Love could never be any more complicated than around the holidays.
At least, that's what Dean thought as he was scanning for the perfect present. Nothing popped up on what could be a suitable gift for his best friend, Roman. This time though, Dean was going to do something he had wanted to do for a long time now. He wanted to buy a gift that would show Roman how he really felt. And if that ended in rejection, well, at least he could still spend Christmas with his neighbors.
He smiled thinking about the memory of how they met. For three years now, they've worked in one of the city's finest restaurants together. The restaurant was owned by William Regal, an old mentor of Dean's who wanted to put him on the right track, despite the two getting at each other's throats every now and again. It was thanks to Regal that Dean was able to work as one of the head waiters.
That's how he met Roman. He was a prodigy in cooking and was a head chef in the kitchen. When you take food away from the kitchen for so long, eventually you meet the man responsible for cooking it, and the two had been best friends ever since.
Dean had fallen for Roman in that time and now seemed like a better time than ever to show him that. Spending Christmas with the one you love most. That's how it goes, right? The shopping advertisements in the mall say so, apparently. But not one thing caught his eye and it was starting to get frustrating.
A young employee noticed his anxious state and gave him a sympathetic smile. "You need help finding anything, sir?"
Dean looked over to her and read the name tag as 'Alicia.' He was about to reject the help, however, stopped himself. This was his first time shopping for a love confession gift and he might as well get the assistance he desperately needed.
"Uh...yeah. What do you think is the best gift to get when you wanna tell somebody you like them...more than a friend?"
The woman named Alicia thought for a moment, before smirking. "I've got just the thing. It's been one of our best sellers!" She took what looked like a scrapbook from one of the shelves and handed it to him. "They're booklets that give someone over 30 reasons why you love them. You can even put your own pictures of you and said person in there if you like. I think it's cute. The way it's listed could make anybody's heart melt!"
Flipping through the booklet, it was able to word things Dean could only say in his head. This was it, the perfect gift.
Alicia seemed to have gotten the idea. "Would you like to add gift wrap to your sale?"
Out of all days for the restaurant to be open, Christmas Eve had to be one of them. With the rising popularity of the place growing in the public eye for the last three years, it was only natural to Dean that Regal would expand the restaurant hours. Luckily, not as long as everyone who worked here thought. There were still those who wanted to drive down to see their families today after all, including Roman. He always left on Christmas Eve to fly down to Florida to see his folks, so today was as good as a time as any for Dean to give him his present.
His mind kept wandering back to the present which was currently sitting in his snow-covered car. His anxieties kept growing over it, hoping that Roman would at least like the gesture.
"Hey! You still there, Ambrose?"
He blinked out of his thoughts and looked over to his fellow co-worker, Charlotte.
"Yeah, I'm still here."
"Well then, hurry and get these plates to table nine. But watch out, there's a water spill nearby it and Baron hasn't cleaned it up yet."
He wasn't quite listening, however, and absentmindedly takes the dishes. Catching a glimpse of Roman working away behind the stove is enough to make his stomach do flips as he walks out to deliver the food.
It wasn't the time to fret, was it? It was Christmas Eve, for crying out loud! Dean had no reason to be overthinking this whole-
And suddenly, his world was flipping upside down. Literally.
His feet had slipped on a water puddle and the plates of food fell with him. In retrospect, he would learn to pay more attention to what Charlotte tells him next time. For now though, he was trying to recompose himself, hearing the concerned gasps of the customers and the smell of the ruined entrees now staining his work uniform.
What a mess this had become in the most unquestionable sense.
He opened his eyes and felt himself being lifted up by Regal and Charlotte, the dizziness fading away from his head.
"You okay?" Charlotte asked. "I told you to be careful about that spill. Oh, what a mess."
"Never mind that," Regal stated. "I'll have someone clean this up immediately. Dean, I apologize for this. You're willing to take the rest of the day off if you wish. You're not too hurt?"
Wiping off some of the mess off his uniform, he shrugged. "I'm good. Just gotta clean this stuff up."
Charlotte patted his back. "Are you sure?"
"Yeah, I'll be okay. It's no big deal."
Ignoring all the eyes of the customers watching him, he walked his way to the back of the restaurant where the rest of the workers continued like nothing had happened. Regal was probably going to inform a personal apology to the crowd for the upcoming delay. No use crying over spilled milk, though. Or in this case, spilled entrees.
"Hey, Dean! Are you alright? I could hear that fall all the way from here."
Hearing his voice was enough to brighten this already lousy Christmas Eve. He smiled slightly at Roman's head peeking through the kitchen, a concerned look in his eyes. A trait he loved about him. Roman was always protective of him for as long as he could remember, despite that Dean could take care of himself fine. But after what had occurred, this was probably a step backwards.
"Yeah, I'll be fine. You know me, Roman. I'm indestructible."
"Are you actually going to keep working after that? I know Regal would've sent you home."
"There's no need to. We're out in an hour, right? Only downside is I'm gonna smell like bread for the rest of the night."
Before he walks off, Roman calls out his name. "Dean, wait!" He could feel his cheeks warm up and it wasn't the heat of the stove. "I was wondering...if you didn't have any plans for tonight. As my Christmas gift to you...would you like to spend Christmas at my place?"
Dean's eyes widen. "Wait, I thought you were flying down to Florida to visit your family right after work."
"I was planning to go but flight delays and weather conditions prevented me from going this year. My family understands though, so it's cool. And I don't think you and I ever spent Christmas together, so why not? What better way to spend Christmas than with you."
Was this a dream? His best friend was actually offering to spend Christmas with him.
"I...yeah, sure!"
"Great! Well, I need to get back to work before Regal gets on my ass too."
He passes him a smile before he returns to cooking and Dean is left with wondering how this night is going to go, his mind going back to his Christmas present.
When the restaurant is closing up for the rest of the day, Dean makes a beeline for his car, grabbing the small gift box and stuffing it into his jacket, ignoring the bitter cold as he walked away to join with Roman. He had no worries about his own car, he new Regal would keep an eye on it. Wishing Charlotte and the rest of the staff a merry Christmas, he treads through the snow-ridden parking lot where Roman is already waiting for him.
The car ride to Roman's place is a relaxing one, the two just laughing about silly things and chuckling over Dean's slip up from earlier. But throughout the whole thing, the present kept poking at Dean's side, a constant reminder that this was now or never.
Stepping into Roman's home, Dean feels the freezing cold melt away and sighs in content. Something about his home always felt more welcoming than his own.
"Well, make yourself comfortable. I'm going to cook you something that I've been working on for a while."
"Oh, Roman, you don't need to-"
"I know I don't have to, but I want to. This is my Christmas gift to you, remember?"
He grinned and Dean could feel his heart flutter while he watched Roman begin setting up what he called his "workstation." Another trait Dean loved about him. When he got to cooking, there was nothing you could do to snap him out of his process until he was finished. Soon, his friend was finished and placed a bowl of pasta in front of Dean, who questionably raised his eyebrows at him.
"I'm giving you the honor of being the first person to try out my new dish. I, uh, didn't trust anyone else to try it but you."
Growing confidence from Roman's words, he tries the pasta and suddenly it feels like his taste buds are turning into fireworks from the variety of flavors. If Dean wasn't already sitting down, he would've had to from how delicious this new dish was. Roman had outdone himself once again.
"Holy shit."
"Is it good?"
"Good? It's fuckin' fantastic!"
He finishes the rest of the food, but from the corner of his eye, he could see Roman smiling and gazing at him, causing a blush to arise on his face.
"Roman?"
"Yeah?"
"Thanks for inviting me to spend Christmas with you. I mean, it sucks that you couldn't see your family this year but it's cool that you wanted me to be with you."
"Yeah, Dean. You're my best friend."
Best friend.
He didn't want to wait any longer.
"I got you a present too."
"Really?"
Removing the small gift from his jacket, he gives it to Roman as his heart rate goes up. He doesn't say another word as Roman hesitantly tears off the wrapping and opens the box.
He sees a small booklet, but it's the words on it that catch his attention the most. It says Things I Love About You and Roman is confused at first, but by the expression Dean is giving off, he keeps going and opens up the book. The first page says it's dedicated to him and consists of a picture they once took together at the beach. Reading through the book, Roman almost begins to tear up.
I love your smile.
I love the way you make me laugh.
I love that the way you look at me.
But most of all...I love you.
He looks back at Dean who is standing up now, nervous blue eyes staring back at him.
"You don't have to like the present. It's just...I've been wanting to tell you for a long time and I just thought that-" He breathed slowly. "I'm in love with you and-"
He doesn't finish his sentence before Roman's lips are on his, pulling him close in a tender hug. Dean's shock fades away as he returns the kiss and wraps his arms around his shoulders. Everything just doesn't seem real until Roman pulls away for air, brown eyes meeting blue.
"I love you too. For a year now, actually."
"You...you mean that?"
"Yes."
Roman hugs him close and Dean remembers how it's not even officially Christmas yet for a few more hours and yet, Roman just gave him one of the best Christmases he ever had.
"Stay the night?" Roman whispers into his hair.
"Thought you'd never ask."