Work Text:
The side of the mountain was green and brown. Green with the crunchy grass and fur on the trees. Brown with the dirt and rocks and tree trunks that surrounded the mountainside in quadrants. A chilly wind blew in from the south, stinging Doyoung’s skin not covered by coats or scarves. Though the wind was cold and biting, it brought the scents of the Christmas Trees up the side of the hill.
Somewhere along the nearby dirt road, a tractor roared along the steep banks, hauling another hay trailer with two or three passengers back down the mountain as the sun teetered dangerously on the horizon, casting orange and purple hues along the darkening sky.
Doyoung took in a deep breath, a smile blossoming over his face as he took in the sight of the trees he happily spent his days around. Beside him, Jaehyun shifted the orange chainsaw clasped in his gloved hand.
“Let’s find a tree,” Doyoung breathed.
Jaehyun didn’t respond, simply followed Doyoung as his boot-clad feett stepped up onto the bank off the dirt road, climbing up the mountain to search for the perfect tree that would bring their living room to life.
“What about this one?” Jaehyun asked, standing near a tall but slim tree.
He was dressed in heavy duty tan cargo pants that wouldn’t be frayed by the biting briar patches or the teeth of an unmoving chainsaw. Pulled over the top of the bottoms were black hiking boots that traveled up to about his mid-calf. The soles were great for climbing up the mountain and had padding on the inside to secure his foot comfortably, which came in handy after he’d been on his feet all day. He had on a red flannel coat that, though it was light, protected him nicely from the harsh wind, keeping him warm while also not impeding his ability to run the chainsaw. His hands were clasped in black work gloves with silicon palms that gripped the chainsaw and trees securely. His cheeks were pink from the cold and his ears covered by black earmuffs that were half falling from his neck.
His shoulders were sagging slightly and Doyoung almost felt bad enough to agree on the scrawny tree. He’d been out in the cold for most of the day cutting down trees for people who didn’t live on the farm. He was far past ready to go inside and warm up, but Doyoung couldn’t settle for an itty bitty tree, not when trees made Christmas more special.
“Nah, it’s too small.”
Doyoung moved on up the mountain. He could hear Jaehyun let out a small sigh, but smiled to himself when the male didn’t argue. He knew how important tree selection was to Doyoung, and he, no doubt, remembered Christmas two years earlier when Doyoung'd rushed to get a tree that looked hideous in the house. It had ruined his entire season.
Doyoung stepped over the fresh stump of a cut down tree and reached the peak of the hillside where the treeline stopped at a fence that roped off the farm from outsiders seeking to steal a tree without paying (it’d happened more often than one would think before the fence). He moved along the treeline, eyes catching on every blue tag blowing in the breeze from the top of the trees. No tree immediately jumped out at him. They were either two skinny, or too fat, or had too many gaping holes in the limbs for Doyoung to possibly cover up. Jaehyun followed after Doyoung the entire way, humming in agreement to his tiny comments but not otherwise offering an opinion of any sort.
Doyoung started back down the mountainside, swaying between one tree and the next, even roving over the trees with the red tags because, even if they were too big, Jaehyun could always cut them down to size.
“This ones nice,” Jaehyun said after a good twenty minutes of eying every tree.
Doyoung glanced at the one he’d found and he was right. It was a handsome tree! Perfect height for their ceiling, full and wide with no holes. As a smile made its way on his face, Doyoung could see Jaehyun subtly shifting the chainsaw to prepare to cut the tree when Doyoung knelt down and gave a disappointed sigh.
Beneath the tree were dead pine needles that fell off with the faintest of touches. The tree itself was dying.
“What’s wrong?” Jaehyun asked.
Doyoung didn’t respond. Not verbally anyway. Instead, he let his fingers slide over the dead needles barely clinging to the tree, letting them fall off into his gloved palm before holding them up and Jaehyun nodded.
The quest for the perfect Christmas tree began again as Doyoung made his way down the mountainside, weaving once again between the trees, inspecting each one to be sure he didn’t pass over the tree. After another fifteen minutes were gone, he was starting to get discouraged.
They always got the second pick of the lot. First pick was for the customers who, oftentimes, drove from hours away to climb a mountain and cut down a tree that they would transport back with them. They paid for the tree and bought the hot chocolate and baked goods Doyoung helped sell in the small store at the base of the mountain. Many bought the wreaths his mother spent hours tediously weaving onto a wreath hanger. Sometimes, they’d even walk into “Santa’s Workshop” and purchase a small, handcrafted gift his family helped make. It was his job to help run the family Christmas Tree Farm, even though that meant that most of the good trees were gone by the time the last person was off the mountain.
“I don’t know if we’re going to have a tree this year,” Doyoung moaned in dismay.
Jaehyun shifted the weight of the chainsaw and wrapped an arm around Doyoung’s waist, bringing him into his side gently.
“We’ll find the perfect tree, don’t worry,” he said.
Doyoung walked to the bottom of the hill, not quite stepping back onto the dirt road they’d come in on when he spotted it. A gorgeous tree with a blue tag blowing in the breeze.
Walking around it, there were no holes that couldn’t easily be filled with an ornament. It was full and the perfect width. There was plenty of extravagance on top to show off with lights, however, what really caught his attention was the top limb sticking straight up, perfectly. He could perfectly see his antique porcelain angel sitting atop the tree in all it’s beautiful glory, as if the angel and the tree had finally met their match.
“This is it,” Doyoung breathed. “This is the tree!”
Jaehyun drew Doyoung close again and pressed a soft kiss to his icy cheek. As he pulled away, Doyoung drew him in again and pressed a soft kiss against his lips.
It was far from the perfect kiss. Jaehyun’s lips were cold and slightly chapped and his own felt almost numbed from the cold, but kissing Jaehyun in front of the perfect tree was always one of the highlights of tree shopping.
“I love you,” he whispered when he pulled away.
Doyoung gave his lips another peck before stepping back to let him work, eager to watch the tree fall, but more eager to watch him do it.
Jaehyun hiked the chainsaw over his knee and, with his right hand, grabbed the pull cord and yanked back hard, the chainsaw roaring to life. He pulled the trigger a few times to ensure it was going to run correctly before kneeling down beneath the pine needles and maneuvering the chainsaw under the bottom layer. The chainsaw revved when he was ready and sawdust blew over his shoulders as he cut through the trunk and finally, let the tree drop.
When the tree was free from the ground, he cut off the chainsaw and placed it on the ground.
“I’ll be right back,” he promised.
He jumped off the bank onto the dirt road and walled up the hill until he was out of sight. A few moments later, Doyoung heard the four wheeler used to transport trees from the tree valley to the mountain base. When he came into view, he was straddling the four wheeler seat, finger pressed down on the gas as he crept down to where Doyoung was, mindful of the old, rusty trailer attached to the hitch behind him that was currently empty and very squeaky.
He shifted the four wheeler into park and hopped off, not bothering to kill the engine as he jumped back up onto the bank and they both grabbed a side of the Christmas Tree, hauling it down the bank and onto the trailer he locked behind it. Doyoung secured the pin in the trailer gate while Jaehyun grabbed the chainsaw, placing it on the back rack of the four wheeler, bungee-strapping it to the bars.
He climbed back onto the four wheeler and poked out his elbow, flexing his bicep as Doyoung stepped onto one side, careful not to step on his heel. Holding onto Jaehyun’s bicep, he flung his leg over the seat onto the other step and sat down behind him. Once he was seated, Doyoung wrapped his arms around Jaehyun's waist and pressed his chest against his back, cheek against his back, letting his body heat seep against him.
“Ready?” Jaehyun asked.
Doyoung nodded and Jaehyun put the four wheeler into gear and drove down the dirt road and off the mountain.
――――――
When Jaehyun parked the four wheeler in front of their house, Doyoung got off and walked inside, petting their old Labrador who perked up at his entrance as Doyoung stomped through the house to grab the tree stand out of the closet. When he returned back outside, Jaehyun had already unloaded the tree and was half dragging, half carrying it to the porch where he let it lay.
Doyoung unwound the stand screws that held the trunk in place and placed it on the cement porch while he pulled the chainsaw off the four wheeler to shave off whatever imperfections that were in the trunk.
“Will you get my drill from the building?” he asked before pulling the cord again and the chainsaw roared to life.
Doyoung jumped off the porch and cantered over to the small green building Jaehyun had gotten from his father. He unlatched the door and stepped inside. It was a cluttered mess. Tools and various projects astrew in an order that could only make sense to Jaehyun. Doyoung didn’t bother attempting to understand to see anything through the mess, simply scanning the tops of every surface for what looked like a drill.
It didn’t take too long to find, resting on his workbench beside a hammer and a handful of screws. Doyoung grabbed the drill and exited the building in time to hear the chainsaw cut off. He made his way back over to where Jaehyun was waiting, passing him the drill and watching as he squatted down to find the center of the trunk.
When he was satisfied, he pressed the drillbit against the freshly-cut bottom of the tree and pressed the trigger, drilling into the tree about half and inch deep before placing the drill on the porch and grabbing the treestand.
He slid the treestand over the trunk and straightened it so it was perfectly even with the bottom before tightening down the screws.
Doyoung opened the glass screen door, fixing the mechanics at the bottom to hold the door open as together, they lugged the tree into the house and placed it in front of the front room sitting window.
When it was all together and perfect, just the way they both liked it, Jaehyun drew Doyoung in again to his chest, wrapping his arms around his waist, and pressed his lips back on Doyoung’s. The kiss lasted for a few seconds before he drew back just a little, just enough to whisper his words against Doyoung’s lips.
“Merry Christmas baby.”