Chapter Text
On the first day of Christmas my true love gave to me...
Ivan wasn’t even supposed to be there.
He swore he had enough Christmas lights at home. He swore.
But here he was inside the nearest dollar store, trudging his way through the aisles like a man on a mission, because apparently his entire bedroom decided to stop glowing all at once like it filed for collective resignation.
He muttered under his breath, “Whoever stole my Christmas lights deserves karma,” while scanning the shelves.
Then, HALLELUJAH.
One lone, pitiful-looking box of multicolored Christmas lights sat on the bottom shelf like treasure.
He bent down to grab it.
Another hand reached at the exact same time.
Their fingers brushed. Soft, quick, but enough for Ivan’s brain to go:
404: SYSTEM ERROR.
Touch detected. Unknown entity. Unknown emotions. Please restart.
Ivan blinked. Slowly turned his head.
And then.
THEN.
He saw him.
A boy? no, a walking piece of winter magic stood beside him. Teal hair, styled like he just rolled out of a Studio Ghibli movie. Eyes so green they looked like freshly watered succulents. Freckles sprinkled across his nose like someone tried decorating him with stardust but got too excited.
Ivan stared.
Like, full-on stared. My god, help this pathetic man.
The kind of stare where you forget your own name for a few seconds.
“Uh…” the teal-haired boy murmured, blinking back at him. “Sorry. You can take it..”
“No,” Ivan said a little too quickly, a little too stupidly, a little too much like someone being possessed by holiday spirits. “It’s okay. You. Uh..you can have it.”
And before his brain could kick in and go sir WHY ARE YOU DOING THIS, Ivan just… handed it to him.
Like a medieval knight presenting a sacred relic.
The boy’s eyes widened. “Are you sure??”
Of course Ivan wasn’t sure. He needed that. His whole bedroom was in darkness. But he nodded anyway, trying to play it cool even though his soul was breakdancing.
“Yeah. Go ahead,” he said, shoving his hands in his pockets before they could shake.
The boy smiled.
It was the kind of smile that made Ivan feel like he was standing under every Christmas star ever created.
“Thank you,” the boy said softly. “I’m Till, by the way.”
Till.
TILL.
Ivan mentally engraved the name in marble.
“Ivan,” he croaked out, suddenly very aware that his voice was still loading like slow WiFi.
Till lifted the box slightly. “Then… thanks, Ivan. You really saved my Christmas.”
And then he walked away.
Puff jacket swaying
Teal hair bouncing
Lights-in-his-hands glowing,
Leaving Ivan standing in the aisle like he just got hit by a love-shaped snowball.
He exhaled.
“…So I guess I’m buying batteries instead,” he mumbled to himself, but he was smiling.
Too wide.
Too soft.
Because somehow, accidentally,
on a random December afternoon,
in a cheap little dollar store aisle,
Ivan met the boy who made the world feel brighter
even without the Christmas lights.
Christmas lights in a dollar spree.