "God, I don't know what's wrong with him today either." Brian put a hand on his shoulder.

"Maybe today just isn't his day." Cliff and Angus were laughing at something and holding onto each other, making Brian smile. Angus was truly special.

Suddenly they heard a scream and porcelain hitting the ground. They all immediately turned their heads and saw Malcolm sitting on the floor. The cup from his hand had fallen to the floor. The hot contents had spilled onto his thighs and he held his wrist in pain. His eyes were squinted and a stranger was kneeling in front of him. Bon and the others quickly ran towards him.

"I'm really sorry, buddy. I didn't mean to knock you over." The stranger said worriedly, putting a hand on Mal's shoulder. Bon angrily shooed him away and helped Malcolm up. The younger one whimpered a little and shakily wiped the tears of pain from his eyes.

"Are you okay?" Bon asked worriedly. Malcolm took a gasping breath.

"I think I sprained my wrist." He gasped, holding his wrist. Bon gently pulled him close and kissed him gently. "And...my legs are burned." Bon sighed.

"Do you want to go home?" He asked gently. Malcolm nodded and felt tears in his eyes again. Brian looked at the two of them worriedly.

"Angus! Cliff! We're going home!" He shouted. The two came towards the group.

"Why?" Angus asked, pouting.

"Mal sprained his wrist." Phil said and gently pulled Cliff in to kiss him. Cliff quickly unwrapped his scarf and packed some snow into it before wrapping the whole thing around Malcolm's wrist, to cool it down before it could start swelling.

"Thank you." Malcolm said quietly.

"Sure." Cliff smiled.

"I love you, darling." Phil hummed and kissed him softly. "Let's go home." Angus took Brian's hand and smiled at him. Malcolm bit his lip as he stood up and they made their way home. Bon couldn't help but feel a little guilty for not buying anything. And so he bought some cotton candy on the way out. Malcolm smiled gently at him and quickly wiped a few tears from his cheeks.

"I love you." He whispered. Bon smiled gently.

"I love you too sweetheart."

All in all, the evening was nice. Angus had a huge stuffed animal and Cliff had a new scarf. And Malcolm? Well, a sprained wrist and cotton candy.

THE END;)