“What do you do for a living?”

Jinyoung’s mom was staring into Mark’s soul, he felt like this was a full-on interrogation.  “I’m currently working for a marketing company in uh- marketing.”

“How much money do you make?”  Jinyoung’s dad blatantly asked.

“Dad, you can’t ask that.  Mark makes enough money, you don’t need to worry about that.”  Jinyoung said as he walked in with two cups of tea for his parents and one cup of hot chocolate for Celeste.

Mark was thankful Jinyoung was sticking up for him finally.  Jinyoung’s parents had been staying with them for only two days so far and Mark was slowly losing his sanity.  They hadn’t even cracked one smile at him yet.  He had no idea why Jinyoung thought the best way to introduce them was to have them stay for an entire month to celebrate the holidays.  If one weekend was so frustrating, he didn’t want to think about the horrors that awaited him for the rest of December. 

“My daddy buys me all the toys I want!”  Celeste was happily sitting on Jinyoung’s father’s lap, not being scrutinized at all.  In fact- his daughter seemed to be the only aspect of his life that they approved of.  They were all smiles around her.

“Well, I hope he doesn’t spoil you.”  Jinyoung’s mom said, giving Mark a glace before directing her attention back to Celeste.  Chills, every single time.  There was a blizzard roaring outside his window, but it still felt colder indoors.

“He still hasn’t gotten a Christmas tree yet!  I want a Christmas tree!”  Celeste whined as Jinyoung blew on her hot chocolate.

“Sweetie, it’s barely the beginning of December, we don’t need to get a tree so early.” Jinyoung chided.

Celeste was pouting- Mark was trained to ignore this face by now.  What he didn’t expect was the sudden double glare from Jinyoung’s parents.  “Shouldn’t you get a tree?  She wants one so badly.”  Jinyoung’s mom added.

Weren’t they just telling him not to spoil her?  “I’ll get a tree next week-“

“No!  I want one now!” 

“Celeste, we can go get one tomorrow if you really want.”  Jinyoung reasoned.

Mark looked back at Jinyoung’s parents, then outside at the raging snowstorm.  “Why wait?”  He declared as he got up from the sofa.  “I can go get a tree right now if she wants one.”

Jinyoung stared at him like he had lost his mind.  “You do realize there’s been a snowstorm happening all day.  The roads are all snowed in.”

“Honestly, a little snow never scared me!”

“You’re from Los Angeles.”  Jinyoung deadpanned.

Mark was already sorting through the closet and grabbing his winter gear.  “I can’t see my daughter unhappy for a moment longer!  I have to do what I can.”

Unfortunately, Jinyoung saw through him quickly.  He shuffled towards Mark so that his parents were out of earshot.  “I know you’re trying to escape.”

“No, I’m not, I’m going to get a tree.”

“No sane person would willingly go out in this weather.”

Mark hummed innocently.  He knew he would be in deep trouble later for this- but at this point getting blasted by snow seemed like a much better option than staying inside and having any shred of confidence he had slowly ripped away.

He was sure Jinyoung would let him be for now-but instead he reached past Mark and grabbed his coat as well. “Mom!  Dad!  I’m going with Mark to get the tree, it’s dangerous to be out alone in this weather.  Can you watch Celeste for a bit?”

“Sure, I can trust you to pick out a nice one.”  Jinyoung’s dad said.

Mark had fallen right into the path of Jinyoung’s fury and he was terrified.  He had never had anything more than petty fights with Jinyoung the entire time they had been dating- but these past two days have been evidently tiring for both.

They were both silent as they walked into the garage and got in the car.  It wasn’t until the garage door was opening, Jinyoung spoke.

“Do you really hate my parents that much?”  His voice was sharper than a knife.

“I’m pretty sure it’s the other way around.”

“My parents do not hate you- that’s how they show their affection,”  Jinyoung said, arms crossed sitting in the passenger seat.  “There’s absolutely nothing about you they could possibly hate, trust me.”

“It sure didn’t seem that way.”  Mark should’ve bitten his tongue, but it slipped out.  He started the car, the engine roaring to life.  His view out the window was awful, he could only see white.

“Mark, you can’t drive in this.”  Jinyoung warned.

Sure enough, as soon as the tires hit the snow banks the car stopped with a jerk.  “Maybe I should shovel the driveway.”

“Then what?  You can’t shovel all the roads as well, can you?”  Jinyoung groaned.  “All of this because you hate my parents this much.”

“I don’t hate them!  They make me feel worthless, alright?  Like I’m not good enough for you.”

“They care about me, and they want to make sure I’m not making any bad decisions.”

“Wasn’t the fact that you’ve been living with me for almost a year enough to convince them that maybe this was serious?”  Mark tried to drive forward with more force- but still, they couldn’t make it over the snow. “It’s almost as if I was guaranteed to lose before I even had a shot.”

Jinyoung was rubbing his temples.  “I’m stressed, alright?  I really thought this would all go perfectly, and it’s been the opposite of that.  I know my parents are hard to please, but I didn’t think it would turn out this badly.”

“You really had to invite them over for the entire month?”

“I haven’t seen them in forever, I thought this would be great and now I’m-“  Jinyoung was almost launched out of his seat as the car finally cleared the bank and bumpily drove out onto the road.  “Don’t scare me like that.”

“Relax, we’re good now.  The snow in the road isn’t that bad, there are some tire tracks out here.”  Mark said as he whisked the car around and started driving.  He could feel the car sliding ever so slightly but all he wanted to do was get to the store.

Jinyoung sighed.  “I can tell my parents to leave if you’re so upset by their presence, you know.”

Mark was trying to keep himself calm but once you pulled too many strings it would go downhill all too quickly.  Jinyoung was wandering into dangerous territory.  “What are you going to tell them?  I’m sorry, my boyfriend can’t stand your presence and we’ve decided you can’t spend the holidays with us?  Yeah, that’ll go over really well.”

“I’m sorry, but at this point, it seems like you have no interest in getting along with my parents- even though I told you how important this is for me.  You’re not even trying.”

“I am trying, I’ve been trying my best this entire time, but your parents are only trying to find the worst in me! “

“So, what, are you saying my parents too critical?  I’m sorry they’re looking out for me and my wellbeing, what awful parents,”  Jinyoung scoffed.  “Maybe, I’ll tell my parents to leave and go spend Christmas with them instead!”

“Fine, I don’t even care anymore!”  Mark slammed on the gas a little too hard, the car swerved so suddenly Mark could barely steer it back onto the right path.  They were lucky they were the only ones on the road.

“Jesus Christ Mark, could you calm down?  You’re going to get into another accident!”  Jinyoung spat.

The car screeched to a halt and Mark’s resolve finally snapped.

“You know, I wouldn’t let that happen Jinyoung,” Mark took his hands off the wheel and buried his face in his hands. “I’m never going to let a car accident ruin anyone’s life ever again.”

“Mark-“

Mark’s fist collided with the front dash, a sickening crack echoed through the car.  “Don’t you ing dare say that to me again.”

Mark couldn’t get himself to look up, he knew Jinyoung was scared- he even feared himself when he became like this.  He knew he had hurt feelings, but there was no going back in time now.  What was done was done. 

“I’m sorry.”  Jinyoung said, his voice barely louder than a whisper.

Mark pulled up to the store, still refusing to look at Jinyoung.  He knew he messed up bad, and he was having trouble coming to terms with his mistakes. 

Part of him was still extremely angry, but there was always part of him that knew he would be nothing without Jinyoung.

“I’ll go look at trees, you can wait in the car if you want.”  Jinyoung said.

“Sure, sounds good to me.”  Mark needed some time alone, he wasn’t ready to face him just yet.

The car door opened, letting in the frigid air for a moment then slamming shut.

Mark hadn’t shown that side of him too much.  Jinyoung knew it existed- he had let it slip out once before in front of Celeste.  He never thought the day would come when he’d let himself do this again.

Jinyoung didn’t tell him to turn the car around and drive him home so he could leave with his parents, so hopefully, that meant there was still some hope in this ugly situation.

Mark was thinking about how he should approach this situation in his head when he heard someone knocking on his window.

“Mark, Mark, Mark, Mark!  Open the door!”  Jinyoung insisted as Mark slid over so he could talk to him.

“What?”

“I, um,”  Jinyoung looked like he suddenly remembered they were supposed to be fighting and he instantly pulled back his excitement.  “I think I found the perfect tree, but it’s way too big for one person to carry so…”

“Is it going to fit in our house?”

“Of course, it looks fresh and the branches are beautiful and it’s so full and smells great… I really want it.” 

Mark pulled his scarf tighter and got out of the car.  “Lead the way.”  He said simply before he followed behind Jinyoung.

The place was practically deserted, of course, they were probably one of the only people who would dare brave the storm to be looking at trees.  The only positive was that they had the biggest selection to choose from.  They trudged through the snow to the lot that had all sorts of trees set up.  “It’s right over there, the fourth one from the left.”

Mark squinted.  “That scrawny one?”

“No,”  Jinyoung said as they walked closer to the destined tree.  “It’s the one right- huh?”  Jinyoung was staring into an empty spot.  “I swear it was here a second ago.”

Mark didn’t know if this was a cruel joke or something- they were literally the only people on the lot. 

“Wait, that’s it over there!”  Sure enough, there was a guy talking loudly to the worker, waving his arms around and gesturing to the tree.  “That’s my tree!  What is he saying?!”

Mark heard his almost yelling loud and clear.  “He’s speaking Cantonese- something along the lines of ‘this is the perfect tree’ and ‘my husband is going to love it!’”

“His tree?  He doesn’t own that tree- technically it belongs to mother nature-“

“They’re putting it in netting, I’m pretty sure he’s buying it.”  Mark interrupted.  “Looks like you were too late.”

“No,”  Jinyoung looked around as the guy walked away to go to the cashier.  “I did not come out all the way here in this freezing cold and get drenched with snow not to get the perfect tree.”

“It’s just a tree-“

Before Mark could protest Jinyoung walked over the tree and wobbled as he tried to pick it up.

“Hey,”  Mark ran over to help him.  “What are you doing?!”

“Claiming what’s rightfully ours, quickly, let’s go to the other cashier.”

“Isn’t this stealing?”

“It’s not stealing if he didn’t pay for it yet, hurry up!”  Mark really wanted to get on Jinyoung’s good side again, and they were both still a little high-strung from the argument, so Mark did as Jinyoung said and picked up the tree to take it to the cashier.

One swipe of the credit card and the tree was theirs- or so they thought until they heard sudden yelling coming from behind them

“Hey!  That’s my tree!  They’re taking my perfect tree!”  The man was walking up behind them.

“No, don’t turn around, he’s not yelling at us.”  Jinyoung said, unfortunately, if Mark remembered correctly this guy looked like he could put them in a chokehold with his thighs and probably murder them.

“Jinyou-‘

“I SAID GET THE TREE IN THE CAR!  LESS TALKING MORE RUNNING!”

Jinyoung started pulling from the front end of the tree and Mark had no choice but to match his pace.  Their running was more like medium-paced trudging thanks to the almost knee-high snow that separated them from their car.  At this rate, the guy was going to catch up, and Mark was 50/50 on the fact they could possibly get arrested for this and he wasn’t about that life.

Mark dropped his end of the tree.  “Jinyoung, just drag it, I’ll stop this guy, I can take him”

“Not to be negative, but I’m pretty sure you can’t take him.”  Jinyoung said, panicked.

“Just go!  I’ll be fine!”  If wrestling guys at the tree lot was a part of being a good boyfriend- he was ready to make that sacrifice. 

The guy was catching up and Jinyoung mustered all his strength to pull the tree away by himself, while Mark ran towards to guy at full force. 

He wasn’t sure what he was expecting when they were finally face-to-face but getting tackled into the ground should’ve been high on the list because that’s exactly what happened.  He was lucky his fall was padded by the snow, but this guy grabbed him by the shoulders and was yelling straight in his face.

“Give me back my tree, that was my tree, I saw it first!”  The man yelled.

“No, my boyfriend saw it first!”  Mark said, trying to push the guy off him.

The snow was getting inside Mark’s jacket and he was pretty sure this man was dead serious about knocking him unconscious over a tree because his arms were wrapped around his neck cutting off his circulation- if only he got to tell Jinyoung he loved him one last time-

“Jackson, get the hell off him!”  The guy was suddenly pulled up from on top of him and Mark could finally breathe.

“Jaebum let go, he stole our tree!  This guy stole our tree!” 

“What the hell are you doing fighting people over trees?!  You idiot!” 

“You don’t understand babe, this was the perfect tree!” 

“Jackson, to reiterate, it’s a tree.”

Mark took advantage of the couple fighting to run for his life back to the car where the tree was safely tucked away in the back seat and Jinyoung was sitting in the passenger side with the door open, looking so scared he was about to cry.

As soon as he there he threw his arms around Jinyoung.  “Oh god, that was crazy, I thought we were going to get arrested, and then I thought that guy was going to knock me out and and and-“

“Mark, breathe, you’re fine,”  Jinyoung hugged him back.  “You’re so stupid, why the hell did you do that?”

“That guy was chasing us, and I didn’t want anything to happen to you and I know this is your tree and holy am I cold.” 

“Is he gone?”

“Yeah, I’m pretty sure he’s gone.”  Mark was slowly coming back down to Earth.  He climbed into the driver’s side and collapsed against the wheel.  “I’m so happy you’re okay, and our tree is alright, and I really just risked it all for a tree?  Why did I do that again?”

“Because you love me?”  Jinyoung offered, grabbing Mark’s hand and holding it tight, trying to return the warmth.

“I… I’m really sorry, about everything.  You know you mean the world to me and I overreacted to the whole situation.”

“It’s okay, I’m sorry too.  I know you’re sensitive about certain topics and I shouldn’t have crossed that line.  It was also my fault I got so fired up over the silly tree.  I was looking for something to be angry about.”

This whole situation was so crazy that Mark broke down in laughter.  “We’re both pretty stupid, huh?”

“Yeah, we’re both idiots.  At least I finally got to experience your anger in the rawest form, I’ll have to know how to deal with it if I want to spend the rest of my life with you.”

Mark stared at Jinyoung, who was slowly realizing what he said, the redness creeping into his cheeks.  Mark decided not to say anything about it, so he wouldn’t ruin the moment and make it awkward, instead, he gave him a smug grin.    “You’re completely right, good to know.”

“Just drive.”  Jinyoung said, pulling his seatbelt on and trying to calm down.

“What kind of food do your parents like?  It’s not too late for take-out and an attempt at a good impression.”

“They like home-cooked Korean food.” 

Mark tapped a finger against the wheel.  “How strongly do you think they value the ‘home-cooked’ part?”

“Daddy!  What took you so long?”  Celeste ran into his arms as soon as he walked through the door.

“Daddy had to drive slowly because there was a lot of snow outside.”

“We got the tree!”  Jinyoung proudly hauled the bundle of the tree into the house as Celeste’s eyes lit up.

“Yay!  Can we decorate it tonight?”  The only thing Mark wanted to do that night was strip out of his wet clothes, take a steaming hot shower, and try to forget this day ever happened.

“Daddy is a little tired, but I’m sure we can decorate it all together tomorrow.”  Jinyoung chimed in to save Mark from an evening of making his sore back even worse.

“Oh, I made something for you with grandma!”  Celeste said as she was into the kitchen, pulling Jinyoung’s mom out of the kitchen by the sleeve, and a handful of cookies in her other arm.  “Sugar cookies!  We just finished baking!”

Celeste ran up to Mark first as he bent down to take them.  She tiptoed and whispered in his ear.  “Don’t tell appa, but they’re even better than his.”

“My lips are sealed.”  Mark assured as he did the motion of zipping his lips shut.

Jinyoung walked over to his mom, giving her a knowing look.  “Grandma, huh?”

“I… told her she could call me that.  There is nothing wrong, right?”

Mark’s eyes glanced up at Jinyoung’s mom, realizing what she just said. 

“Nothing wrong at all, grandma it is.” 

Celeste busied herself with handing out cookies to Jinyoung as Jinyoung’s mom approached Mark.

“You did a good job raising her, she’s a very thoughtful, kind, girl.”  The compliment had come a bit late, but it made his heart feel warm nonetheless.

“Thank you,”  Mark looked back at Jinyoung as he scooped Celeste into his arms and carried her to go look for ‘grandpa’.  “It means a lot.”

“You are serious about my son, yes?”

Mark’s gaze snapped back to her.  “Of course.”

“You can’t take your eyes off him.” 

It was funny to Mark, in the days he met Jinyoung he felt strongly about him, but he had a hard time looking him in the eyes because he was so scared of his feelings not getting returned.  Now almost a year later he could barely get himself to look away.

“I understand.”  She said.

“Understand what?”

Finally, she smiled, saying nothing more and walking to go find Jinyoung again.

It was hard when you love someone so much, but you suddenly don’t see eye to eye.  That wouldn’t matter though, love wasn’t about seeing eye to eye, it was about seeing what’s inside your heart. 

Mark knew that every time he looked at Jinyoung these days he saw his heart, and that heart would always have him somewhere in there no matter how rough things got on the surface, and if Jinyoung was in his heart as well, they could make it through whatever life threw at them.