That night, Seonghwa had a minor nightmare that he woke himself out of. When he told Hongjoong about it in the morning, he described a desolate island with nothing to eat or drink around. Hongjoong remained patient when he struggled to eat afterwards and made him a strawberry smoothie.

At three in the morning, Jongho had contacted Hongjoong via email to tell him that a new dream catcher for Seonghwa was in the making. He had even attached a lengthy explanation about the smudging to activate it. Apparently, Seonghwa's old dreamcatcher had been activated once he had got it already, but it would do a better job if Seonghwa did it himself. Hongjoong forwarded that mail to Seonghwa and promised him to help him with the process when Seonghwa just looked clueless.

Seonghwa went to work an hour later. He would be late today since he had an extra meeting with his superiors on changing to his full-time shift starting tomorrow. While he was gone, Hongjoong watched an anime and texted with San, who had sent an endless supply of pictures that were just Byeol sleeping from different angles.

At the reminder, he also called the shelter and inquired about the pickup time for Berry. Seonghwa hadn't found the right moment to introduce her to his life yet, since he had a few rough days ever since. The kind lady assured Hongjoong that they could pick her up anytime and that Berry was a patient fellow.

For at least two hours, Hongjoong spent his time scrolling through various online shopping portals to pick out items a dog owner might need. He tried to take both Berry's and Seonghwa's tastes in the calculation. Ultimately, he decided to make it a present and gift Seonghwa all the useful items. Hongjoong was particularly proud of the adorable strawberry collar he had found for her.

San asked him later whether Seonghwa would be interested in going on a double date together. The idea already had Hongjoong roll his eyes since he knew perfectly well how disgusting Wooyoung and San could be. Since he knew that Seonghwa and he were none the better, however, he agreed to extend the suggestion to Seonghwa once he came home.

When Seonghwa arrived after hours of boring anime watching later, he brought along his shining eyes and a little skip to his step. As soon as his eyes fell on Hongjoong lounging on the couch, a big grin took over his features.

"I got my original schedule back!" He yelled happily before he had even taken off his shoes. Chuckling, Hongjoong watched him run over with some askew strands of hair bouncing around his head. When Seonghwa launched himself at Hongjoong to crash into him, Hongjoong caught him with a huff. Then they both had to giggle. Hongjoong kissed the tip of Seonghwa's nose.

"I'm happy for you. Did your boss have any complaints about the sudden switching back?"

Seonghwa settled down comfortably in a talking mood. All the funnier since he was sprawled out above Hongjoong as if he was his favourite pillow.

"He was confused, yeah. When I explained the whole predicament of grandma, not being sure whether she wanted to go and the family unable to match her wishes, he understood. Not the first time he heard of dramatic elders."

Hongjoong pet Seonghwa's hair, smoothing out the bouncy locks that stubbornly sneaked away from his head.

"Good, that he could relate. Now that you adjusted everything how you want it to be, how do you feel?"

Mulling the question over in his head, Seonghwa drew some idle circles on Hongjoong's chest. Their combined warmth made for the perfect temperature in the room.

"It's perfect, but at the same time, it feels like another dream. Especially my grandma leaving me alone now. Not that it was much different before that, but I felt lonelier, sadder. Now that I have my job back I see how much I adore it, and how much my anxiety held me back."

Proud of his progress, Hongjoong wrapped his arms fully around the man. Seonghwa cuddled him back with a delighted squeal.

"I'm glad. Trauma and depression take a long time to heal, but I feel you made big advances. I see more life in your eyes now."

Coy Seonghwa put his cheek down on Hongjoong's chest to bat his eyelashes at him.

"Do you know who else entered my life that gave me a new purpose?" He asked playfully. Hongjoong pretended to think.

"Beats me. San, maybe?"

With a snicker, Seonghwa kissed Hongjoong sweetly and so softly that Hongjoong's heart fluttered in his chest. It thumped against his ribcage as if it wanted to fuse with Seonghwa's in the middle, like some Sailor Moon transformation to become one ultimate heart.

When Seonghwa pulled back to lie down on him again to bask in his closeness, Hongjoong remembered his earlier promise.

"Oh, by the way, San invited us to a double date. If you want some peace and quiet, I can gladly decline."

At his mean comment, Seonghwa slapped his chest, barely angry. They snickered at the shared love-hate relationship they had with their best friends.

"What does one do on a double date with those two?"

Hongjoong had to stretch to grasp his phone from the table. Stubborn like a cat that had found the warmest spot, Seonghwa stayed right where he was and didn't move an inch to help.

"Here, let me see. He said something about taking an early Christmas walk and maybe some ice cream later."

"Ice cream in winter?" Seonghwa muttered, having to rethink it again. Hongjoong chuckled at his contemplative expression. An innocent frown like that looked adorable on Seonghwa's face.

"Well, it's still tasty then, right? He even wrote that if you question it, I should remind you that we cook meals during summer, too. If that is any consolation."

After another minute, Seonghwa shrugged.

"Alright, sure. I'm curious to listen to San's feelings towards ice cream."

Satisfied, Hongjoong texted San back that they would join. Then he stashed his phone somewhere between the pillows under his head. His attention was fully dedicated to Seonghwa again.

"Also, I called the shelter again since you kind of forgot about Berry." Before panic could flash behind Seonghwa's eyes, Hongjoong squeezed his hip reassuringly. "No worries, she's happy waiting. I just figured you might not find the time around work. But the lady told me it was fine if I collected Berry, too."

"That's actually a great idea. My new work schedule makes it none the easier to drop by during their business hours. But you could get her one of these days and bring her here. God, I need to prepare. The whole flat needs to be dog-proofed, and I need to tell my landlord."

Hongjoong grinned at Seonghwa's excitement that mixed into the stressed responsibility. As usual, the man would do a wonderful job at getting everything done how it needed to be.

When Seonghwa buried his face in Hongjoong's chest to breathe in and out deeply, Hongjoong breathed in the flowery scent that clung to the man's hair.

"So, shall we get ready for a date with Wooyoung and San?"

"Only if you tell me the newest developments of your favourite character," Seonghwa gambled with a glance at the TV. Delighted at his interest in Hongjoong's passion, he recapped the most recent episodes while they stood from their comfortable position. Seonghwa hummed or asked questions from time to time while Hongjoong slipped on a thick hoodie. Seonghwa wore black jeans and a heavenly soft pink sweater under his coat.

Seonghwa let Hongjoong drive this time as they made their way to the rendezvous spot. The snow today was soft and fell in thick flocks that gave the light-decorated city a dreamy and romantic touch. By the gleam in Seonghwa's eyes, it wasn't hard to guess that he adored the current weather.

Both of them put their beanies on their heads before they left the car. Seonghwa's matched his sweater, and Hongjoong's was a plain black colour. Arm in arm and watchful of potential ice on the ground, they walked into the park together. By now, it had snowed enough that no grass was visible anymore, and a gorgeous white coat settled on all the trees. Their breath was crisp in the air as they played around to see who of them was the more terrifying steam dragon.

Wooyoung and San waited in the spot where the ice cream vendor stood in the summer. They watched a family play in the snow nearby. The squealing of the kids when they got snow in their boots evoked evil giggles from Hongjoong and a soft smile from Seonghwa.

When the two couples united, Wooyoung freed his face from where it was huddled in his scarf. His cheerful smile radiated in their bright surroundings.

"Hey, you two," he greeted with his scratchy voice. San sneezed, already having caught a cold by the time they had met outside.

"Hey. How was work?" They fell into a slow trot that led them through the spacious park and its gorgeous winter appearance. San spotted a squirrel digging for food, and Hongjoong suggested giving it some nuts from the trail mix San and Wooyoung shared. Once the squirrel took off with its new loot and the coos of all four of them, Seonghwa gave the group a quick notice of how his grandma would leave now and he would return to work as normal. Neither of the other two could connect the old woman to much more than a mere source of time consumption in Seonghwa's life, but they were thrilled for him either way.

After a while, San and Wooyoung ran off in some game of theirs that included them trying to push each other into the snow. Like two parents taking their kids out to play, Hongjoong and Seonghwa followed along the path leisurely.

"Can I hold your hand?" Seonghwa asked abruptly, glancing at how Hongjoong had buried both of them deep in his pockets.

"My fingers will freeze off, I'm not wearing gloves," Hongjoong complained with a glance at the cosy, warm black gloves on Seonghwa's hands.

For a moment, they tried to figure out the situation to everybody's satisfaction. Then Seonghwa pulled the glove off his left hand with a triumphant noise. He pawed at Hongjoong until he gave him his hand and cautiously pulled the fabric over his fingers. They were slightly too big on him, but Seonghwa's warmth in them lingered and heated Hongjoong.

With a grin, Seonghwa put his left hand in his own pocket and held out the gloved right one. Impressed by his elaborate plan, Hongjoong let him hold his left hand and make sure that the big glove didn't fall onto the ground.

Wooyoung screeched in the distance loud enough that a bird took off from a tree. Snow fell from the branch to tumble through the air.

After playtime that had all of their faces and toes freeze to the bone, San changed his plans from ice cream to drinking hot chocolate in a cafe. They huddled around a round table with their hot drinks and some cake for Hongjoong and Wooyoung. Their respective boyfriends took the occasional bite from it, at least until Wooyoung screeched at San to get his own. Seonghwa and Hongjoong shared peacefully.

Their evening concluded with lots of laughter and merry stories that matched the festive mood around them. By the time they parted, Hongjoong got his first heartfelt Wooyoung hug that might have been one of the softest he had ever received.

Wooyoung and San skipped off to do some ice sliding that would probably end with bruises while Seonghwa and Hongjoong returned to the car. Back inside, Hongjoong handed Seonghwa his glove back and rubbed his hands together.

"Need anything from the store before we go home?" He started the engine and turned up the heat first thing. Seonghwa had shoved his hands between his thighs to warm them there. He shook his head.

"No, let's go home."

They did. And as they spent their evening cuddling on the couch and again not paying attention to whatever program blared in the background, the heat from before returned to them and had them comfortable and content.

When Seonghwa went to sleep that night, he hugged Hongjoong close still. It was one of the rare nights when he didn't have a nightmare.