Their oversized Christmas tree looked flawless. After all the work they'd put into it the day before, Mark couldn't stop staring at it. The ornaments were placed evenly through the branches, the tinsel wasn't sagging, and a cute little gingerbread angel graced the top of the tree. It was the best tree he'd ever had a hand in decorating in his life.

Jinyoung had stayed over for every step of the process, so late into the evening that Mark had needed to include him in their dinner plans. Fortunately, Jinyoung really seemed to like the quiche he made and gobbled his slice right up while gushing compliments. He'd also been kind enough to finish off the cinnamon doused cookies he'd made, leaving Mark and Lou to enjoy the easier to eat icing versions.

It had been so much fun that Mark had been a bit glum when Jinyoung finally left at eight o'clock to go home. Lou was sound asleep in bed, and the house suddenly felt quiet and empty. Mark usually didn't mind the silence, but that night he did. It was so nice to have a house full of laughter and smiles again. That had always been the part of being married that he'd liked the most. He'd lived for the moments when he and Allison had played with Lou after dinner, laughing and laughing at his silly games with his toys, his attempts at walking, his first words. That part of things had been as easy to him as breathing.

He didn't want to get caught up in that again. People didn't want only moments like that; they wanted moments that were hard too, moments where you had to deal with the trickier emotions in your heart. Not that he thought that was what Jinyoung expected of him, but he didn't want himself lulled back into wanting the same kind of life as the one that hadn't been enough for the person he'd shared it with.

Still, he was happy looking at the tree the next morning. It had been a good day. Some things didn't need to be anything more than that.

“So, what do you want to do today?” Mark asked Lou, bouncing him on his knee. “It snowed last night, do you want to build a snowman?”

“Daddy will catch a cold,” Lou said. “Daddy always does.”

“Do not,” Mark teased, tickling his belly.

“Daddy should take vitamins to be not sick like me!”

“I do take my vitamins, colds just like to pick on me.” He rested his chin on Lou's head. “If I promise to wear my scarf and take a hot bath when we're done, we can build a snowman, right?”

Lou thought for a moment. “Okay.”

“All right, let's get bundled up, then.”

Getting Lou into his winter clothes was a difficult battle considering all the parts that needed to be forced onto his wriggling body—thick socks, boots, gloves, a hat, a scarf, a parka—and once again, Mark felt a little winded by time he'd finished. He really needed to work on his stamina, at this rate; being a super dad wasn't easy. He was just about to start on his own winter gear when his phone started going off.

He answered without checking the number. “Hello?”

“Mark? It's Jinyoung.”

Mark almost dropped the phone. He hadn't expected to hear from him so soon—was Jinyoung this chatty with Allison, too?

“W-what's up?” he asked when he'd collected himself.

“Since it snowed last night, I'm guessing you're planning on taking Lou out,” he began. “But I noticed the other day that the lawn space by your apartment isn't very big. And there just so happens to be this perfect little hill for sledding right across from my university. If you think Lou would like it, you're more than welcome to come over.”

“Seriously, don't you ever do homework?” Mark asked suspiciously.

“I'm doing it constantly. That's all I do during the week when I'm not called into work. I leave the weekend free for more important things.”

“Right. Hold on a sec.” Mark moved the phone away. “Lou, do you like sledding?”

Lou nodded enthusiastically.

“Looks like you win. We don't have sleds, though.”

“Don't worry, I've got you there. And-” Jinyoung gave the Mark the address of the hilly area. “Meet me there when you're ready. And dress warmly, it's nippy!”

Mark rolled his eyes as he hung up. This guy had a way of talking that made him seem like the older father and Mark the young college student who needed to be looked after.

Mark tucked Lou into his car and the two of them made the short drive to the nearby university. Sure enough, there was a quaint little hill near the campus just perfectly sized for a little kid to sled down without running into a tree or hurting themselves. There also weren't college students using it since it wasn't particularly big, so they'd have it to themselves.

Jinyoung was waiting for them up top with a small sled and a longer, adult one. “Ready to challenge Mt. Everest, Lou?” he asked solemnly.

“I'll go so fast!” Lou said, leaping up and down. “Vrooooooom!”

“I bet I can go faster,” Jinyoung taunted, wagging his finger. “With my special grown up powers.”

“Jinny's not a grown up,” Lou said stubbornly. “Daddy is.”

“How old do you think I am?” Jinyoung asked.

Lou lifted up six fingers. Jinyoung giggled. “Six years old? That's generous by fifteen years. How old do you think your Daddy is?”

“ONE HUNDRED!” Lou roared. Mark started choking.

Jinyoung burst out laughing. “Wow, Daddy's a geezer. Will he even be able to make it down the hill with his frail body?”

“Watch out,” Mark warned. “With Lou as my pilot, we'll crush you completely.”

“Want to bet?”

“I wouldn't bet with a poor college student. Just be prepared to eat our dust.”

Mark settled himself on the smaller sled with his arms wrapped around Lou. “Hold on tight, kiddo. We're going to go fast.”

“Faster than Sonic!”

“Faster than the Flash!”

“I'm not scared,” Jinyoung said, though he faked a wobbly voice for Lou's benefit. “On your mark... oh wait, hahaha MARK.”

“I've never heard that one before,” Mark grumbled.

“Get set.......GO!”

Mark quickly pushed off with his foot, sending the sled down the hill. Lou shrieked with glee as the blades of the sled shot up snow as they sailed downwards. Jinyoung went down after them, giving Lou the head start since their sled was more weighed down. They beat him by several seconds, and Lou proceeded to rub it in by tossing snow at Jinyoung as he pretended to weep at his failure.

“Again! Again!” Lou yelled.

Mark and Jinyoung took turns going down with Lou, exaggerating their speeds as being 100 mph, then all the way to beating the speed of light. No matter how many times they went down, Lou exploded with the same joy each time, making it just as exciting for Jinyoung and Mark as they repetitively took him up and down the hill.

“OK, one more time,” Mark said after another descent. “Then we'll build a snowman, all right?”

Lou plopped down on the ground, finally a little worn out. “Daddy and Jinny go down on the big sled!” he announced. “I'll tell you how fast!”

Mark paused. “You don't want to go down with us?”

“I'll tell you how fast!” Lou said again.

“As you demand, Your Highness,” Jinyoung said, bowing. “But just a warning, Mark and I are going to crush the speed of light. I'm pretty sure we were experts at going down hills in a past life.”

“What past life is this?” Mark asked.

“The one with the hill, obviously.” Jinyoung grabbed Mark's gloved hand and yanked him up the hill. “Hopefully we don't weigh too much and get stuck going down at 5 mph.”

“You? Weigh too much?”

“Right. You're a stick yourself.” Jinyoung climbed to the front of the sled, and Mark slipped in behind him. He wasn't sure what to do with his hands at first—usually they were supposed to go around the waist, but Mark couldn't remember if that was also how you did it if you were with someone who wasn't a kid or a girlfriend. Couldn't he just grab the edge of the sled instead?

“You should probably grab on or I'll fall out,” Jinyoung said as Mark hesitated. “I could sue you, you know.”

“Ruthless, aren't you?” Mark wrapped his arms around Jinyoung's waist. There were so many layers of parka involved that he could barely feel it anyways—he was much more aware of Jinyoung leaning slightly into his chest and being positioned in between his legs. It had been so long since he'd held a human being that wasn't his son that it struck him as odd.

“Go, Daddy!” Lou called from the bottom of the hill. Taking a breath, Mark pushed them off. Jinyoung lifted his hands up like he was on a rollercoaster and started screaming dramatically for Lou, who was giggling wildly as their sled ran past him.

When they came to a stop, Jinyoung flopped off the sled, pulling Mark down with him. “That was terrifying,” he said, clutching his heart. “We're lucky to be alive after that. How fast were we, Lou?”

“A billion miles per hour!” Lou said jumping up and down.

“A billion? Just like your Daddy is a billion years old?” Jinyoung asked cheekily.

“Yeah, a billion!”

Mark dumped a fist full of snow into Jinyoung's hair and ground it in. But he was laughing, too.

They built their snowman after that, hunting around the park for anything they could use for arms, buttons, and a face. He wound up mainly being adorned with acorns, though they were able to find the perfect length sticks for his arms. Lou called him “Professor Squirrel.”

With their snowman designed to perfection, the three of them stopped by a convenience store nearby Jinyoung's campus to get a snack for Lou. Mark and Jinyoung also got coffee for themselves, to help them warm up.

“Lou and I should be heading back for his nap,” Mark said as they idled outside the store. “I'm sure you have things you need to get done.”

“Laundry, I guess.” Jinyoung shifted from foot to foot. “Anyways, these past few days have been really fun. Thanks for taking me up on my offer. If you need me next weekend or any time after that, feel free to give me a call.”

“Ah, I forgot to ask yesterday, but what does Allison pay you? I'd like to refund you for your hard work this weekend.”

Jinyoung bit his lip, suddenly looking oddly disgruntled. “It feels kind of weird to be paid for something I enjoyed so much.”

“Come on, you're a broke college student. Besides, even work can be fun sometimes.”

“All right... I'll accept $9 per hour.”

“Are you sure that's enough? You were with us pretty much all day yesterday.”

“That's more than enough for me, seriously.”

“If you're sure.” Mark wrote him a check and it into his hands. “So I'll see you around?”

“Definitely!” Jinyoung reached out to ruffle Lou's hair. “And I'll probably be seeing you in a few days, pal!”

“Bye, Jinny!” Lou said, waving. “Make sure Professor Squirrel doesn't get knocked up!”

“Knocked down,” Mark corrected him quickly as Jinyoung stifled a laugh.

Mark packed Lou back up into the car, turning the heat up to cure their frozen cheeks. He'd once again had a lot of fun, but it still struck him as strange. Ever since Allison had moved out, he hadn't spent weekends with anyone else but Lou for week after week. He hadn't thought he'd missed the company, but maybe he had. He really liked spending time with Jinyoung even though it was a shift from the schedule he was used to. It was a little refreshing to have a sort of friend around—even if Jinyoung was more Lou's friend than his.

He didn't know if he would be calling Jinyoung the next weekend, but the thought was on his mind now, and it was a more tempting one than he would have thought it would be just a few days ago.

When he'd made it home and tucked Lou into bed, Mark returned to the couch to look at the Christmas tree. Just yesterday, he'd sat in this very spot as Jinyoung had told him that he'd be more likely to find love if he became stronger than the defenses around his heart and let them fall. But Mark didn't know what those defenses were. He didn't have any traumatic childhood story to justify his distance from love. His parents had always taken care of him well and set a good example with their marriage. He hadn't had any harrowing experiences with a broken heart growing up. There was no reason for him to be afraid of giving his heart, at least not that he was conscious of.

Maybe it was something ingrained in him. He'd always had a habit of keeping himself separate from other people. Maybe all of this was just his heart's way of making the connections he did make less risky for him.

Mark sighed and threw his head back. He didn't want to think about this. He'd done enough of that after Allison had asked for a divorce, and he hadn't liked any of the answers he'd come up with. It was far easier just to accept things the way they were. There was no doubt that he loved his son with his whole being—that was really the only love he needed, anyways.

His phone buzzed in his pocket, and he pulled it out. It was a picture message of Lou and him sailing down the hill, screaming their heads off. Jinyoung had typed a little message at the bottom: You look like Rudolph the Red Nose reindeer, take a warm bath and don't catch a cold!!!!

Mark laughed to himself a little. He really was thinking too much. This was a simple kind of fun he was having, and all he needed to do was sit back and enjoy it.

Picking himself off the couch, he headed to the bathroom to start the bath.