"Heeeeey, so good to see you!" Miniladd said excited as he pulled John in for a hug. He and Smitty had travelled together to Miniladd's house for some kind of late New-Years party. Mini released John and hugged Smitty next. "It's good to see you too," Smitty said as he hugged back. "Come on in, I'll get you something to drink," Mini said as he guided them into the living room.

IAmWildcat and BigJigglyPanda greeted them as they walked in. Smitty instantly went to hug the two, John opting to just shake their hands. "I'll take anything you pour me," John called after Mini, who walked into the kitchen. He got a thumbs up back. The doorbell rang. "I got it!" Smitty called as he ran to the front door to open it.

Mini returned with two glasses of water, placing them on the coffee table. "How was your Christmas, John?" Panda asked John who took a glass and sat down on the opposite couch. "Yeah, wasn't Smitty with you?" Tyler asked. He took a sip of his own drink, to subtly hide his grin. John nodded.

"Really?" Mini asked," How come?" Before john could answer, Mini continued. "You haven't brought him home before right? Wait! Was this the first time he met your parents?! That must've been nerve-wrecking, for you, to introduce him to your family, especially since you like hi-"

Tyler interrupted Mini's rant by pulling him on the couch next to him. John raised an eyebrow at his friends. "It was actually more fun with Smitty there," John said, acutely aware of the eyes on him," He was so polite and afraid to be a burden on us. He kept apologizing, like a true Canadian." He laughed. "At first, he didn't want to come with me, at all. But it's hard to deny me."

Panda laughed, then asked; "How come he didn't go home?" John's expression changed into one of sadness. "The bad weather in Canada prevented him from flying back home and his family rather had him save than that he tried to travel in those circumstances," John explained," He was heartbroken. And he's my best friend, I wasn't going to just leave him alone for the holidays. So I asked if he wanted to come with me to my parent's house. Of course, he felt like he was intruding on my family time and stuff, so I told him not to worry about it." He sighed. "He didn't need to worry anyway. My parents loved him, my siblings loved him, just like me. And all went well."

John noticed the silence in the room, oblivious to what he just said as he looked at the others in the room. Miniladd and Panda had soft smiles on their faces and Tyler was grinning like a Cheshire cat. "…What?" Before John could ask them more about why they were looking at him like that, the door opened and Smitty came sprinting back in and let himself fall on the couch next to John. More like practically on top of the poor man.

Scotty and Chrissy walked in after Smitty, the woman looked like she'd been crying, but there was a smile on her face. Scotty's face was beet red and Smitty was trying to stifle his giggles. "What took you guys so long?" Mini asked as he got up to greet the couple. Scotty looked embarrassed and Chrissy and Smitty started to laugh.

"H-he got stuck in his jacket," Chrissy managed to say in between laughter. "And they just laughed instead of helping me," Scotty said annoyed," So it took some time before I got myself unstuck." The others laughed as well. Scotty just mumbled something under his breath as he sat down in one of the armchairs.

"Aww, sowwy baby," Chrissy said as she sat on top of the man," Awe you mad?" Scotty crossed his arms and pouted. Chrissy kept on poking him, until he gave up and laughed as well. Then he hugged Chrissy close and blew a raspberry in her neck, making her scream out in laughter. Mini went to get them something to drink after they calmed down.

Tyler and Panda started up a conversation about haircuts and taking care of your beard. Scotty and Chrissy listened to Miniladd as he talked about how his Christmas went. Smitty turned, throwing his legs over the armrest, snuggling his back against John's chest. He pulled out his phone and went to scroll through Twitter.

John placed his arm around Smitty's waist, using his other hand to navigate his phone. He was looking at pictures from Christmas, which his mother had sent him. Smitty wearing a Santa-hat, sitting under the Christmas tree, smiling up at John as he sat besides the man, handing him a present. That picture was now his main background. He smiled as he thought back to Christmas.

They had done all the cliché things. Going out in the snow, making a snowman with the typical Canadian jokes, having a snowball fight and then drinking hot cacao in front of the fireplace, sharing a blanket as they watched a movie. They had bought each other ugly Christmas sweaters, and they kept laughing at each other wearing them. The selfie they took was now his lock-screen background.

They found out Smitty was a bit of a sweet tooth, as he kept eating all the candy canes and freshly baked cookies. John's mother didn't mind, she loved spoiling him and she and his sister kept baking cookies for him. Smitty said he was going to marry John. He claimed it was the only way to taste all their good cooking. John laughed, slightly flustered as his mother gave him a smile and his sister winked teasingly at him.

They had played board games and invited John's grandmother over for Christmas day. At some point his grandmother had took Smitty apart from the others to interrogate him. Where did he come from, how did he meet John and then Smitty had to explain YouTube and what they did for a living to her. As his grandma asked John 'oh, is he the video-thingy friend you always talk about?' he left the room to avoid similar questions.

His mother took him by the arm as he went into the kitchen for a refill of his eggnog. "So," she asked," how are things gong between you and Smitty?" She looked innocent, perhaps too innocent. So she probably wasn't just asking that.

"Uhm, good?"

His mother smiled at him. John was about to walk back into the room, but she stopped him. He could see Smitty sitting besides his grandmother on the couch, looking awkward as he tried to politely listen to her stories. A small smile appeared on his face. His mother let out a chuckle, as she stood beside her son.

"I bet you she's talking about how she met your grandfather and the war. You can see it on the look on his face," she said. John chuckled as well. "High probability." His mother softly squeezed his arm. "Your father and I just need to know your feelings," she said, tone serious. John sighed. He knew what she meant by that, it happened before.

"I-," he sighed again," I don't really know…" His mother squeezed his arms again, before letting go. "That's alright, sweetheart," she said," just be you." He nodded and looked at her face. "I will mom."

Suddenly his grandmother came shuffling inside the kitchen. "What a polite young man," she said, smiling widely," He's a keeper!" John let out a startled laugh, as did his mother. "Grandma…" His grandmother looked far too innocent for her own good. That's probably where his mother got it.

"What's so funny?" his dad asked as he too walked into the kitchen. He went to refill the bowls of chips and popcorn. "Nothing," John said, shaking his head. His sister poked her head into the kitchen. "Are we talking about John's boyfriend?" she asked, a smug grin on her face. John gave her a look as their mother scolded her, telling her not to pester her brother.

"Whaaaat," she said," We we're all thinking it! It's the first boy he brought home since forever." Their grandma nodded enthusiastically, their dad shaking his head with a huff of laughter. "I'm going to get company from civilised people," John said, giving his sister another look," Meaning your dog and Smitty."

As he heard his dad and grandma laugh, he left them all in the kitchen, going to join Smitty on the couch. He couldn't help the smile as he watched Smitty interact with his sister's dog, seemingly more at ease in its company than in his grandma's. His mother's words rang through his head as he sat down beside the boy. 'Just be yourself.' Easy, he could do that. Smitty leaned into him, his hands still petting the dog.

"Maaaaan, she can talk," Smitty said, sounding impressed and only slightly traumatized. John huffed a laugh," That she can." They sat slightly more upright as the others joined them back into the living room. It was save to say John had a wonderful Christmas and he wouldn't mind doing it all over again. He only hoped Smitty agreed.

Speaking of the other, John got pulled from his thoughts as someone blew straight into his ear. He looked startled at the brunette, before noticing everybody else in the room staring at him. "…What?" Smitty laughed and said; "We were deciding what to eat, but you didn't respond."

John shook his head. "Sorry," he said. "Everything alright?" Smitty asked, worry visible on his face. "Yeah," John said, nodding his head. "So, what would you like to eat?" Mini asked," Pizza or Chinese?" John didn't actually care, but he couldn't say that since they had been waiting for him to answer.

"Pizza, please," he said," I'm hungry for some greasy cheese, hmmm yes daddy~" He fake moaned. Mini shook his head and the other busted out laughing, he then went to pick up the phone to order pizzas. After pizzas it was movies and then off to bed. Scotty and Chrissy had the one spare room, Anthony the one-person bed in Craig's office and Tyler shared Mini's bed, Smitty and John camped out in the living room.

The two had placed down air mattresses and pulled every blanket and pillow in sight to make some kind of pillow fort. When Miniladd came to wish them a good night, he laughed at the two grown man sitting beneath a pillow fort. "You're literal children," he said, shaking his head. Smitty stuck out his tongue and John shrugged. "Good night, you two," Craig said and left the room.

Smitty and John had stayed up almost all night, talking about everything and anything. At some point they talked about aliens and other planets. Then about how stressful YouTube could be and how some comments made them laugh and happy or sometimes very mad. After that the conversation moved on to how the Illuminati was behind the world's disasters and how they were using memes to brainwash people. Smitty was sure about that.

Somehow their conversation went on to go about feelings. It had been quiet for a bit and John was almost sure Smitty had fallen asleep. Until the other softly spoke up; "Hey, John? Can I ask you something serious?" John looked at Smitty, who was lying on his back, staring at the ceiling of their fort. "Sure. Whatever it is. You can always aske me, anything."

"Have you ever loved someone?"

Ok, John did not entirely see that one coming. "Yes," he said, still looking at Smitty. The other hummed, then nodded, seemingly content with the answer. "How does it feel?" John wondered if there was a reason behind the questions, something on his mind that he didn't tell him.

"Weird." It stayed silent as John moved to lie on his back as well. He couldn't help but still stare at Smitty as he said what came to mind. "It starts out slow, like you don't even realise it at first," he sighed," then it's like this warm feeling spreading through your body. It's almost like a fever, ya know. You get dizzy sometimes from thinking too much and it crashed over me like a tidal wave. And it's mostly the little things that get me. How they smile or how they get frustrated. You start to notice the little details, the colours of his eyes, dimples in his cheeks."

John laughed. "Or the way he smells, feels when I wrap my arms around him. Just… him." He let out a deep sigh, then realised what he'd been saying. Fucking sleep deprived speech. He carefully looked back over to Smitty, slightly afraid he caught on to what he said. A soft snore left rosy red lips as Smitty slept peacefully beside him.

John thanked the heavens and hoped the other wouldn't remember a thing in the morning. He sighed, draping the blankets over Smitty's sleeping form and chuckled as the other mumbled something in his sleep. Sleep sounded pretty good to John, so he closed his eyes, breathing deeply to calm himself down. And soon he was asleep as well.

The next morning, a very tired Smitty was leaning against an equally as tired John as they sat at the breakfast table. Chrissy snapped a picture of the unsuspecting duo; Scotty kept stealing bits of their breakfast. Tyler looked at the two as he entered the kitchen.

"Some of us are not a morning person," he said smirking. He thanked Anthony, who shoved a plate full of food in front of him as he sat down. "Some of us need to shut the fuck up," John growled back, eyes still closed. Tyler huffed a laugh and started to eat. Mini placed two cups of coffee on the table on front of the two sleepy men, followed by milk and sugar.

Smitty yawned and stretched as he stopped leaning on John. He reached for the sugar, adding three teaspoons of sugar to his coffee. John grumbled as he reached for his, sipping straight from the cup and cursing as he burned his tongue. Great. Now he was awake and in pain.

Mini clapping in his hands, making three others groan, interrupted the death-stare to his coffee. Some really weren't morning people. Mini announced he was taking them out and sightsee the city, followed by a nice lunch at his favourite spot. After everyone finished their breakfast and cleaned up, they put on their coats and shawls and left the house.

Mini acted like a good city tour guide, pointing at buildings and telling something about them. The cold was waking everyone up little by little as they explored. They went to an arcade, spending some money on games and activities. Chrissy annihilated them all in air-hockey and Smitty won DDR. Then they squeezed together into a photo booth, taking the most chaotic photos ever seen. They all took a copy of the photo strip, everyone disappearing into different wallets.

After that they proceeded towards the cute little restaurant where they had poké bowls, to order lunch. It had been a peaceful and quiet place, before they arrived and set themselves at one big table. Silence is never an option with their group of friends. Not that any of them cared.

When they were done eating, they left to go back to Mini's house. Making one of the waitresses sigh in relief as the silence returned in the restaurant. On their way back to the house, Mini was explaining a video idea he had. Scotty and Smitty were excited and Tyler said it seemed like good fun. John didn't really feel like participating, so he would join Chrissy behind the camera.

For a second John thought he saw Smitty's expression turn to disappointment, but he couldn't be sure. "You can join any time you want," Mini said, clapping him on the back and giving him a smile. John shrugged. He took out his vape and took a hit, before they arrived at the house. Miniladd had been clear about that: no vaping in the house.

Smitty and Tyler were looking up jokes and one-liners to use, scrolling through their phones and muttering to each other. Panda helped Mini set up the camera to record the video and Scotty and Chrissy placed a table and chairs in front of the camera. John went to the toilet and as he came back they seemed ready to start.

IAmWildcat and Smii7y VS Miniladd and fourzer0seven in a Try Not To Laugh battle.

Chrissy pressed record and Mini did, or tried to do, his intro. John was standing far off screen, scrolling through Twitter, while vaguely listening to the jokes being made. He couldn't help but make snorting noises and snarky remarks, making one or both of the current players laugh. None of them minded, it remained to be seen what stayed in the video after editing.

Panda suddenly sneezed, making Scotty jump and Tyler snicker. "God bless you," John said, opening his Whiteclaw and taking a sip. Chrissy handed him a tissue. Then the game resumed, with bad jokes and even worse one-liners. They all had a good laugh and that was the important part. As long as they were all having fun.

It was Smitty's turn against Scotty as they sat on opposite ends of the table. "Did you hear about the blonde who's a locksmith?" Smitty said, but before he could finish his sentence, John let out a massive burp. Smitty face-palmed, but laughed along with the others. "Goldilocks?" Scotty inquired and Smitty nodded. "They call her Goldilocks, yeah," he said laughing once more as he looked at John. "This is so stupi-, John go home!"

John shrugged as he took another sip of his drink. He watched the two men try to out play each other. Smitty wasn't easy to take out, tho you could see by the twinkle in his eyes and the way he bit his lip to keep from laughing that he was struggling. It almost made John sad that he couldn't hear him laugh out loud, but the way Smitty sighed and shook his head at particularly funny jokes made him smile.

Both Smitty and Scotty tapped out and the other two participants took their places. They exchanged some jokes, neither really succeeding in making the other laugh. Smitty told Tyler that he had some good ones, so he proceeded to play against Miniladd.

"Imagine eating a clock," Mini said," It's so time-consuming." That almost made Smitty crack as he inhaled and exhaled sharply. "That's a good one," he mumbled. "Thank you," Mini said, smiling. "What's another name for waste of space?" Smitty asked, looking Mini in the eye. The other stayed silent. "Smitty."

John looked up from his phone to stare at the man. "We know," Mini said, looking serious. John knew they were just messing around and not actually being mean, but he couldn't help the slightest spike of anger in his emotions. Smitty slapped the table and Mini made a sound that sounded like a chuckle. Smitty noticed and immediately pointed at the other.

"Oooh, what was that?" As Mini denied laughing, he touched his own finger to Smitty's, making a soft 'owh' sound. Smitty did as well as he pulled his finger back. Both wiggled their eyebrows at each other. In the meantime, John was wondering what the strange new feeling was that he was feeling just now. It wasn't familiar to him.

Smitty and Mini made room for Tyler and Scotty to play and Smitty went to grab himself something to drink. He stood besides John, out of sight of the camera. "Why'd the clownfish run for president?" Tyler asked Scotty. "Why?" the other asked. "He wanted to legalise seaweed." Scotty nodded. "Makes sense," he said. It was a bad joke and Tyler knew it.

He turned towards the camera and said: "It's towards the bottom of the list I got here." As he went back to his phone to look for other and preferably better jokes, John spoke up. "Well yeah," he said," Seaweed's at the bottom of the ocean floor." John rolled his eyes. "It is, John," Tyler said," thank you for that fun fact." Scotty chuckled. "You're welcome. Do you want a boring fact?" John shot back. "Haha, yes I do," Tyler said chuckling.

"Seaweed's green."

A second of silence, before they started laughing. Scotty made a 'mind-blown' gesture with his hands and John could see Smitty roll his eyes. He did it again as he looked up at the man, who was grinning proudly at his own joke. John punched him softly and he got a shove back, followed by a stuck out tongue.

It was Smitty and Mini's turn again. After a couple of jokes, Mini laughed out loud and lost. In turn Scotty made Smitty loose, who tapped out for Tyler to take his place. Scott lost and Mini took his place. They went on and on, joking and trying to get the other to laugh, so they could get a point.

John still made silly remarks once in a while, earning him looks from the duo at the table. "Why don't seagulls fly over the bay?" Mini asked. "Can I guess?" Smitty asked, while frowning. "Yeah," Mini said. "Cause they are sea-gulls."

"No," Mini said seriously," cause then they'd be bagels." Smitty slammed his hand down and shook his head. He was trying so hard not to laugh, but one look at Mini and he couldn't help it. It was just too stupid. "Alright, fine!" he laughed," Fine! You ass." As John saw Smitty loose to Mini's joke, the weird feeling resurfaced. Aah, so that's what it was.

Jealousy.

After a couple of rounds of Smitty VS Scotty, then Tyler VS Scotty and back to Smitty VS Mini, they eventually changed quicker and quicker. The jokes got worse and worse. At one point, as Smitty sat across from Mini again, he simply said words. "Sphincter." It had no effect. "You tried," Mini said. "Yeah, might as well right," Smitty said," You never know…"

He interrupted himself, pointing at Mini. "You have bear fists?" Mini shook his head and Smitty slapped the table once again. "No," Mini said. "Damn," Smitty said with a sigh. John looked at Smitty with a grin. Smitty grinned back. "You have-" John started but stopped. "Bear fists?" Smitty asked. It was like Mini wasn't sitting across from him as Smitty could only focus on John, beckoning him over. "Get into frame, John," he said, stretching his arms out," get in here with me. We gotta do it once for the fans."

John shook his head, but walked over to Smitty. If he was going to make John step into frame, he was going to mess with the other. "You have bear fists?" he asked as he blocked half of Smitty in view of the camera. "Noooooo," Smitty whined. John had his back to the camera, as he bend down, leaning close to Smitty's face. "Dude," Smitty laughed," Turn around. Don't show em your ass!"

He laughed as John stood up and turned towards the camera, leaning against the table. He wasn't even totally in frame. "Sit on the table," Smitty commanded as he looked at the camera. "Please don't break the table," Mini said, laughing at their antics. As Smitty kept trying to start their joke, John interrupted him.

"Dude, stop," he said," I have a Whiteclaw in my hand. This is embarrassing." He stood up and faced Smitty, who looked up at him. "You have-" Smitty started, unsure of what the other was doing. "Bear fists?" John said, a fraction faster than Smitty. "Hahaa!" he said and walked back out of frame. Smitty stared into the camera. "You have bearfi-" he laughed then turned back towards Mini," That's getting cut, hahaha."

Mini shook his head slightly. "I'm gonna leave that in. Ty, leave that in!" As John retuned to his previous spot, he watched the wrap of the video. Smitty making Mini's editor, poor Ty, do explosions and drums. "Come edit for me," Smitty said, making everyone laugh.

John took a sip from his Whiteclaw. The jealous feeling had almost completely gone away, thankfully. He knew why he was jealous, he wanted to make Smitty laugh, to have the other crack up at his jokes, and to have that smile beamed at him. He wanted to be the one who made Smitty happy. And as he looked at Smitty, who took his place besides John and smiled up at him, he smiled back. He hoped he had the privilege to be that person. But for now…

He knew he was royally fucked.