Derek shook Spencer awake. They'd fallen asleep tangled together in his bed, exhausted from the sex, and he'd slept soundly for nine hours before waking up, when he'd spent another twenty minutes observing just how gorgeous Spencer was when he slept. Still, it was nine in the morning on Christmas Eve, and Derek wasn't going to miss out on one of his favorite holiday traditions.
"Speeeenceeer," he whispered in the other man's ear, "There's a coffee shop about half an hour from here that has the best hot chocolate in the entire world." He felt the other man perk up at the mention of hot chocolate, so he continued, "Come on, I'll drive and you can sleep in the car if you want."
After a minute Reid was up and dressed, even more excited than Derek was about the prospect of hot chocolate.
Reid inhaled the sweet aromas of the shop as he walked in, letting the sounds of Christmas carols mixed with the smell of peppermint wash over him. He sat down at a table and let Derek order for him, it being his tradition and all.
He could hardly contain his excitement when he was presented with the largest mug of hot chocolate he'd ever seen, piled high with whipped cream and even adorned with a miniature candy cane. He slurped happily at it, enjoying how content he was with everything. Tomorrow was Christmas, and he'd be spending it with the man he loved. Life was good.
Derek couldn't hold back his giggle as Spencer put down his mug, his nose covered in whipped cream.
Half an hour from home, without his usual worries about the intimacy of such an act in a public place, Derek reached forward and wiped the whipped cream off of his boyfriend's lip, a twinkle in his eye as he sucked it off of his own finger.
At that moment he thought he saw a face he knew across the coffee shop.
It was the surly man from the waiting room. He looked different though. He looked joyful, caught up in a conversation with his boyfriend, and his smile made Derek smile. The other man had a giant grin on his face as he laughed and wiped whipped cream from his boyfriend's lip, almost just as Derek had done moments before. Seeming to realize that someone was staring at him, the other man looked up and made eye contact with Derek, another smile making its way across his face when he registered who Derek was, and he gave a small wave. Derek gave a nod of acknowledgement back, before turning back to Spencer, getting caught up in another laugh.
When the other Derek made his way by to leave the shop he slipped a note on a napkin to Spencer. It simply read, "Thank you."
The bells on the door jingled a joyous ring when they left the coffee shop, hand in hand, and it felt like the perfect punctuation for the soft kiss that Spencer planted on his lips, sweet with the taste of peppermint and Christmas.

A/N:

fin

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