"You know what would be great?" Hide asked, placing a red bulb on the branch,while Kaneki carefully set the star on the tree.

"What?" The white haired ghoul asked.

"A fireplace." Hide replied.

"Hide-"

"Think about it, we could sit on the couch, just you and me, I could...hold you close,just like this." He reached out, pulling Kaneki into his arms. "Listening to the crackling while we watch the lights on the trees with the lights out...snuggled in a blanket together."

"That does sound nice." Kaneki agreed.

"It sounds awesome, that settles it,our next house has to have a fireplace in the living room." Hide declared.

"Do you know how expensive that's going to be?" Kaneki pointed out. "There isn't much money between us,can you really expect to-" Hide cut him off with a kiss, allowing the ghoul's hand to find its way to the messy blonde hair. After several minutes, they rested their foreheads against each other.

"There'd probably be a good bit of that too."

"Think so?"

"I'm pretty sure." Hide chuckled. Kaneki pulled away, returning to the tree.

"Come on,you can't tell you wouldn't enjoy that."

"Let's focus on the tree,Touka and Yoriko are coming over in a little while. Did you remember to get the guest room ready?"

"Dude, didn't I tell you I would, I always keep my promises." Hide moved closer, wrapping his arms around Kaneki from behind.

"The question is...when are you going to keep yours?"

"You're not going to let me finish this tree,are you?" Kaneki sighed.

"It's not like you have a lot to do, we can finish it later. Let's throw the tinsel on and-"

"No tinsel, it gets everywhere and we're still finding it months later." The ghoul complained.

"You can't have Christmas without tinsel. It's like... Peanut butter without jelly." Kaneki raised an eyebrow.

"There's nothing wrong with that."

"It's not the same." Kaneki sighed once more.

"Fine, but cleaning it up is your responsibility."

"Deal." Hide said, as the finishing touches were added, they stood back to admire it.

"Let's test it out,what do you say?" Kaneki gave a nod,watching Hide move to the light switch.

"There's only one real way to test this." The human said turning off the light. He returned to Kaneki, taking the ghoul's hand and guiding him to the sofa. He lowered himself onto the seat,pulling Kaneki with him.

Hide drew him closer,placing an arm around him, allowing Kaneki to rest against him.

The various colored lights provided a soft,inviting glow.

"It's beautiful." Kaneki said softly.

"Yeah, amazing." Hide grinned, gazing at his friend.

"You're right though, a fireplace would be perfect. We could sit just like this."

"Know what else is awesome?" Hide added.

"What?"

"We get to do this every year. There's no one in the world I'd rather share Christmas with,and if I'm being honest,no one I'd rather share my who life with than you."

"I could do this every year."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah."

"Hey,Kaneki?" Hide called softly.

"Hm?"

"Someday, we'll have that fireplace, I promise." He kissed the ghoul's head. " I'll do everything I can to make you happy. I'd give you the world if I could."Kaneki smiled.

"You already have." A knock on the door forced them to part.

"That's Touka and Yoriko." Kaneki said, standing up. "I'll go." He leaned down and kissed Hide.

"We'll work on my promise later." He told him,making his way to the door. "

"Yeah, can't wait." He thought out loud, rising from his seat to greet the guests.