Happy holidays and end of year, everyone!

"Hongjoong... Joong... Hongjoong!"

"Huh?" Hongjoong stirred awake. Seonghwa shook his head. "What's up?"

"You fell asleep yesterday on the dining table. Are the presents prepared?"

"Oh sh-"

"Daddy!" A voice shouted. In came Yunho, Yeosang, and Wooyoung. "Merry Christmas!"

"Hey, babies." Hongjoong embraced the 5-7-year-olds tight. "What are you all doing up so early?"

"We wanted to see the presents! But..." Wooyoung's face melted into a pout.

"What? What's wrong?"

"Santa didn't bring any for us..." They all looked down silently.

"Oh. No? How rude of him." Hongjoong crossed his arms.

Yunho nodded. "He forgot about us."

Hongjoong looked up to see Seonghwa's worried expression. It was his fault the kids received no presents. But they both knew that Hongjoong's job exhausted him too—not to mention the six kids they have.

"That's okay." Hongjoong stood and took Yeosang's hand. They walked into the living room to see the small tree propped up on the floor. It didn't pass even four feet, but a plate of cookies sat at the bottom.

"Santa's a meanie," Mingi, who sat beside it, muttered.

"Hm. Well, how about we fix this?" Hongjoong asked. Big, round pairs of eyes stared at him from below.

"What, daddy?" San asked.

"Let's split into teams—one with mommy, the other with me. We'll get presents for the others instead. Then my team will choose decorations, and mommy's will choose what dinner he will cook. Is that a plan?"

Suddenly, all of the kids started jumping around, screaming in excitement. They wanted to pick the presents for their brothers, of course.

"Okay!" Seonghwa called with a smile. "Calm down, go put your coats on, and then we'll go. There's a surprise for you all outside."

All of them got up and ran towards their bedrooms.

"No!"

"Ah!!"

"Yes!!"

"Mingi, be careful!" Seonghwa shouted. His 5-year-old was already halfway into the tall snow, hands grabbing fistfuls of it.

"Alright. Everyone in line. Mingi, come back," Hongjoong sighed.

That was how six little kids waddled, with puffy jackets, in line towards their car.

The first stop the family made was the mall. There, they'd get presents for a brother of their choice from the other team.

"Who wants to be in my team?"

"Me!"

"I wanna be with mommy!"

"Mama?"

Seonghwa smiled and picked up 3-year-old Jongho. "Okay. Jongho, Wooyoung, and Yunho."

Hongjoong high-fived Yeosang. "Great. We'll meet up at 12 for lunch."
~

"Mom! Look!"

"Yes, Wooyoung."

"But look!"

"I know."

"It's the newest doll!" Wooyoung held up an exclusive Jimin doll. "I love Jimin!"

"I know, but will Yeosang like it?"

"Why would Yeosang like it? It's for me."

"No. We're buying a gift for Yeosang, but chosen by you."

"But this is for Yeosang and me, from me," Wooyoung grinned. He shared a silent look with his father before setting it down.

"Let's find something else, sweetheart."

"Mingi, what is this?"

"For Jongho," Mingi shrugged.

"Apples. Really?"

"He broke one!"

"...You said that about the watermelon." Hongjoong shook his head.

"No! That was a joke!" Mingi pushed the bag of apples into his father's hands. "For Jongho."

"I'm very proud of you all," Seonghwa praised his three as they walked towards the food court. "We had a few bumps like Yunho losing the money I gave him but finding it in his back pocket, Wooyoung crying-"

"J-Jimin..." Wooyoung wiped the last of his tears away.

"And Jongho accidentally knocking a toy onto a little girl's head. But that's alright because we finished before daddy."

"Yay!" Yunho clapped Jongho's hands. They sat down to eat.

"What should we choose for dinner then?" Seonghwa asked his trio.

"Cake!" Yunho shouted.

"Oooh, cake," Wooyoung and Jongho repeated.

"Food, Yunho. That's dessert."

"Chicken!"

"Oooh, chicken."

Seonghwa smiled and tickled each of his kids.

"You two, that's not something to play with," Hongjoong called. Mingi was shaking various Christmas accessories and laughing with San.

"Yeosang, come see!" San called. The oldest of the three had a peek before laughing and shaking some jingle bells too.

Hongjoong gulped and took them aside, mumbling a few apologies to the employees. "You three need to calm down and-"

"Daddy! I want that!" San pointed at a reindeer headband.

"Yeah!" Mingi agreed. "Me too!"

"I want Santa's!" Yeosang jumped. Hongjoong thought to himself. They were the decoration team, after all.

"What's this, dad?" San held up a mistletoe decoration.

"It's a mistletoe, San. Anyone who stands under it has to kiss."

"Oh! Like you and mommy."

"Yes, San."

"Can we buy it?"

It was around 4 when the family arrived home from the stores, ready to set up their Christmas celebration. Seonghwa's team would cook in the kitchen while Hongjoong's team set up several decorations and awed at the bigger tree they had just bought.

Yunho tapped his hands on the table an hour later. "Hey, where did mommy go? Dad?!"

"They told us not to go upstairs," Yeosang replied.

"Oh." Yunho huffed. "I'm bored."

"Come see the tree!"

Wooyoung, Jongho, and Yunho stared mouth open at the Christmas tree, almost reaching the ceiling. It was twice as big as the old one they had. The lights were multicolor, and the silver ornaments made it appear even better.

"Ah!!!" Mingi screamed.

"Daddy!" Wooyoung smiled and ran towards Hongjoong, now dressed in a Santa Claus outfit.

"Ho ho- Oof!" Hongjoong stumbled back as six gremlins embraced him. He smiled and stroked their heads. "Hey, kiddos. Merry Christmas."

"You're not Santa." Yeosang laughed.

"No. Santa's mean. Daddy's not," Yunho corrected. Hongjoong and Seonghwa shared a look.

"Presents!" Jongho pointed at a bag Seonghwa held.

"These presents will sit under the tree. After dinner, we'll open them. Okay?"

"Okay!"

"Now, Mr. Park, is dinner ready?" Hongjoong asked. Seonghwa blushed and smacked his arm from embarrassment.

"Almost, 'Santa.'"

The family soon sat around the table, chatting and eating together. The kids were the ones making conversation as their parents listened to the little stories they told.

When everyone had finished, Hongjoong looked around the table. "Merry Christmas, kids. I'm happy and thankful to have you all with me for another year. You all make Seonghwa and me the happiest parents in the world."

Six little faces beamed at them proudly. Then a smile grew on Seonghwa's face.

"I guess that's all for tonight. It's time to brush our teeth and—"

"Hey!"

"Yeah!"

"What? What's wrong?" Seonghwa asked, looking around at the various angry or pouting expressions.

"Our presents!"

"Oh! You're right!" Seonghwa laughed. "Come on."

Everyone gathered around the large tree in the living room. Each person took the present they had received and set it on their lap.

"Let's start with Yunho. You got it from... San?"

"Yeah!" Yunho's hands took the tissue paper from the bag and threw them aside. "Woah!"

"I got matching ones for us!" San exclaimed. Yunho giggled at their matching pajama sets. On the front were several dogs.

"San?"

San ripped the wrapping paper from his box at a surprisingly inhuman speed. His parents chuckled nervously.

"Yunho! I wanted this game!"

"I know! We can even play together since we're roommates!" Yunho embraced his younger brother.

"Who's next?"

"Me! Me!" Wooyoung smiled. His fingers were eagerly tapping the box in front of him.

"Go ahead."

A gasp and scream filled the room. Wooyoung ran to tackle Yeosang. "Oh, thank you! Yeosangie is my favorite brother!"

"What did you get?" Seonghwa smirked.

"Jimin!" Wooyoung showed the box. Yeosang held a proud smile on his face. "Open yours!"

Yeosang awed at the new skateboard before him. "It's really... for me?"

"Yeah!" Wooyoung laughed before tackling him again.

"Jongho, you look very excited to open that one," Hongjoong said. The youngest shook his wrapped box several times.

"Open it, Jongho!" Mingi encouraged. He sat beside him. "Yay!"

"Hongjoong..." Seonghwa began.

"It was a better choice than apples," his husband replied. Seonghwa still shook his head.

"Now you can sing out loud for us!" Mingi handed Jongho the karaoke microphone. "May I open mine?" Jongho nodded.

"Yeah!"

Mingi gasped. "I love it! All of them!" He took out several shirts/sweatshirts specifically picked for his taste.

"Oh! And this!" Jongho took the final piece, which was a pair of sunglasses, and handed them to Mingi. "Woah..."

"They look better on you." Mingi placed them on Jongho with a warm smile.

"Daddy's turn!"

"Yeah! Daddy!"

"Okay, okay." Hongjoong began unwrapping his gift.

"It's not a lot, I know, but-"

"A keyboard, Seonghwa?"

"I remember you wanted to start making music again, so I thought-"

"I love it!" Hongjoong kissed Seonghwa's flushed cheek.

"And you said he wouldn't," Yunho laughed. Seonghwa chuckled.

"Well, I was nervous, sweetheart... Oh..." Seonghwa looked up at Hongjoong.

"Yes, Seonghwa?" Hongjoong grinned.

Teary-eyed, Seonghwa felt the sparkling necklace. "Hongjoong, it's so beautiful... thank you!" He threw his arms around his loving partner.

San got up and ran towards a bag. Hongjoong looked up when he felt a weight on him.

"Mistletoe!" San exclaimed, holding the prop above the parents.

"Oh," Seonghwa blushed. "Hongjoong, why did you buy that?"

"For this." Hongjoong held Seonghwa's chin still as their lips connected.

Immediately the room filled with yells and complaints until the pair stopped. Then the family broke into laughter.

"I'd say this is a successful Christmas. Why don't we watch some movies together?"

Six little bodies cuddled into the couch with their parents as a movie played. One by one,  they began to fall asleep.

"Daddy?" a whisper called.

"Yes, Yunho?"

"I know you forgot about our presents. But I'll blame it on Santa for now."

"Shh," Hongjoong replied with a smile.

"Can we do this each year instead?"

"We'll see, Yunho. We'll see."

"Merry Christmas, dad."

"Merry Christmas to every one of you."