It was a Christmas tradition in Jonghyun’s family to host a ball for their Kingdom as well as for the neighboring ones, no matter how far they were. Jonghyun loved these balls; he could meet up with his friends, get drunk with them and have a merry while.

The festivities weren’t only limited to that particular night, but were spread out over a week which would start with Jonghyun and his friends- namely four other princes from the neighboring Kingdoms, Jinki, his little brother Taemin, Kibum and Minho-they would go out into the woods and select the perfect tree and spend the rest of the evening decorating it. This was followed by hunting, baking, distributing out gifts within their Kingdom and to their guests and finally the ball.

Jonghyun let out a long sigh as he righted himself on his horse. His friends had arrived the evening before and they were going out to select a tree.

“Why the long sigh?” Minho asked as his horse trotted slowly into place beside Jonghyun.

“Because my brother couldn’t make it.” Taemin chuckled as he appeared from the stables.

Jonghyun just glared at Taemin, choosing not to respond to him.

“It does feel weird not having him here.” Kibum added. “Though annoying, I miss listening to him sing out loud all the carols he knows.”

Jonghyun cleared his throat suppressing his dissatisfaction, “He has a lovely voice.” He prompted his horse to move, leading his friends out of their castle grounds and towards the forest.

~*~

“So Taemin, why couldn’t your brother make it this year?” Kibum asked as they headed deeper into the woods to find their tree.

“There was a robbery in the fortress guarding our border, so brother was sent out to look into it.”

“That’s absurd,” Minho chimed in, “A heavily guarded fortress had a break-in? Do you know what was taken?”

“No, the guards aren’t even sure if anything was stolen. The whole situation is suspicious, so all the more reason for brother to go and check it out.”

“Well I hope everything is resolved soon and Jinki can make it at least to the ball, because someone isn’t taking his absence that well.” Kibum softly nodded in Jonghyun’s direction, who was walking quite a few paces ahead of them completely lost in his thoughts.

Disappointment could not describe what Jonghyun felt when he received Jinki’s letter stating that he won’t be able to join him for Christmas. Jonghyun was almost heartbroken, he had finally mustered all his courage, prepared his heart to let everyone know that he was in love with Jinki and wanted to marry him. He knew he wouldn't face any disputes or disagreements, but he was still nervous.

It was seven years ago, during Christmas that Jonghyun realized he liked Jinki and confessed to him, to only be pleasantly surprised, when the other returned his feelings with the most beautiful smile he had ever seen on his face. Seven years, they had hid their feelings from everyone (save for Taemin who had walked in on them kissing in Jonghyun’s room two years ago; that guy didn’t know the concept of knocking), meeting up secretly in different towns under disguises, trying to spend most of their time with each other during Christmas or any other events their families would be invited to together.

“Isn’t this tree perfect?” Kibum exclaimed, distracting Jonghyun from his thoughts.

Jonghyun joined the others, as expected of Kibum’s keen eyes; he had picked out an exceptional tree. He took in a deep breath, clearing his mind, he was turning into a bad host as well as a friend, it was dejecting that Jinki couldn’t make it this year, but the others had and they all were looking forward to spending time together, he wasn’t going to spoil their fun.

“It indeed is.” Jonghyun hummed happily as he signaled the guards their choice.  “I can’t wait to decorate it.” he smiled as he hugged Kibum.

“Ew, get off me,” Kibum tried to escape Jonghyun’s hug, “You smell, when was the last time you had a bath?” he asked, wrinkling his nose.

“Hmm let’s see,” Jonghyun tightened his hold around Kibum, “I think it was 3 or maybe 4 days ago.” he laughed when he saw the look of disgust on Kibum’s face.

“Finally,” Kibum’s face softened, seeing Jonghyun smile. His content expression soon turned into one of pain and he let out a loud groan when Minho hugged them too.

“How could you leave me out?” Minho hugged Jonghyun and Kibum, “You know how much I love hugs.” he said with a sly grin seeing Kibum’s expression.

“Come on guys,” Taemin chuckled, “You’re creeping the guards out.”

~*~

“We outdid ourselves,” Taemin commented as they sat around the Christmas tree they had finished decorating, sipping on their hot chocolates which were spiked with rum. “It’s so beautiful.”

“I don't understand why you and Jinki are so obsessed with the snowflake decorations. The tree is almost covered in snowflakes.” Kibum grumbled as he took a sip of his drink.

Jonghyun couldn't help the blush that spread across his face. Snowflake was an endearment that Jinki called him with as it was winter and Christmas that got them closer. He tried to cover his face with the huge cup he was drinking from, as he proudly looked at their tree. It took them a lot of time this year to decorate the tree as Jinki wasn’t here to resolve their petty fights about which de