"By the way, Tristan, are you free this Sunday?"

Tristan had just removed his apron when Fidel asked him a question. He mentally checked his schedule to see if he had any plans on Sunday.

"Nope." He shook his head. "Why?"

Fidel scratched the back of his ear, but it was clear from his smirk that he was trying to contain his excitement. "I want to ask if you are free to attend my extended family's Christmas party. It will be a day early since… you know." He circled his hand around.

Tristan blushed a little when he realized the implications of the invite.

Celebrating Christmas together with Fidel? That’s… kinda romantic…

"A-Ah, yeah.” Tristan bobbed his head a few times. “It's Christmas on Monday."

"Yep!" Fidel smirked. "The busiest day of the year. So think of it as an eye of the storm moment."

Suddenly, Fidel barked out a laughter, snapping Tristan out of his flustered thoughts. "I remember the first time I worked on Christmas day. I was just so tired that I fell asleep in the office once my shift was over."

"Oh… I hope it won’t be that case this Christmas."

They continued to remove their work uniform and change clothes in silence. Fidel's warning kept replaying on Tristan's mind.

Wow… for the first time, I'm not looking forward to Christmas…

Tristan was busy making clips of his previous stream when suddenly, he heard the notification ping of his group chat on his phone, interrupting his concentration.

He quickly minimized the video editing software and opened his group chat on the computer to check what the message was.

"Guys, quick question. Do you give christmas presents to someone or nah? Is this some rich thing I'm too poor to understand?"

The responses ranged from "Yes" to "No", all giving their unique response to it. While Tristan read their response, a thought crossed his mind.

Now I think about it… I don't remember getting any Christmas presents from mom, or any of my relatives.

Then an idea popped into his mind.

Oh yeah! I should give Fidel a Christmas present at the party!

Tristan let out a giggle, feeling a rush of excitement about the idea.

He glanced back at his monitor, and his enthusiasm waned when he remembered he still had work to do.

He let out a vast sigh.

…I have to finish this first.

Tristan spent more hours making clips of his own videos, trying his best to focus on his task. But on the back of his mind, he was already thinking of a good Christmas gift to give to Fidel.

After a while, he finally finished making clips. He got up from his chair, grabbed his phone, then plopped on his bed, staring at the ceiling while deep in his thoughts.

I still don't know what I should get for Fidel…

Tristan opened his phone and began to look up popular Christmas gift ideas. He quickly found an article with a long list of possible gift ideas, so he tapped on it to read it out.

While scrolling at the list, Tristan's mood dropped when he realized that most of the gift ideas were either impractical, expensive, or both.

He let out a sigh and continued to look for more gift ideas online, just something to spark one idea. But after half an hour of non-stop searching, he felt disappointed.

Tristan scratched his head, dismayed by the lack of great ideas online. He looked at the time on his phone and realized it was still three thirty-one PM.

I'll just go to the Light Mall and hope I find something cool.

He got up on his bed, grabbed his phone and wallet, pocketed them, then left his room.

Later on, Tristan had just entered the Light Mall. Despite being overcrowded, he began to find the perfect Christmas gift for Fidel by window shopping. Scouring every store he passes by, just something to give him any good ideas.

The amount of crowd inside the mall made navigating around more difficult, but he persevered, just to find that one perfect gift.

However, after an hour of scouring, Tristan felt frustrated. Despite the numerous clichés Christmas themed gifts, like Santa plushies or a snow globe, they didn't satisfy him.

Tristan scratched his head in frustration. He turned around and quickly realized he hadn't looked up one store yet.

The mall grocery store.

At this point, why not? He shrugged.

Tristan entered the crowded grocery store. He didn't really know where to go exactly, but he went around in every corner instead, feeling a little silly gazing at different condiments, snacks, and bathroom products the grocery store has to offer.

Eventually, he reached the "home" section of the store filled with numerous furniture and appliances were found.

He reached the shelves filled with different types of dishware. Unsurprisingly, almost all of them were Christmas themed. They did not even spare the utensils.

Out of all the items, however, there were plenty of white mugs with a plain, rectangular, black bar design sitting in a corner.

Tristan grabbed one of the items and looked at it with utter confusion

What are these doing in the Christmas themed isle?

He observed the mug further. The moment the light hit the black bar, he noticed a very faint design on the mug.

Feeling a little weirded out, he squints his eyes as he tried to look at the hidden design. He could make out a faint drawing of Santa Claus in his sleigh behind the black bar.

He glanced back at the set of mugs on the shelf again and noticed a sign at the top.

And he wanted to face-palm at his stupidity.

‘Magic Mugs! Fill it with hot water to reveal your very own Christmas design!’

He looked at the mug he held again. This time, more aware of what is it.

I think I've seen a gift shop that offers a custom magic mug near Kevin's home. I feel stupid for not realizing it sooner.

He placed the mug back on the shelf, then continued to walk around the mall. When all of a sudden, an idea crossed his mind that made him stop in his tracks.

Wait… That's it! A magic mug! I could get him a mug with Cocoa’s design in it too!

He fist pumped the air in excitement. He had a wide smile, joyous that he was finally able to think of a gift that wasn't boring.

Immediately, Tristan tried to recall any personalized gift shop in the mall he could have passed by, but he couldn't remember seeing any. So he whipped out his phone and looked for a nearby gift shop.

To his luck, there was one just five minutes away from the mall. He quickly left the crowded mall and went to the gift shop.

While walking, another thought crossed his mind.

I wonder if I should give him a Mister Loveboy mug instead?

He chuckled at the silly idea. A mug with his persona on it.

But the more he thought about it, the more it sounded like a better idea.

I'll give him a Mister Loveboy mug instead. I have a hunch that Fidel already owns some Cocoa themed dishware.

Later on, Tristan reached the gift shop. It was a small shop that had samples of their work plastered on the wall and on the counter. A lone staff was present looking bored at their phone behind a corner counter.

"Uh… Hello?"

The staff glanced up. They put their phone on the counter and stood up with a smile. "Hello sir! How may I help you?”

"Uh, can I get a magic mug, please?" Tristan said with a hint of awkwardness.

"Ah! Sure! You can send the image on the computer by bluetooth."

Tristan grabbed his phone and opened his gallery of Mr. Loveboy's images. He scrolled around to select the perfect image for the mug.

My main screen with Mister Loveboy should suffice.

He sent the image to the staff's computer. After a few seconds, the staff nod at Tristan. "Thank you, sir! It will take between five to ten minutes. Please take a seat while you wait." The staff gestured at the nearby seats.

While the staff grabbed a blank white mug and began to make the magic mug, Tristan decided to look around the small shop instead.

It amazed him that there were more personalized items to choose from up close, one of which is a custom glass plaque engraving. He also noticed the shop was selling gift bags, particularly Christmas themed ones.

Might as well get one.

Tristan took his time to select the perfect gift bag for Fidel. He ended up with a 3D style Santa themed bag, complete with white glitter.

He continued to look around to occupy his time. Mesmerizing the other types of personalized items the shop offered.

Then Tristan's eyes darted to a shelf that made him pause. He walked closer towards it and cooed at the sight he saw. "Oh my god these are so cute!"

They were clip-on mini Santa hats.

He grabbed two of them. One for Fidel, and one for himself. He let out a childish giggle as he held and looked at them closer.

“Sir? Your mug is ready!”

Tristan jolted a little when he heard the staff call him. He turned around and saw a white box on the counter while the staff waved at him.

He walked in the counter and handed the gift bag and the mini Santa hats to the staff, which they happily took. “Would you like to put the items inside the gift bag, sir?”

“Yes, please.”

The staff opened the gift bag and placed the items inside, while Tristan grabbed his wallet and handed a huge bill.

"Thank you, sir! Come again!"

Tristan walked out of the gift shop, beaming with joy as he held the straps of the gift bag.

I can't wait to give these to him tomorrow!

Tristan had just arrived at the gate of the Garcia residence. He could hear the loud sound of Christmas songs playing inside the hours. He rang the doorbell, and half a minute later, the same housemaid opened the front door. She immediately recognized Tristan as she smiled widely and opened the gate.

"Hello! Merry Christmas!" Tristan greeted.

"Thank you, sir! And Merry Christmas to you as well!" The housemaid cooed.

He entered the gate and followed the maid inside the house. As soon as the maid opened the front door, the amount of chatter and loud Christmas music playing struck him.

Despite already seeing the interior of the house, he still couldn't get over how beautiful everything looked.

Suddenly, Tristan felt something run on his legs, interrupting his observation. He looked down and saw a young child looking at him curiously.

"Jan-Jan!"

Tristan's heart skipped a beat when he recognized Fidel's voice. He looked up and saw Fidel looking at him with slight surprise, but quickly morphed into a wide smile. "Hey! You're here! Merry Christmas Tristan!" He chuckled.

Meanwhile, Tristan awkwardly waved his hand.

Fidel crouched down and picked up Jan-Jan. "Sorry about that. This is my nephew! Say hi Jan-Jan." He grabbed the child's hand and waved it at Tristan playfully.

"Hi Jan-Jan." Tristan cooed, playfully waving back.

The child smiled at him, making him smile more as well.

Suddenly, he realized what Fidel had said.

"Wait, nephew? I thought you're an only child?"

"He's my cousin's son, so I guess that counts." Fidel shrugged as he turned around and walked into the living room. Tristan followed him.

Fidel dropped his nephew on a woman's lap, which Tristan assumed it was Fidel's cousin. Fidel turned around and gave Tristan a teasing smirk. "By the way, is that a Christmas gift I see? Can I peek?"

He reached slowly for the gift bag playfully. When out of nowhere, Fidel's hand got smacked by a hand fan.

“Ow!” He winced back and shook his hand rapidly, waning the pain away.

"Gift openings later, after the feast."

It was Mrs. Garcia, looking at Fidel with a slight frown. She turned towards Tristan and smiled softly at him. "Welcome to our party, Tristan. I'm glad Fidel invited you over."

Tristan tried not to blush in front of her. "I-Uh-I'm honored Ma'am. I’m sorry if I only got a gift for Fidel."

Mrs. Garcia giggled. "No need to worry dear, your greeting alone is enough. Besides, I'm too old for Christmas gifts, anyway." She said before walking away to attend to the other guests.

Fidel tapped Tristan on the shoulder. "Let me get that for ya!" He reached for the gift bag, walked towards a tall Christmas tree, and put it next to the plethora of gifts below. 

Tristan couldn't help but to realize just how wealthy Fidel's extended family were either. His gift bag looked tiny compared to the other gifts that were large boxes, complete with gold ribbons.

Fidel snapped his fingers. "Oh yeah! Since you're here, you want a house tour?"

Tristan smiled. "Sure, why not?"