14 - The Parents

"You'll like m' parents," Berwald said, "They're fun t' be around."

"I'm sure I'll like them," Tino replied, placing his hand over Berwald's on the shift knob, "They gave birth to you after all."

Berwald rolled his eyes and turned off the highway. Tino had warned Berwald that his car (which Berwald was driving for the sake of navigation) wasn't great at turns, and he clung to his seat. "They did more than that," Berwald admitted, "I was a problem child."

Tino cocked his head and squeezed Berwald's hand. "I can't see that."

"A real problem. Got into fights and everythin'." Changing the subject, he added, "We're here."

Tino followed Berwald out of the car and into the house. Berwald's words had piqued his curiosity; he hadn't heard anything about Berwald being a "problem child;" he was such a good, stand-up, respectable man. Unfortunately, he didn't have the time to ask, as Berwald's parents and sister rushed into the foyer to greet them.

His father was short and stocky, like a brick wall. His mother was tall and lithe, as was his older sister, whom Berwald resembled the closest. His family greeted Berwald warmly as Tino watched, feeling a bit like an outsider until they turned to him and shook his hand one-by-one.

"'s cute," commented Berwald's sister simply. Tino noted that she held the same taciturn countenance as Berwald, with a hint of something more feminine and relaxed. She moved back with a mysterious smile on her lips, arms folded in front of her breasts. "Ya done well, kiddo."

Berwald rolled his eyes and simply sighed, "Birgit..."

Berwald's mother and father greeted Tino next. He shook their hands politely and introduced himself; he was raised with manners, after all. The family then moved to the living room, where a Christmas tree had already been set up with wrapped gifts underneath its boughs. As it was still light outside, the tree was unlit, but not for long. Berwald stooped to turn the lights on, and they cast colorful patches onto the surrounding walls and floor. On the coffee table in the center of the room sat a small menorah, though Hanukkah was long over.

"Forgot t' put that away," Mr. Oxenstierna muttered, picking up the menorah and studying it in his hand. "What d'ya celebrate, Tino?" he asked.

Tino flinched. All the accents... It was like being in a room full of Berwalds. He willed himself to accept the situation and answer his boyfriend's father's question politely. "Just Christmas, sir."

"You from Finland? Could tell by th' last name."

Correction, thought Tino, he's worse than Berwald. He willed himself to hold his ground, even though the atmosphere was stifling. Neither Berwald, his mother, nor his sister spoke, they simply watched Tino be interrogated by Mr. Oxenstierna.

Tino shook his head. "My parents are. I was born just outside Berlin," he said warily.

Mr. Oxenstierna narrowed his eyes and nodded.

Taking advantage of the sudden silence, Mrs. Oxenstierna spoke. "Tino, yer a student at Berwald's college, yes?" Her voice was more earnest than Berwald or his father's, but still had the same accent. Despite this, Tino could feel himself becoming more comfortable talking to Mrs. Oxenstierna.

"Yes," he smiled, "I'm a first-year at Kunze."

"Did you meet there?"

Tino shook his head. "No, actually. I met him at work."

At this statement, Berwald's father's eyes narrowed and he muttered, "Yer part o' that shady modeling business too?"

Tino tried to ignore the acidity of the statement, replying, "Yes. Berwald was my mentor. He's really good, too!"

Berwald blushed and put his arm around Tino's shoulders. "Not really," he mumbled, a small smile gracing his lips, "on th' other hand, yer pretty amazin'..."

"Stop that," Tino chided playfully, "you're the one who got me to where I am. If I'm amazing, then so are you." He leaned up to kiss Berwald on the cheek.

"Could ya both stop that?" The hardened voice of Berwald's father cut into the air, startling everyone in the room. He still held the menorah, clutched in his fist as if he were trying to squeeze the life out of it. Berwald's mother glared at him; disrespecting both her menorah and their guest did not please her.

She spoke against her husband's actions. "Alvin, yer th' one who needs t' stop," her voice held its usual sweetness, yet it was stern enough to get her husband to place the menorah gently down on the coffee table.

Alvin's reply was in Swedish. Tino barely understood the words but he could gather their meaning when Birgit crossed her arms, Mrs. Oxenstierna rolled her eyes, and Berwald's grip on Tino's shoulder tightened.

Birgit leaned into her brother's shoulder. "What's he got against you and yer boyfriend?" she whispered in English.

Berwald shook his head before replying, also in English, "Dunno." He thought back... His father had supported him throughout his life just as equally as his mother and sister had. He would even go as far as to say that he owed his life to his father, who was the first person to accept him being gay. So what did he have against having a boyfriend? He really could not think of a reason, and it baffled him to the point where he needed a good drink or a good go at the punching bag at his Taekwondo dojang. He let out a deep breath and looked over at his sister, her brow furrowed between sea-green eyes, identical to his. "Y'think this has anything t' do with m' sexuality?"

"No," Birgit shook her head, "he threw ya a party the day y' came out, remember?" She turned back to look at her father and said something to him in Swedish: "Daddy, you were the first one to accept him when he came out... What's the matter now?"

Alvin looked directly into Tino's eyes with a glare more piercing than Berwald's could ever be. "It was bad enough that my son became a model, now he's dating another man-whore like himself, and a Finn to boot!"

Tino didn't understand the words, but he knew Finsk. Finnish. His nationality uttered like a curse word. He shot out of his seat, eyes blazing. "Don't," he hissed in German, "make fun of my heritage."

Alvin let out a harsh laugh. "Fightin's primitive, but if y' want t' do it, then I won't say no."

"Alvin, yer bein' immature an' foolish! Sit down!" interjected Berwald's mother, standing up as well.

"Stay out o' this, Anna," warned Alvin, "not yer fight."

Berwald stood up and planted his feet behind Tino, realizing what his father had against his boyfriend. "Dad, mom's right. This is foolish. Tino never did anything to harm anyone. I don't know what you have against Finns, but whatever it is, Tino isn't like that!" He bent to apologize quickly and quietly to Tino, "'M so sorry, m' dad's old and I think maybe some Finn wronged 'im in th' past and–

His scrabble for forgiveness was cut off by Tino. "No, I'll fight." Tino grinned, "My Finnish pride is at stake here."

Alvin grinned back. "Let's go, then."

XxX

Berwald tried to get them to stop. He begged in both German and Swedish, to his father and to his boyfriend, to have them reconsider, to talk it out, anything that wouldn't put either of them in danger.

His father was a scary man, despite his short stature. He came up to about Tino's nose, yet he radiated incredible strength, just as Berwald did.

Tino didn't waver, though. Unfazed by Berwald's father, they stood in the back yard, facing each other, up to their shins in snow. A fierce grin played on his lips. Berwald moved forward to stop Tino, to stop his father, to interfere somehow, but both of them turned their glares to him and told him to butt out. Berwald's mother and sister had more luck, being able to latch themselves onto Alvin and plead with him to knock it off, tossing apologies to Tino as well.

Heedless of Anna, Berwald, and Birgit's cries to be mature adults and stop, Tino and Alvin didn't back down. They stared at each other through the snow for a long moment; white flakes dusting their sweaters and cold wetness creeping up the legs of their pants.

It was Alvin who made the first move. He dove towards Tino's legs. Tino sidestepped and Alvin landed in the snow. He got up, snarled, and hurled a fistful of powdery snow at Tino. It hit his back, covering his red sweater in white.

Tino knew he was in a tussle with his boyfriend's dad, someone he had initially wanted to make a good impression on. That desire had become void at the mention of his heritage, however. Tino was proud of his Finnish lineage and was ready to defend it, and not even Berwald would stop him.

He felt almost a kinship with Alvin that transcended race, though. There was something invigorating about the cold air, the feel of snow seeping through his shirt, and his freezing wet shoes. The fierce grin on Alvin's face said the same. Tino plowed through the snow, grabbed Alvin by the arms, and tossed him into a snowbank. Alvin recovered quickly and wrapped his arms around Tino's midsection, pulling him into the snowbank and pinning him down by his shoulders.

"Still feelin' brave, Finn?" he jeered.

Tino simply smiled back in response before pushing his legs and knocking Alvin off of him. "You've got it right, sir," he said as he stood up.

Alvin let out a loud, short laugh. "Such a respectful kid," he jibed before latching himself onto Tino's leg and knocking him over again. Tino's other leg swung up to hook around Alvin's back and drive his heel right between the older man's shoulder blades. Alvin cried out in pain before laughing again. "Good hit," he commended, reaching around to take control of Tino's other leg.

No longer able to move his legs, Tino thrashed about, trying to find a hold in the slippery snow. He was starting to get tired, and he could see the same tiredness on Mr. Oxenstierna's face as well. He was finally able to flip Mr. Oxenstierna over and shove a handful of snow in his face. Alvin sputtered and spit out a mouthful of snow. Tino glared at him fiercely, frozen fingers digging into Alvin's sweater. Neither of them moved for the longest time, their breath mingling in the chilled air, until Alvin did something most unexpected.

He gently pushed Tino off of him, sat up in the snow, and began to laugh, a warming rumble that shook Alvin's entire body. Tino felt his anger subside just from hearing it, yet he felt more confused than ever. One look at the rest of Berwald's family showed that they felt the same.

"Mr. Oxenstierna...?" he asked warily.

Alvin laughed and clapped Tino on the shoulder, pulling him close. "Fightin' yer boyfriend's father... All t' defend yer honor. Yer a real man," he chuckled.

Berwald stepped in. "But what 'bout Tino's job? 'N his heritage?"

"They mean nothin' t' me," Alvin frowned, "I want t' apologize to ya, Tino," He helped the boy up, "I never thought m' son would be datin' a guy, even after he came out." He took Berwald by the hand and added, "I'm sorry t' you too, Berwald. I got a little crazy back there, didn't I?"

The shame was so evident in his father's voice that Berwald clasped his dad's hand and accepted the apology without another word. "We all kinda freaked out back there," he murmured, "let's go back inside."

The family, plus Tino, returned to the warmth of Berwald's house and dusted off the snow as Anna prepared some hot cider, and they sat down in the living room together, the Christmas lights seeming warmer than before the fight.

Alvin took a long sip of cider before clapping Tino on the shoulder. "Y' fought well, Tino. Should think of joinin' Berwald's Taekwondo school."

"Thanks, Mr. Oxenstierna," Tino grinned, "you fought well back there too."

"Did I?" he exclaimed, a smile playing on his lips, "This kid knows his respect!"

Still trying to wrap his head around what was happening, Berwald asked weakly, "Ya don't have anythin' against Finns...?"

Berwald's father shrugged and took another sip of his drink. "Finns? Nahh. They're good people," he punched Tino in the shoulder, playfully, and Tino punched him back. "Jus' want t' make sure my son's datin' a real man. He sure as hell needs one!"

Berwald's jaw hung open. "Dad!" he whined as Alvin burst into belly-shaking laughter. Tino and Birgit let out similar guffaws, and even Anna cracked a smile for her silly husband.

"Merry Christmas," Alvin cheered.

"And to all a good night," Tino finished.

XxX

After a hearty Christmas dinner, it was time for Tino to face the darkening sky and drive to his own parents' house. He said his goodbyes to the Oxenstierna family, Berwald especially, and sped out onto the highway feeling much lighter than he had ever been before.

His parents noticed the change as well, commenting that he had become someone different from the prickly teenager who threw tantrums whenever he received a grade lower than an A minus. Tino bristled at this description, preferring to leave behind his awkward past, but was ecstatic to know he'd changed for the better. Over dinner, he decided to share the good news with his family:

"I've been asked to mentor a new model," he said, biting into a warm bun.

His mother raised an eyebrow. "Is this at that modeling job you've taken up?" Tino knew his mother didn't fully support his career choice, but she tried her best to remain open-minded and respect her son's decisions, for which Tino felt grateful.

"Yup. His name's Lukas Bondevik and he's kind of a prick–"

"It's not gentlemanly to call people pricks, I think we told you that already," Tino's father chided gently. Unlike his mother, Tino's father cared more whether Tino had grown up into a gentleman: polite, perfect, respectable, and kind. Tino grinned sheepishly; he wasn't quite there yet.

"Sorry, dad. Anyway, I'm taking the opportunity to mentor him," he finished excitedly.

This made both his parents smile. They had a mutual disrespect for wasted opportunities, something that had been passed down to Tino as well. Seeing the happy looks on his parents' faces made it all worthwhile. He was even beginning to get excited about this new task.

He would have to call Francis as soon as Christmas dinner was over.

AN: omfg I did it
I wrote the thing
Aughgh I'm sorry for the long wait, it's up now. The really funny part is that it's July and I'm writing about Christmas... Merry Christmas in July! :p