The snowflake had fallen again, the one that hung directly over his piano. He was tempted to toss it away, but he knew that Annika liked that one the best. He was on a step stool, rehanging it on the hook dangling from the ceiling, when Annika came barging into the room.

That wasn't a good sign. While Annika' sister Anna barged in no matter where she went, Annika tended to be more laid back and relaxed, and certainly more polite. He only acted this impulsively when something was on his mind.

Willie didn't have to wait to find out what that something was.

"She knows."

Willie jumped down from the stepstool and pushed it toward the wall with his foot, then sat at the piano and began playing the intro to Heart and Soul. He only ever played this song when Annika was here; it was the only thing Annika could play and it had become their thing from the first time he and Annika had been assigned to work on a history project together.

Annika sat down on the piano bench next to him and half-heartedly plunked out a few bars before his hands fell to his lap.

"How do you know she knows?" Willie asked, abandoning Heart and Soul and beginning Fur Elise.

Annika allowed him to play for two full minutes before he got up from the bench and began pacing agitatedly.

"Tommy told me."

"And how does he know?"

"She saw us last night."

Fur Elise made way to the opening of Beethoven's Fifth Symphony, played loudly, and Annika turned and scowled at him. "Willie! This is serious!"

Willie continued playing for another minute before turning from the piano.

"What exactly does she know? I mean, did he say what exactly she saw?"

Annika pulled at his shirt collar. "Well, he said she saw you under the mistletoe."

Willie's brows wrinkled, then he remembered. "Oh. The Yule Ball."

"Glad it was such a memorable occasion for you," Annika snarked. "Not like it was a big deal or anything."

Willie pushed himself up off the bench and approached the other boy. "Just because you're freaking out, don't take it out on me," he said, poking him hard in the middle of his chest.

Annika knocked his arm away. "Please. I grew up with Anna as an older sister. This is how you do it." With that, he used both hands and shoved Willie as hard as he could, knocking him backwards and against the wall. In retaliation, Willie had managed to grab a fistful of Annika' shirt and pulled so that they ended up flush against each other.

"Stop," he hissed as Annika struggled to free himself. "Just...stop for a minute and let me think."

Annika was breathing heavily, palms pressed against the wall on either side of Willie's shoulders. A moment later he could feel something warm and wet against the side of his neck and he pushed away from the wall.

"You're supposed to be thinking!" he shouted, "not licking my neck!"

Willie slapped his hand over Annika' mouth. "Will you shut up before my mom or dad come in here to find out what we're really doing?"

Annika stuck out his tongue and wriggled it against Willie's palm.

"Nice try," the blond said calmly. "But I've already had that in my mouth. Ow!" he cried out a split second later, shaking his hand. "I can't believe you bit me!"

Despite his anxiety over the whole Anna Situation, Annika couldn't help feeling a little smug. "That'll teach you."

"Oh, it taught me, all right," the older boy said, leaning forward. "It taught me there are much better ways to shut you up."

His intention was clear, and against his better judgement, Annika didn't put up a fight when Willie's mouth covered his own.

Good grief, this was exactly why he'd lost his head under the mistletoe last night.

"Willie," he mumbled around the other boy's tongue. "Willie."

"Annika," Willie moaned in return.

It wasn't fair that it was always up to Annika to be the voice of reason when his friends were all at least a year older. He reluctantly broke the kiss and wiped the corners of his mouth with a thumb and forefinger. At least Willie was panting, too, and it took all of Annika' willpower not to look down to see if that kiss had affected Willie as strongly. He didn't want to give the wrong idea by ogling Willie's man parts. He just wasn't ready for things to go that far yet. He was still trying to reconcile his sexual orientation with the rest of the beliefs he'd grown up with, not to mention he'd just had his first kiss not even 24 hours ago.

He ran his fingers through his hair, causing a crackle of static. Willie's lips quirked and it was clear he was biting back a laugh.

"I don't know what to do," Annika admitted, sagging against the wall. "She's my sister."

"But I'm not into her that way."

"I thought you said you liked having her around."

"When I was ten!" Willie protested. "And I didn't say I liked her hanging around; it was more that I noticed when she wasn't and it was just really weird."

"You told Tommy you felt like something was missing."

"Whatever," Willie huffed. He couldn't remember exactly what he'd said back then, and truthfully, he had grown so accustomed to her constant presence, the room had felt empty without her, as if she had become some sort of permanent fixture. He'd never felt for her what she so obviously wanted, and the only kiss he'd ever given her had been on the cheek. He'd never wanted to thrust his tongue in her mouth the way he had with Annika last night.

"So where does that leave us?" he asked. "It's not like she'd do the same for you."

"I know." Annika sounded completely miserable.

"Listen, Annika," Willie said. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to do it where anyone could have seen us. I just wanted to do that for so long, and when I had the chance, I couldn't not take it."

Annika looked up. "How long?"

"Since last year, but you were kind of young."

"Yeah, sixteen. Really robbing the cradle there."

"I don't know! It was just...and you were...and I..."

Annika took pity on him and took Willie's advice to heart. He grabbed the front of Willie's shirt and kissed him. Their teeth clacked together and he winced. He wasn't as good at initiating these things as the older boy, but he'd always considered himself a fast learner.

"Listen," Willie said again, when they came up for air. "I'd better get back to playing piano or my mom is seriously going to come in here to see what we're up to. She's been kind of that way whenever I have any boy over, ever since I told them."

He sat back down and resumed playing. It wasn't Beethoven, and it wasn't Heart and Soul, and Annika didn't think he'd ever heard the other boy play anything that wasn't one of those two things. He recognized the intro of the song but couldn't place it.

He sat down on the bench next to Willie and watched as the other boy's fingers moved over the keys. He'd always admired those hands - strong, graceful, and capable of creating magic. Unbidden, thoughts of other magic those fingers were capable of that had nothing to do with music room flit through his head, and the room felt much warmer. His face was hot, and he was certain it was beet red, but thankfully Willie's eyes were closed as he played, lost in the music. His eyelashes, so much darker than his hair, rested against his cheeks, and Annika was mesmerized.

The other boy was breathtakingly beautiful like this. Annika wasn't sure when he'd first noticed that, but after their kiss last night, and the one just moments ago, he wondered if he'd ever stop noticing.

By the time the song reached the chorus, Annika recognized it as one of his mother's favorite Christmas songs. He'd never have guessed that Willie would ever deign to learn music performed by a pop artist like Mariah Carey, but the boy was full of surprises. He swallowed around the lump in his throat and hesitantly put a hand on Willie's shoulder.

"Me, too," he said.

Willie grinned at him. "So...you don't need a lot for Christmas?"

Annika couldn't help but grin back. "Don't care about the presents underneath the Christmas tree."

"So we're OK, then?"

Annika nodded.

Willie gave him a mock frown. "And Anna?"

"She signed up for the chess club. Tommy said she has no interest in it, but she doesn't have to know that I know that. She should really enjoy the tryouts."

"Annika van Pelt, I had no idea you had such a devious mind."

"I learned from the master."

"Annika?"

"Yeah?"

"Shut up."

Annika inched a little closer. "Make me."

Willie did so gladly.