There was once a Hobgoblin. This Hobgoblin was in high spirits, because he had invented a mirror that would reflect everything uglier than it actually was. Beauty, love, everything good was stripped away from the reflection, until only the ugly and bitter parts remained. It was a dreadful mirror, but than again, he was a dreadful Hobgoblin.

One day, the Hobgoblin was cackling with glee, soaring above the clouds with his mirror, reflecting the land below. He thought that the ugliness was funny, the most hilarious thing. Suddenly, the mirror slipped from his grasp, and plummeted to earth. It shattered upon impact, sending thousands upon thousands of little glass shards all over the planet. Most shards were no bigger than a grain of sand, while others were the size of windowpanes.

The sand-like particles could get lodged in one's eye, and that was certainly awful, because no matter what one did they would only see the bad. They could also get lodged in one's heart, and tat was almost as worse as the eyes, for the heart grew cold and unfeeling towards love and beauty. The bigger shards could be used as windowpanes and mirrors, but who would want to use such a thing when it only showed the bad?

The Hobgoblin thought this hilarious. He laughed so, so loud up there in the clouds, caring not a penny for those that may be affected.

But this is not his story. This is the story of two boys, a man and his sweetheart, a prince and his bride, a band of thieves, a reindeer, an enchantress, and a snow queen.

Gon and Killua were two boys that lived in a small village with a large population. As a result, the buildings were very tall to conserve space. It was a very urban area, but Gon's aunt Mito, who raised him, loved nature, and as a result raised Gon to love nature as well. He frequently traveled a little ways outside the village into the surrounding woods, though never far away from home. He loved fishing especially, and had spent many an evening fishing in the little river next to their village.

Killua was a mysterious little boy that lived there with an old woman, and had lived there sine he was four. As far as anybody knew, the old woman had taken Killua in when he showed up on her doorstep, and since she took good care of him, nobody raised a fuss. Killua had made friends with Gon right away, bonding over their shared physical ability. Killua loved to race on rooftops; Gon was a perfect opponent.

Killua and Gon lived in apartment buildings next to each other, and both their bedroom windows directly faced the other's window. They both loved to make faces at each other after dark, when they weren't allowed to go to the other's house.

Gon's apartment had a rooftop garden, the most beautiful garden you ever would see. They grew flowers of all kinds, vegetables, and even a small fruit tree. Killua and Gon loved to play in the garden, reading underneath a makeshift roof when it rained, or racing around being rambunctious on nice days. During the winter, they would heat up pennies and press them against the windowpanes, creating peeopholes so they could see each other through the ice and snow. On those days they wouldn't play in the garden, but would go to each other's houses instead.

This is what happened.

Gon sat straight up in bed, too excited to stay asleep. He shoved off his sheets roughly and went to the window. He didn't have far to go; his bed was under the window, and he only had to turn left. Killua's window was dark. He obviously wasn't awake. But if Killua thought that was going to stop Gon, he had another thing coming.

Gon forced the window open, the humidity causing the frame to swell. He bent down, scooped up a stone from the pile that he kept under his bed, and hurled it at Killua's window. It smacked the glass hard, but not hard enough to break. There was no movement. "C'mon, Killua," Gon murmured under his breath. He chucked another stone at the window. This time, Killua emerged.

His fluffy white hair was even more unruly, if that was possible. His sparkling, sapphire eyes were narrowed in anger and half crusted shut in sleep. His almost unnaturally pale skin had a pink tinge in the face, most likely from irritation, and his right ear was scarred by the time Gon had accidentally torn it with his fishing rod. To Gon, he looked absolutely perfect. He had no idea how a person could be so beautiful and alive at the same time.

"Baka!" Killua hissed. "Why're you waking me up, are you insane?!"

"I have a surprise for you, Killua!" Gon said happily. "I think you'll like it!"

"Not so loud," Killua chastised him, glancing behind his shoulder. "Gina is still asleep."

Gina was the old woman Killua lived with, and Gon absolutely loved her. He clapped both his hands over his mouth. "Sorry!" He stage whispered.

Killua sat back, looking less peeved and rubbing his eyes. "Whatever." He grinned suddenly, a sharp and devious smile that Gon loved so much. "A surprise for me, huh? What is it?"

"Come over and you'll see!" Gon said eagerly, leaning forward so much that half his body was hanging out the window.

Killua rolled his eyes "Fine, fine. Jeez, you would think you're a puppy and not a human, you..." He trailed off as he shut the window on Gon. Gon grinned widely and scrambled out of bed, tugging on his clothes. He always wore green, he loved the color so much. Killua always mocked him for it, but Gon didn't understand what was so funny. He just liked what he wore.

He entered the little kitchen where Mito was making coffee. "Good morning, Gon." She said, smiling. "Do you want some eggs?"

"Later, aunt Mito!" Gon called over his shoulder, hurrying to the hallway window. It was little more than a hole in the wall with shutters over it, but that was because its function wasn't of a regular window. He balanced on the window-box, unafraid of the four story fall; he had done this countless times. One foot inside and one foot on the sill, he leaned on the creaky strip of wood. Directly to his right was a metal ladder, attached to the building by rusty screws and bars. He grabbed the side rail with his right hand, took a deep breath, then swung completely out the window, grabbing on the other side of the ladder with his left hand and finding a footing on the rungs. Always, no matter how many times he did it, there was an uncertainty, a slipping of the foot or hand that made him feel like he would topple off into the abyss of the street, but he always managed to hang on.

Gon didn't mind the feeling. He thought it exhilarating.

He climbed the ladder all the way to the roof, ergo the rooftop garden. He lithely leaped over the edge of the building and his feet touched solid ground. He inhaled the smell of dirt and greenery. It was his favorite smell, the only exception being Killua's conditioner. He came to the other side of the building, the one facing Killua's apartment, and waited for him to come.

He didn't have to wait long. Killua appeared over the side of his building. Unlike Gon, he didn't need a ladder to climb walls. Killua hopped up, and began running towards the rooftop garden. Gon hastily backed up to give him some room. Killua took a running leap and jumped, landing sure-footedly on Gon's roof. The gap between their homes were at least five or six feet, but Killua always cleared it easily.

"So," Killua sniffed impatiently, like jumping between apartment buildings was no big deal. "What do you want to show me?"

Gon beamed and grabbed Killua's hand, pulling him to under the rose tree. "You'll love it!" He said, not voicing his thought, I hope. He reached behind a Butterfly Bush where he had hid the pot. He pulled it out, careful not to spill the soil, and turned to face Killua, who was looking curious and amused.

In Gon's hands was a small clay pot filled with soil, three flowers growing out of it. The flowers were yellow roses, their petals rumpled delicately. They were the purest yellow you ever would see, only one of them marred from an insect bite. Gon had taken very special care of them. He held them out. "These are for you!"

Killua blinked in temporary surprise. "For...me?"

"Yes, silly!" Gon laughed, though anxiously twisting his shirt as he did so. "I grew them for you!"

Killua licked his lips, for they had gone dry, and very gently took the pot as though it were something fragile, like a baby bird. He gazed down at the roses, his beautiful blue eyes unfocused. He leaned down a little to smell them.

"Do you remember what yellow roses mean, Killua?" Gon asked eagerly, clasping his hands behind his back. Killua bit his lip as though thinking.

"...friendship." Killua said at last. "friendship, care, affection, that sort of thing."

"Uh-huh." Gon replied immediately, leaning a little closer. "And do you know why I chose yellow roses?"

"Because they were the only seeds left in the box?" Killua tried for sarcasm, though the effect was ruined by the hope and confusion in his eyes. Gon shook his head.

"Nope. Because I looked at these flowers, and I thought of you." Gon stared fondly at the roses. "You're my best friend. I think you about you all the time. But I don't think YOU think about yourself nearly as much as you should." Gon's gaze snapped up to meet Killua's suddenly, making Killua jump. "You always seem to be there, always seem to be radiant in everything you do. I wanted to tell you, somehow, how much you mean to me."

For a moment, Killua seemed speechless. He could do nothing but stare at Gon, incomprehension written all over his face. Then he seemed to remember himself. He blushed hard, rubbing the back of his neck with one hand while keeping the other securely (maybe a little too securely) wrapped around the plants.

"You idiot." He scoffed. "Why do you always say mushy bullshit?"

Gon's eyes widened. "It's not bullshit, Killua!" He said innocently. "It's true!"

Killua looked down at the roses. "Whatever. I like them, alright?"

Gon beamed. "You do?!"

"Yeah, yeah I do. They're really-GON!"

Gon had dove to Killua and crushed him in a backbreaking hug, almost squashing the flowers between them. Killua squawked indignantly, but reluctantly returned the hug. "You're such a sap." He said into Gon's shoulder, embarrassed. Gon didn't answer, but molded his body to Killua's more thoroughly.

He was lucky. So, so lucky to have a friend like Killua. He hoped that Killua knew that.

He pulled away, still smiling brightly, and said, "You wanna spend the day at the river?"

Killua groaned. "Again?"

"Come on, you love the river!"

"YOU love it. I just-"

"Love being with me?" Gon teased.

Killua swatted him upside the head. "Fine," He said icily.

He suddenly pushed Gon roughly to the ground. By the time he stood up again, Killua was already running. "If you can beat me there!"

Gon laughed and took off after him, jumping roofs and jumping over chimneys. If a race was what he wanted, a race would be what he got.

The two boys laughed as they soared over the city.