Taekwoon loved the snow.

Once upon a time, he didn’t care about the way it fell from dark grey clouds to lay like a thick, white blanket over the world around him. He merely acknowledged its presence with a glance out the window, putting in the extra effort to dig his snow boots out of the back of his closet for that day. Aside from that, he paid the snow little attention.

That is...until Hakyeon came into his life.

Every year as the last of the leaves fell from the trees to blow into street side gutters and fade from memory, Hakyeon would wait with bated breath until the news report announced the first snow. Taekwoon always knew when it had snowed overnight because he would wake to the delighted cry of his boyfriend as he threw open the curtains, letting the sunlight explode through the bedroom. It was a beautiful sight, really, seeing Hakyeon’s tanned face light up like that. It made the unpleasant wakeup call perfect. He didn’t even care when Hakyeon yanked him out of bed by the wrist and shoved a hoodie over his head before dragging him outside to play. The first snow was always soft, giving them the chance to build their ‘snow children’ in the backyard and giving each one of them a name before slipping back inside. Taekwoon would make them both a warm cup of coffee while Hakyeon would lean on the windowsill and admire their ‘children’ perched proudly in the backyard.

“Hyuk-ah looks so cute out there...” Hakyeon would sigh. “Look at him...all wrapped up in his scarf,”

It was no secret Hakyeon wanted children. Frankly, Taekwoon did too. It was just hard for a gay couple in Korea to get married let alone adopt children. Taekwoon didn’t spend a lot of time thinking about that.

Like every year before it, Taekwoon too began to look forward to that first snow, waiting for the day the weather reporter would utter that four letter word that was considered a swear word to some. November turned into December and soon, Taekwoon was up on a ladder, stringing Christmas lights and hanging wreathes above the garage. Hakyeon insisted on hanging baubles on the sapling in the backyard, finishing it off by wrapping a large ribbon around it, humming ‘I’m Dreaming of a White Christmas’ under his breath.

The inside grew just as festive. Whenever Hakyeon wasn’t looking, Taekwoon found himself smiling wistfully at their Christmas tree, remembering the years before Hakyeon when he simply wouldn’t bother with a tree. That first December Hakyeon slept over at his house was almost his last with how distraught he was. Even if there was only one week until Christmas and two weeks left to enjoy the tree, he insisted Taekwoon set it up. Finding out he didn’t even have a tree to begin with only resulted in a shopping spree. Within two hours, Taekwoon owned a brand new five-foot tree, endless amounts of ornaments, wreathes and two stockings Hakyeon wrote their names on with glitter glue. He’d had been surprised by his enthusiasm, and irritated by the dent in his wallet, but watching Hakyeon smile as Taekwoon lifted him up by his hips to set the star on top of the tree made everything worth it.

That was when Taekwoon had realized he really and truly loved Hakyeon with everything he had. He wanted to hold onto that smile for the rest of his life, even if his own society spat on him for it.

“You’re smiling,”

Taekwoon jumped in surprise, turning to see Hakyeon watching him from the kitchen, two cups of hot chocolate held in his hands. Turning his face away, Taekwoon tried to hide the embarrassed blush slipping onto his pale cheeks as Hakyeon let out a soft laugh.

“I love your smile,” Hakyeon said, sitting down on the couch, holding one of the mugs out towards him. “You shouldn’t hide it,”

Unable to help it, Taekwoon hid it more, forcing it off his face as he turned back towards his boyfriend to sit on the couch beside him. He heard Hakyeon hum in disappointment before the hot chocolate slid into his hand. He wrapped his long fingers around it, letting the warmth seep into his skin as he closed his eyes, allowing himself to relax.

“I know what I want for Christmas,” Hakyeon said, sipping from his hot chocolate.

Always wanting to know what his boyfriend wanted most, Taekwoon turned his head, waiting to hear what his wish was. He wanted to rush him, watching impatiently as Hakyeon took several more slow sips of the hot chocolate, but at the same time he just wasn’t used to being so...bold. Rushing someone wasn’t his style.

“I want to see you smiling,” Hakyeon said, looking over at him, tilting his head to the side. “I know expressing yourself isn’t really your thing, but it’ll just be us. You can give me a smile, right?”

Though the idea of smiling and letting someone see it made him uncomfortable, Taekwoon allowed himself to nod.

“I always catch you smiling at the strangest times,” Hakyeon said softly, leaning his head on Taekwoon’s shoulder. “You always smile in your sleep...I love it,”

“You...watch me sleep...?” Taekwoon asked, looking over at him.

“Mmhmm,” Hakyeon nodded his head. “But I’ll bet you do too,”

Taekwoon blushed at that. As a matter of fact, watching Hakyeon sleeping was his favourite pastime when he had those sleepless nights. He was just so sweet and adorable and so...beautiful at rest. Taekwoon was always too happy to fall asleep and wake up next to him—perhaps that explained the fact that he was smiling in his sleep.

“I want it to snow soon...” Hakyeon said, tracing a circle on Taekwoon’s knee.

“It will,” Taekwoon promised, catching Hakyeon’s hand in his and giving it a warm squeeze.

But as the days rolled by and Christmas approached quickly, there was no sign of snow. Their backyard remained void of snow children, and Hakyeon was beginning to fret. He stared wistfully up at the clear sky as though searching for the smallest of cloud to bring snow to him. The weather barely dropped below freezing, and the forecast was calling for a green Christmas.

Hakyeon grew sulky.

Taekwoon wasn’t used to a sad Hakyeon. His boyfriend had been called a ‘happy virus’ by many, and to Taekwoon, Hakyeon was happiness. With one week left before Christmas, and no snow in sight, Taekwoon knew he had to do something.

He thought long and hard through the night, Hakyeon curled up against his chest as he slept quietly, as beautiful as ever. The idea came around three in the morning, four days before Christmas. He was out of bed with the rising sun, making phone calls before Hakyeon even began to wake. He spoke more in the next two days than he had spoken all month, but for Hakyeon, everything would be worth it—it had to be. He had to see that face light up once more, even if he had to wait more days to see it. Even when he caught Hakyeon crying silently in the middle of the night, he didn’t say a word.

If Hakyeon noticed Taekwoon’s internal excitement on Christmas Eve, he said nothing about it. He leaned against the kitchen window, gazing tiredly out at the green backyard and the little sapling with the bow, lost in his own world. He was the first to go to bed that night, mumbling a dull ‘goodnight’ and receiving the promise that Taekwoon would join soon after.

However, Taekwoon didn’t go to bed that night. He waited up until Hakyeon was long asleep before picking up his phone once more, dialling the phone number that had been his most frequent call all week. Wrapping himself up in his jacket and putting on his boots, Taekwoon slipped outside to wait, not wanting to waste any time. His heart raced in his chest, hoping with everything he had Hakyeon would stay asleep until sunrise – he had to stay asleep. If he woke up, he would surely go looking for Taekwoon and the surprise would be ruined.

The truck arrived just up the street as requested so the noise of the engine wouldn’t wake his boyfriend up. Taekwoon rushed to greet them, immediately thanking them for coming as he grabbed a wheelbarrow and a shovel.

Trip after trip was made to the backyard. The drivers of the truck assisted him with two more wheelbarrows, dumping their loads into a pile for Taekwoon to shovel off. He kept eyeing the bedroom window on the second floor, endlessly terrified of the fact that at any moment Hakyeon could wake up to use the washroom and realize Taekwoon wasn’t there.

You have to stay asleep, Hakyeon-ah, Taekwoon thought to himself, picturing the beautiful man sleeping peacefully in bed. You have to wake up to your surprise...

The contents of the truck was more than enough. Taekwoon thanked them graciously for their time, pushing a handful of bills into their hands to pay for their service and more—he couldn’t be more grateful for them.

His labours complete, Taekwoon slipped back upstairs, a new prayer slipping through his thoughts as he wrapped his arms around Hakyeon around two in the morning. Please don’t melt by morning...

His worries were immediately pushed aside when he woke to that scream—that beautiful, delighted scream that was always accompanied a blast of intense sunlight. Unable to help it, Taekwoon smiled over at his boyfriend, watching him stare wide eyed out at their backyard. He seemed to come to an understanding at that moment, his head turning to catch the sight of his boyfriend’s warm smile and tired eyes.

“Taekwoonie...” Hakyeon pressed his hands over his mouth, tears welling up in his eyes. “How did you do this?”

Climbing out of bed, Taekwoon slid up beside his boyfriend and slung an arm around him, pulling him close as he took in how the backyard looked in daylight.

Glistening white coated every inch of the grass in the backyard, some of it sprinkled over the bushes and the small deck and piled high around their sapling. It looked perfect enough to be snow, and perhaps Hakyeon mistook it for snow at first glance, but upon the realization that it was only their backyard that was blanketed in white, he’d realized it was something else entirely.

“I called up every ice rink in Seoul and had it delivered last night,” Taekwoon replied. “It’s probably not good enough for snow children but...do you like it?”

“I—Taekwoon—” his face scrunched up just before the tears flooded down his face. Taekwoon pulled him into a hug and kissed the top of his head, smiling when he felt two arms wrap around him tightly, giving him a thankful squeeze.

“Thank you...it’s more than I could’ve asked for...” Hakyeon sniffled, pulling away to wipe his eyes. Taekwoon dabbed at them with the sleeve of his pyjama shirt, letting out an affectionate laugh without realizing he’d done it.

“And you’re smiling too,” Hakyeon said, beaming as yet another tear got loose, only to be caught by Taekwoon’s quick hands.

“Isn’t that what you wanted for Christmas as well?” Taekwoon asked, face flushing as he tried not to look away.

Hakyeon laughed. “Yes...thank you, Taekwoonie,”

Taekwoon let himself smile again, watching Hakyeon’s face light up once more. If smiling brought out such a beautiful expression on his face, maybe he really should smile more often.

“Can we go play now?” Hakyeon asked, grabbing his wrist and not giving Taekwoon the chance to answer. Dragged downstairs and into the backyard, Hakyeon barely hesitated to jump barefooted into the snow. He squealed and hopped up and down at the feeling before pulling Taekwoon forward to join him. The cold bit at their toes and soaked the bottom of their pyjama bottoms, but neither cared as they played. Building a snow child turned out to be impossible, but Hakyeon chose to name their snow lump Wonshik anyway, claiming even children born in undesirable conditions needed just as much love.

And though their backyard was in sight of several neighbourhood houses, Taekwoon pulled Hakyeon in for a kiss, smiling at the way his boyfriend’s eyes danced happily at the semi-public affection.

“Merry Christmas,” he said softly, brushing the bangs away from Hakyeon’s forehead.

“Merry Christmas,” Hakyeon sighed back, leaning into his hand and closing his eyes. “I love you so much...”

“I love you too, Hakyeon-ah,”

Hakyeon hummed, his lips curling into a smile. "I'm cold. I want hot chocolate,"

Taekwoon couldn't help but laugh softly, giving his boyfriend a tug back towards the house. "Maybe wear shoes outside next time. We'll warm up inside,"

"Can we cuddle too then?" 

Closing the sliding glass door behind them, Taekwoon slid an arm around Hakyeon's waist, kissing the top of his head. "Of course,"

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A/N: I always have such a hard time deciding how to end fluffy stories but I hope that's enough~! Hope you liked it dear <3