Who: Fleur and Flynn When: Feb. 7th Where: Ice rink What: A pre-Valentine's date Warnings/ratings: None
Looking into her rear view mirror, Fleur double checked her make-up before reaching for her bag. When you were part-veela in some other universe there really wasn’t much to double check, she was beautiful anyhow, it was more of the motion of it. It was soothing. Her blonde hair was neatly arranged in a crown of braids before cascading into a messy bun of sorts. So once she made sure she had her gloves and scarf, expertly coordinated by her own personal designer in Portia, Fleur made her way into the coffee shop and their designated meeting spot.
“You must be Flynn,” She said lightly walking up to the man who she had only spoken to on the internet. “Agréable de vous rencontrer,” she told him the phrase slipping out in her native tongue before she could even stop it. Some phrases just came quicker in French than they did in English. “Don’t laugh at me too ‘ard if I spend the entire day falling down,” Fleur told him with a laugh in her accented English.
Holy cow. As soon as Fleur came into sight, Flynn stood up a little straighter. He was wearing a nice-ish shirt, button down with no stains or holes over a long-sleeved, thermal shirt, and a pair of slacks. His shirt was even tucked in, with a belt around his waist. But he suddenly felt under dressed. Even for ice skating.
“I would never,” he said, slightly breathless. She was really, really beautiful. It took him a moment to gather himself up enough to respond to her laughy tone. “How about we grab a couple warm drinks and head over to the ice rink.
Fleur gave him a smile and nodded, "Sure." It sounded like a good plan to her. "Coffee sounds good right about now. With a shot of espresso." She felt like she could use a shot of caffeine. "I can't wait to go skating. I have never tried it believe it or not."
“If you lived locally your whole life I’d say I could believe it,” Flynn said. “There’s not a whole lot of ice in Southern California. But you’re obviously not from here,” he added, almost a question. As if he couldn’t tell from her accent.
“Come on.” He said, offering her his arm. If she took it, he’d lead her inside and let her order whatever coffee she wanted, then pay for both of their drinks.
Fleur took his offered arm and allowed him to lead her inside and pay for their drinks, appreciating the gesture. “You would really look at me strange if I told you I lived in Moscow for eighteen months and never tried it either.” There certainly wasn’t a shortage of ice there. “There was even plenty of ice in Paris, where I’m from, and London really… I just was never allowed. It is bad enough an injury at work could ruin my career let alone adding one from outside events.” And really when Fleur thought about it, her accident had almost done just that not even a ballet related injury. “So, how about you? Lived here your entire life or not?”
“Really?” Flynn asked, turning to look at her while they waited for their coffees to be made. “...that’s surprising. I mean, not that you lived in Russia, but…” He couldn’t imagine living around ice so much and not skating on it. But then again, he wasn’t a beautiful and talented young woman with delicate ankles. “Wow. Well, I’m glad that we’re trying it now. That you’re trying it now.” Flynn corrected himself. “I’ll be there to catch you if you fall.” He added, giving her a flirtatious grin.
“Yeah, born and raised here in the USA. Mostly California, though I traveled a bit through Oregon, Nevada… that sort of thing.” He added.
Fleur shrugged her shoulders, "Russians are very big on like fanatic training, there was never any time to do much else." She had found time to do a few things but not everything. "Good! Well, please don't let me fall anyhow," she told him giving him an easy smile.
"Sounds like fun though.... People should live in new places and get new experiences."”
Flynn stepped forward and picked up their coffees when they were finished, and turned around to hand one to her. “I’ll dive down under your backside if you do start falling. You can land on me.” He teased, passing the coffee over.
“Hence tonight. Giving you a new, ice-skating experience. C’mon, it’s not a long walk from here.” It was a nice night, and the street between the rink and the coffee shop was well lit.
Fleur raised an eyebrow and laughed slightly, “We’ll see about that.” She told him with a grin knowing there was probably more to that statement than intended but it was meant in good fun and she took it in stride. Besides Flynn didn’t seem like he was the perv type from her first impressions of him. “I am going to try not to fall to begin with.”
“Then perhaps sometimes I’ll return the favor. I do happen to know a lot of different type of people.” She told him as she followed his lead and followed him down the street.
It was a very good thing that Fleur didn’t think Flynn was pervy. Because he totally wasn’t. The comment about her falling on him wasn’t meant in a sexual way in the slightest. More like in a Disney Cartoon-y way. How the princess would fall and land on the prince, and they’d laugh and get married and live happily ever after. That kind of thing.
“Good. Falling is normally bad. But slipping on the ice? Pretty much inevitable. I’ll do my best to keep you upright.” He wanted to protect those ankles as best he could. And he raised an eyebrow. “Really now? Planning a second date already, are we?” He teased. They were making good time walking down the block on the sidewalk, and Flynn was grinning the whole way. “Well, that’s good for me, isn’t it?”
"And I'll do my best to remain upright. I have pretty good balance." Fleur didn't think it could be much harder than that . She wasn't aiming to do triple axels or anything. "I think you need to make it through the first before we think about a second one."
Flynn chuckled. “I think I can do that.” He said, and opened the door to the ice skating rink for her. It wasn’t all that chilly out, but inside it dropped several degrees. They were coming in through a side door, which led straight to a set of metal risers. The ice was shaped in a giant oval in the center of the arena, probably the size of a basketball court. Or larger. A typical ice rink size. On the metal bleachers were some skates, ready to go.
“I wasn’t sure what your size is. There are more options up in the front.” He thought if he guessed right, they could skip the sorting through hundreds of pairs of skates thing that always seemed to take forever. If not, at least she’d have a better idea how big the skates ran. Flynn moved over and shucked his own shoes, then pulled on the larger pair of skates and laced them up tight.
Fleur shrugged as she settled in reaching for a pair of skates that looked like they fit only to find they didn't. After trying a few she found a pair that felt comfortable and laced them up. They felt awkward on her feet but she knew she just had to get comfortable with them. Pointe shoes had also felt uncomfortable to her too at first.
"I am going to fall even before we get onto the ice," she hoped as she pulled herself up to her feet holding onto whatever she could to assist actually walking onto the ice.
Flynn held out an arm or two for her to latch onto. Walking on skates on the hard ground was a little more awkward than sliding on the slippery ice, but it wasn’t a long walk to the rink. The two of them made their way, and then he stepped onto the ice, and held his hands out to her. “You ready?” He asked, grinning brightly.
Fleur held into his arm lightly, using it to steady herself and keep from falling. "Ready as I will ever be," she told him with a nod and a smile as she stepped onto the ice and tested her feet on it. It didn't seem too bad.
It wasn’t too bad. Flynn turned a bit so he could skate backward, holding both of her hands in his. “Just go with the flow.” He said, gave her a wink, then started to move on the ice, dragging her along with him. The lights were low, and the radio was playing some Top 40 station in the background.