"Cookies are done!" Hunk called from the kitchen and Pidge hopped off the couch, eager to go see the finished treats. It was comfortably toasty in Hunk's apartment, as well as a little crowded. Shiro, Allura, Lance, Pidge, and Keith were all over to help Hunk decorate his tree and bake Christmas cookies, and the environment between the group of friends was loud and friendly.
Keith and Lance were working on the tree, pouring over the boxes upon boxes of ornaments and placing them around the giant pine. Meanwhile, Allura and Shiro talked on the couch, each holding glasses of eggnog.
Keith picked up a glass ornament with reindeer painted on it and smiled, hanging it on a branch close to him. The tree wasn't that tall, reaching just to Hunk's ceiling, but it was definitely very wide, leaving plenty of space for ornaments.
"How do you think you did on finals?" Allura asked Keith, her long, white hair flowing down around her shoulders and back. Lance snickered as an image of Keith with waist-length hair popped into his mind.
Now, though, Keith's mullet was tied back in a ponytail by the nape of his neck. He sighed, rubbing his forehead. "Well, certainly better than last year." Keith wasn't very good at taking tests- he'd had to take the SAT 3 times because he was so nervous about his score, but Shiro and Pidge had helped him study in the past month and he was feeling better about his tests. "I think I bombed the Calculus one, though. Yikes."
Allura smiled and rolled her eyes. Despite his anxiety, Keith was actually very smart and she doubted that he failed the final.
Pidge entered the room with a plate of cookies, still warm, and the five friends descended on the heavenly pastries like they hadn't eaten in days. Lance sighed in bliss as he took a large bite out of one of the sugar cookies in the shape of a star and savored the flavor of sugar and vanilla.
"These are delicious, Hunk!" Allura called to her friend, biting into a coconut macaroon.
"Of course they are," they all heard Hunk reply.
Lance turned from the plate of cookies back to his task of decorating the tree. He spied a large, gold star in a box to his left and picked it up, examining it. It was the tree topper. Turning to the Christmas tree, Lance reached up, tip-toed to try to reach the top of the tree.
Grimacing, he reached up as far as he could, but his hand was just a few inches shy of the top. He was just about to give up when, suddenly, he felt hands around hips, then his feet leaving the ground. Lance was able to place the star on top of the tree before the hands lowered him back to the ground.
Turning, Lance felt his breath leave his lungs. Keith was standing so close, they bumped noses. Lance felt the hands leave his hips. Keith's hands.
Chuckling nervously, Lance stepped back, holding his hands up in surrender, "Uh- I'm- thank you."
Keith cracked a smile. "You're thank you?" he teased quietly.
Lance felt his mouth go dry. Holy shit. "Uh."
Keith rolled his eyes. "You're welcome."