Walking down the hallway, Lyla stops at the shut door with an artistic sign of Jungkook's initials shining in gold that hangs on the black-painted wood. The entire home was mainly in black and white decor. Simple but also elegant and charming in its own way and not as much of a bachelor pad as she imagined it to be when they talked about it. Maybe she has Aunt Minji to credit for that.

The tour of the home earlier had concluded with Lyla organizing her things into the guest room and each of them taking long and uninterrupted showers while they waited for the delivered food to arrive for lunch. With it being the first day on break, no one felt like going out or doing anything and so it was settled that they would simply enjoy the peacefulness of their humble abode while all four of them snuggled on the oversized sectional and eventually took a late afternoon nap together, still needing to sleep off the alcohol from the night prior.

It was nice to not have a schedule for once.

Raising her fist, she places three small knocks on his door to let the guitarist know that she has arrived. Hearing him call out to her to enter, she slowly turns the doorknob and peeks in with a shy smile.

Why was she feeling nervous?

"Hey baby," JK grins widely and hops off of his bed to greet her by the door with aggressive affection reminiscent of an excited puppy greeting its favorite human after a long day at work.

After a moment of continuous love-filled attacks as the sound of her infectious giggles tug at his heart once again, he slows down to really cherish the fact that she's there with him. Softer open-mouth kisses slowly start to change the vibe from frisky and flirtatious to sweet and delicate.

His hand presses against his shut bedroom door while the other wraps around her waist as her small fists grip onto his shirt to pull him closer. The clean linen scent of his freshly laundered loungewear mixed with his natural masculine smell flooded her senses as they lock star-gazed eyes onto one another as if no one else in the world existed at that moment. Even the floor beneath them seemed to vanish while they were figuratively swept off of their feet, succumbing to permit each other to tear down the walls they have built to keep their hearts and minds safe from the harsh reality they live in.

"I did something for you, well... attempted to," he whispers in a slightly deeper voice than usual.

Her grip loosens on his shirt while her fingernails soothingly scratch his back, "Yeah? What did you do?"

He takes a deep breath while tucking in his lips, doing his best to hold back his giddy excitement. Stepping to the side, her eyes widen at the white curtain lights covering the walls, the four-foot decorated Christmas tree in the corner, and the red velvet throw with white faux-fur trim laid down on top of his bed.

"I know you said you don't really get to enjoy the holidays. I wanted you to this year," he elaborates as she walks further into the room. "Uh, I don't normally do this kind of thing so if it's corny, I apologize," JK chuckles nervously the longer she remained silent.

Turning around to look at him again, he notices her eyes glistening with unshed tears and a small tremble of her chin. It was apparent to him now why she wasn't saying a word to him as she swallows the lump in her throat. Walking up to her, he wipes away the trickle of wetness that stubbornly runs down her cheek as she rolls her eyes and lets out a tiny laugh at her inability to keep her emotions at bay.

"I take it you like it?" Jungkook grins proudly as she nods her head.

"I love it," a faint whisper of words escapes her before she sniffles and smiles brightly at him kissing away the other stream of a tear that runs down the other side.

"Well, don't cry too much. We have things to do together tonight," he states while rubbing her arms. "First things first, we have matching Christmas pajamas to put on. Then, we have cookies to attempt to bake together, and then we're going to stream Christmas movies until we get sick of them."

Reaching to the pile of clothes on his dresser, he hands her the smaller set of green pajamas with red ornaments and white snowflakes decorating the set. Kissing his cheek, he chuckles at the affection and takes a deep breath once again; totally on cloud nine that she's so overwhelmingly happy at his corniness that it makes him want to do this every year with her.

He even pictured the possibility of a third set of matching pajamas one year in the future, just in a very tiny size.

His eyes widen at her starting to pull at the drawstring of her sweatpants and he quickly shakes his head and places his hand on top of hers, "Uh, could you change in the bathroom? I don't want to be tempted to not follow through with the plans for the night."

"Sure," Lyla laughs at his briskly reddening cheeks and walks toward the door. "Meet me in the kitchen in three minutes."

"Okay," he bashfully lowers his head and peers back at her through rounded Bambi eyes which slowly become hooded as his eyes land on her plump ass as she exits out of the hallway.

"She's trying to kill me," he whispers to himself as he peels off his shirt to begin to change into his own festive outfit for the night.

***

Looking for the last ingredient inside of the refrigerator to attempt to bake cookies for the first time in his life while the Christmas playlist he curated continues in the background, Jungkook pauses when he hears the shuffle of house shoes stop behind him. Turning his head to look, he sees Lyla leaning against the wall kitchen island with her arms crossed and a smirk tugging at the corner of her mouth; her eyes staring directly at his ass.

"Never knew Christmas pajamas could look so good." Raising her brows flirtatiously, he chuckles and turns around to place the butter next to the other assortment of items.

Admiring how adorable she looked in the baggy flannel attire, he quirks a brow, "I could say the same about you. Ready to watch me burn the house down?"

"Oh, come on, it's not that hard to make cookies," she playfully rolls her eyes as she walks over to stand next to him. "What does the recipe say to put preheat the oven to?"

Picking up his phone, he scrolls through the recipe for some soft Christmas cookies that he found online when he was beginning to plan all of this. Thanks to the help of Minji for running out and buying the matching pajamas, all of the ingredients, and purchasing the Christmas decor for him before they arrived, he has been able to pull off this little at-home date so far. Even if he had to hear Tae's aunt gush over the fact her little Jungkookie was in love, it has been well worth all of the teasing he has endured so far.

The seemingly endless life story about how these particular cookies are the person's great-grandmother's famous recipe and other meaningless information he could have lived without reading, he finally reached the bottom of the webpage that tells him all of the information he needed to know. Adjusting the oven to the perfect temperature, he smiles proudly as if he just accomplished something.

Giggling at his adorable bunny-like smile despite his chiseled face and sharp jawline, Lyla begins by tying an apron around her waist and helping JK do the same. They each glance at the recipe with her having to stand on the tips of her toes to get a better look before beginning the task of baking together for the first time.

He hands her the ingredients as requested while watching her expertly start the process. Softly smiling as he stares at her side profile, his heart flutters at them being able to do normal couple things for once. Focusing back on what she's explaining to him, he nods as if his mind didn't drift away with fantasies of the future together.

"How do you know how to do all of this by memory? You're barely even glancing at the recipe," he questions as he reaches up and takes over to finish putting the balls of dough onto the cookie sheet to give her a break from doing all of the work.

"My mom and I used to make cookies like this all of the time before she got sick. My first memory of making sugar cookies was when I was six years old," she explains as he places the cookie sheet inside of the oven and starts the timer. "The, um, anniversary of her death is next week actually. On Tuesday."

His movements cease at the news he just received, now realizing a little more why she has said the holidays are a lonely time. Locking eyes with her, a smile that looks disingenuine to him stretches her perfectly-shaped lips and he places the oven mitt down onto the counter before reaching out for her.

"I'm sorry," he hums as he tucks some hair behind her ear. "I'm always here if you need someone, you know that right? You don't have to always be strong for me, for us."

"I know, baby. Thank you." Clearing her throat, she straightens her shoulders and grins with more sincerity this time around, "Enough of that. We can be sad another time."

Suddenly, his cheek is painted with a smear of bright red buttercream frosting as his girlfriend feigns shock before erupting into a fit of laughter. With his tongue in his cheek and a nod of his head, he lets out a challenging chuckle as he reaches behind him and scoops up a bit of frosting onto his index finger. Smearing it all over her nose and lips she squeals out and tries her best to dodge the colorful creamy glaze but to no avail as he holds her tightly to his frame.

Kissing her lips and licking away the sweetness from the corner of his mouth, he cockily smiles down at her as she lifts herself up to kiss him again. Feeling his grip on her loosen, she blindly reaches behind her and swipes some of the green-colored frosting onto two of her fingers.

But before she could wipe it across his jaw, he firmly grabs hold of her wrist and smiles onto her lips, "You think you're slick, don't you?"

Nodding innocently, she erupts into belly-tightening laughter as he begins directing her own hand towards her face. Squirming wildly to try to avoid it, she falls onto the floor causing her to laugh so hard no sound comes out as he tumbles down with her, still giving her the illusion that he's trying to wipe it on her while he really had no plans to do so.

Slowly, she looks up at him with her eyes squinted and her lips spread as wide as they could possibly go, showcasing the most beautiful smile he's ever seen in his life. Leaning in closer, he pauses centimeters from her lips and looks back into her chocolate irises sparkling with so much love for him that it's almost unbearable.

"I love you," he proudly states, letting go of her wrist completely.

Her smile softens but doesn't fade as her eyes flit between his, "I love you, too."

"I know you do. I don't question it." Pressing his lips to hers, he kisses her delicately and passionately; tasting not only the sweetness decorating her plump pout but the pure intimacy shared between them.

The timer beeps, indicating that the cookies are done baking. Smiling into his kiss again, she giggles at him not letting her up.

"The... cookies," she states between kisses. "They'll... burn."

"Mhm," he hums, smiling as well. "You're... better... than cookies."

"Jungkook," she whines cutely and he chuckles in response.

Groaning as he sits back onto his knees, he helps her sit up as well and licks away the frosting from her fingertips while keeping eye contact with her and leaving sweet pecks to the inside of her palm once he's done.

Quickly washing up in the sink, they pull out the cookies and determine that they're cooked enough. Together, they clean up the mess they made in the kitchen while they wait for them to cool enough to be topped off with frosting and brought up to his bedroom to enjoy while watching Christmas movies just as he had planned.

As she hops onto his bed with a slight bounce while she happily munches down on the first cookie and does a little hum of appreciation accompanied by a cute wiggle of her shoulders, he grabs the remote from his dresser and takes a seat next to her. As if it was second nature, she curls up into his arms and places one of her legs over his. The way his heart seemed to have momentarily stopped and come back to life made his soul warm-up from deep within.

She was love.

***

Halfway through movie number three, they were no longer paying attention to the screen.

Now laying down on the bed, they faced each other with the Santa Claus-inspired blanket covering their still pajama-clad bodies to keep them warm as the winter's chill crept into the house despite the heater constantly running.

"Favorite gift you've ever received for Christmas as a child?" Lyla questions next as they continue their pillow-talk session.

Looking off into space, JK racks his brain for the gifts he received as a young boy, prior to his mother's drug usage. "Probably my first guitar. It was a highly used acoustic guitar that I think my mom bought off of someone she knew but I loved that guitar until it literally split into two. I taught myself how to play on it." Smiling as he retells the story, she pushes back his fringe with the very tips of her fingers, lightly caressing his face in the process.

"What about you?" He reciprocates her question.

"Rollerblades," she chuckles at the memory. "I had never been on skates in my entire life at that point but my mom helped me put them on and I took off down our driveway as if I was some sort of seven-year-old professional."

"I bet you were an adorable kid," he hums as he pictures a younger version of Lyla freely rolling down the driveway and turning a circle at the end, pride overcoming her the entire time.

"Do you ever want kids? You kinda freaked out when you assumed I was pregnant instead of letting me tell you that you're getting that arena tour," she giggles at the recollection.

A snort of a laugh broke out from him before he had a chance to respond, making her smile broaden. "Yeah, I want kids one day. Just not now. I don't think I'm ready for a dad role yet. What about you?"

"One day," she answers just above a whisper, "but right now it feels good to finally live life. I kind of owe that to you guys for pulling me out of my routine."

"Tell me about your life back home," Jungkook urges with a rub of his nose to hers.

"There's really not much to tell. Definitely not anything interesting. I graduated high school, did some college before my mother got too sick, then I stayed home to take care of her before she passed away. After that, I was broke as hell and didn't have a steady roof over my head for a while until Gypsy talked me into staying with her permanently when she got her own place thanks to her parents. Got the job at the diner and here I am with you now."

Knowing she knows how it feels to be broke and without a home as well as what it feels like to lose someone so close to you makes him realize once again why they were connected so organically. As if the universe was bringing four lost souls together to find an unconventional love that fits them and their needs perfectly.

"Are you close to Gypsy's family too then?" He inquires.

Shaking her head, she lowers her gaze as she mindlessly begins to trace the printed snowflake on his pajama top, "No. I mean, they're not necessarily horrible to me but they're not like Gypsy. Gypsy comes from a really wealthy family, but she's super accepting of all people and non-judgmental. Her parents on the other hand are the opposite. Since I came from a single-parent household and definitely not wealthy, I'm not accepted into their crew, if that makes sense."

Nodding, he understands exactly what she meant since Tae's parents were like that towards him and Jimin. The only difference is that Tae decided to leave the family money behind the moment he signed that record deal. "And that's the reason why you didn't spend the holidays with Gypsy and instead had to spend them alone?"

"Yeah," she confirms with a sigh. "Every year, Gypsy would try her best to either get them to allow me to go with them or ask to stay at home with me instead but they wouldn't have it. Her father would threaten to make me move out if I quote-unquote started 'inferring with family traditions' and that she 'shouldn't pity the poor'. So instead, I convinced her that I was fine and told her to go. I mean, I was fine. I survived."

"Surviving is the bare minimum," he states causing her eyes to meet his again. "I don't want you to just survive the anniversary of your mom's death alone or just survive the holidays. Not if I can help it."

"Jungkook?"

"Hm?"

"I'm glad I have you in my life," she grins as a lone tear slides over her little button nose and down to the pillow with a quick drop.

"I'm glad I have you in mine, too, baby," he kisses her forehead and lingers there for a moment to really let the sentiment of his words sink in.

He hears her take a deep breath in and hold it there for a moment. As he looks back down at her, she uncovers her mouth, bashfully admitting that she just yawned.

His lips curl up at the corners as he runs his tattooed fingers through her brunette hair, "Are you getting sleepy?"

"Sorry," she grimaces at the fact she's not able to stay up as long as she'd like to but the tour's tight schedule over the last few weeks is starting to catch up to her and his bed is the most comfortable mattress she has laid on in months.

Turning over to his back, he pulls her in closer to his frame and adjusts the covers around them. Reaching up to turn off his bedside lamp, he kisses the top of her head as her eyes begin to shut. "No need to be sorry, princess. This has been one of the best nights of my life."

Smiling against his chest, she wraps her arm around his waist and squeezes him a bit tighter. It was one of the best nights of her life, too.

Snow continued to fall outside of his bedroom window as he listens to her drift off to sleep. He stared at the white flakes cascading down from the sky effortlessly while the Christmas lights remained twinkling giving his surroundings an ethereal glow that was calming.

And that's exactly how he felt whenever she was around; calm.