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Little creatures live in Jisung's room. They don't show themselves, but Jisung knows they're there. They have to be. Because once every year, the smell of hot chocolate and cinnamon fills his room even though his parents don't make it for him. Once every year he hears the faint ringing of bells get louder, but the pattern almost sounds like those bells are communicating. Jisung is convinced it's the voices of those little creatures and they're talking until late at night, sometimes softly, sometimes stressed or angry, sometimes joyful. Once every year, they leave sweets on Jisung's window board. A basket full of cookies and gingerbread men so tiny they fit on Jisung's little fingertip. Even though they're so small, they taste incredible. Jisung looks forward to them every year.
❄️🌟
“I feel like our cookies get smaller each year,” Renjun sighs, putting aside the batter to look at his boyfriend.
Jaemin is busy setting up decorations, currently tiptoeing on a ladder to hang up a mistletoe right above the door to their balcony. It's snowing. Two days until Christmas and Renjun has his hopes up for the snow to last this year.
“Our cookies stay the same, darling” Jaemin answers and proudly admires his work. “It's just that Jisung is growing. He's eight already, it's been five years since we moved in. You know humans, they grow so fast.” He steps down from the ladder and walks towards Renjun, a warm smile on his face. “It won't be long until Jisung thinks we don't exist.”
“How can you say that?” Renjun pinches his arm, but welcomes his boyfriend's embrace nonetheless. What he's saying is true, that's the worst part. It just happens eventually and Jisung won't see the cookies they leave for him anymore. “I hope Jisung always stays like this.”
Jaemin soothes him by patting his back and leaving kisses on his hair. “We can always hope. Donghyuck told me their child is a teen and still believes in them. Magic works in mysterious ways.”
Renjun looks up into the eyes of his lover and pouts, not really surprised when Jaemin leans in to kiss the pout from his lips yet he still tenses up for a second. After that second he melts into his arms, because even though he doesn't like to admit it, he likes it a lot when Jaemin kisses him like this.
“I should get back to baking and you better help me now, you've hung up enough mistletoes,” Renjun says after they part.
“Not quite enough,” Jaemin argues with a grin. “We could use some in the kitchen. The bedroom is missing some, too. And the-”
A finger on his lips promptly interrupts him and Renjun hands him the bowl. “There. Cookies first, mistletoes later.”
As it gets dark outside and Jisung is peacefully drawing in his room, Renjun lights some scented candles and makes tea while he waits for the cookies to bake. Today it's linzer cookies, the little jam filled ones with powdered sugar that Jaemin dislikes, but he himself loves. Not only that, but they're Jisung's favorite as well.
His timer says five more minutes, so Renjun waits by the oven. Their home is filled with the sweet smell, which will soon reach Jisung's room and make him wait by the window until he falls asleep. Only then Jaemin uses his wings to fly down and place the big plate of cookies on the window board, standing there and waving his arms for Renjun, who watches through a tiny crack in the wood. He waves back.
That's how it always goes. And when Jaemin is back in his arms and leaves kisses on his face, Renjun is so glad it's Christmas.
As winter fairys, they're not awake for every season. From April to November they sleep. Only as Jack Frost paints the windows in white, they wake. Renjun has a specific routine, he always cleans first, then he bathes and then he bakes. Jaemin follows his routine, although he's usually the one to go out and get whatever they need for the winter.
The only downside to it is that Jaemin can go days without coming home, as he often stays over at other fairy’s places on the way. This year he stayed with Donghyuck and Mark for three whole days. Renjun almost cried once he came back, but his boyfriend quickly made it up by showing him all the things he got - ornaments, clothes, ingredients of all sorts, Renjun's favorite candles and of course lots and lots of mistletoes.
Now here he is, once again hanging up a mistletoe directly above their shared bed. “What if it falls on my face while I sleep?,” Renjun complains and folds his arms. “You know you could just ask me for a kiss.”
Jaemin shakes his head. “It takes away from the magic. You of all fairies should know. Come here, if you look at it from this perspective it really doesn't seem like it could fall on your face, honey.”
Renjun crawls on the bed and looks up to see if Jaemin is right, but before he can even catch a glimpse, Jaemin's lips are on his. Of course. He lets it happen for a minute, kissing him back until he has to catch a breath. “You sly fox,” He murmurs, smiling nonetheless.
“Now we have to kiss everytime we go to bed.” As if they don't do that already. But Jaemin sounds so happy, Renjun can't even think of getting annoyed at him.
“Jisung ate the cookies, did you see?,” Renjun murmurs and brushes a strand of hair behind Jaemin's pointy ear. “We should get the plate now that he's still in school.”
“Can we make hot chocolate and take a bath afterwards?”
“Sure we can.” They share one last kiss, then get to work.
Renjun is the one to open the door on the floor, Jaemin the one to jump and encouragingly wave at him mid air. It's not often that he follows Jaemin and uses his wings, but he does every once in a while to take a look at Jisung's drawings. They're a mess, but Renjun appreciates them nonetheless, especially because the drawings include them or at least creatures that look like them in his imagination. In his pictures, there's a lot of them, little people in green sweaters all wearing the same red hats. Christmas elves. They're a myth, of course, but Renjun can understand the appeal.
“Look Jaemin, there's us making hot chocolate!” Renjun places a hand on the paper and smiles. “I'm a bit confused as to why we're putting it in the oven, however…”
But Jaemin doesn't look, instead he urges Renjun to come. “Honey, he left something for us.” He lifts the plate and points at a note with messily written words on it.
Mery chrismas to the elfs, is what Renjun reads. Thank you for the kokies.
“So cute!,” Jaemin keens and scrunches up his face like he always does when he's extraordinarily endeared by something (that mostly includes Renjun in some way).
“It really is.” Renjun fondly stares at the note, zoning out until he really realizes that Jaemin is already lifting a pencil in the attempt to write something back. Oh well, his strong arms distract Renjun for a while. His boyfriend is just so…
“Darling, can you help?”
That's how he snaps out of it and hurries to guide the tip of the pencil onto paper, slowly drawing a star. Towards the last stroke Jaemin begins to struggle and the star ends up looking a bit crooked, but they're both happy with the response.
Hand in hand they flutter back home and make hot chocolate right away. While Jaemin is busy stirring, Renjun leaves the kitchen to fill the bathtub with hot water as promised, but what he finds makes him both sigh and smile in disbelief. At this point he should've really expected it.
“Jaemin, why did you hang three mistletoes over the tub?”