WHO: Serefin & Jacob WHAT: Ice skating date between a hockey player & a poor schmuck who's been on the ice exactly once WHEN: December 24th WARNINGS: None STATUS: Complete
Jacob could admit, winters at home in England hadn't been quite this picturesque. Too much sleet and mud and horseshit for that. The outdoor ice rink was smaller than Faber but it made up for it in charm. There were twinkling lights and wintery foliage hanging from the lamps and wooden structures around the pond. Music tinkled from hidden speakers. Some of it was Christmas themed which suggested the creators weren't against Outlanders or against catering to them. Not that Jacob needed much of any of that to enjoy a date with Serefin. The pond could've been one out in the forest, with creepy fae sorts lurking in the trees, and he'd still have had a good time.
He was especially enjoying Serefin's continued lack of skating skills. Admittedly, the poor sod had only been on the ice once before and it had been such a sorry attempt that he'd avoided any further tries since. But Jacob was a charming pain in the arse when he wanted to be. And he didn't mind being the capable one for a change.
"It's a good thing I'm not easily breakable," he said fondly, coiling a gentle hand around Serefin's where it was gripped tight to his wrist. "Easy does it, now. I've got you."
There were plenty of things that Serefin was good at. Hand-to-hand combat had become one of those things. Using the telephone to order food when he became too intimidated by the stove was another. Horseback riding! There had been no need to ride horses in Vallo—magical teleportation and cars were standard practice—but he was reasonably decent at equestrian transportation.
Ice skating proved that none of that mattered since he was gripping so tightly to Jacob, the sheer ridiculousness of the situation would surely overwhelm him. He was sinking slowly as they moved further out onto the ice; the closer to the ground the easier the inevitable fall would be.
"I do not doubt you having me," Serefin said, looking up at Jacob who was getting progressively taller than him. "I am just concerned that the ice will take me first. I have watched enough of your games to know that it will hurt. I'm bracing myself." Serefin didn't sound put out, in fact he kept going forward, one shaky inch at a time.
"You are aware I will be taking you down with me. It is only a matter of time."
A better man might not have laughed at his lover sliding lower and lower as they moved at a snail's pace, but Jacob was willing to lose a few points in that department. At least he coupled the mirthful sound with an arm slung around Serefin's waist to steady him upright. His feet moved with ease on the ice now, thanks to regular hockey playing. But going this slow was almost like fighting gravity.
"You're comparing apples to oranges, love. When I hit the ice in a game, it's usually because a large person smashed into me first. I promise I'll fend off anyone who tries to take you off your feet here," he teased. His smile was full of affection. "I do like that you think threats are the way to thank me for this utterly charming date, though! Stop looking at the ice and look around." To punctuate his point, a speaker started playing a smooth Christmas song, something about chestnuts on a fire, and a besotted couple skated past them with eyes more on each other than their surroundings.
"Quick before you miss these two fools about to crash into a wall," Jacob grinned.
"Is it not working? The threats?" Serefin asked, grinning right back, momentarily punctuated by a burst of surprise when he slid a little precariously off balance. He quickly course-corrected, using Jacob more like a study wall than another person who could go tumbling down too. "I could try something else, but that might be too much multitasking for my tastes."
But Serefin was determined, bolstered by Jacob's hand around his waist and his attempts to get him to not focus so much on his inability to glide across the ice. The music and the atmosphere helped. "We might be those fools next," Serefin said. He liked the thought of being as ridiculously charmed with each other in a wintery and romantic location, and he attempted a hard step with skate.
The resulting maneuver was something that could only happen if he was a professional or by unfortunate accident. And since Serefin was not the former, he grasped one hand on Jacob's arm, and the other at the lapel of his coat. Backwards, he was somehow sliding smoothly backwards, his backside jutting out and clinging precariously to Jacob. Serefin, though, was laughing. "We are next."
Jacob almost got a little distracted waiting for someone else's embarrassment to realize Serefin was determined to be first. He managed to get a good grip on both of Serefin's arms as his back end inched ahead of them both. Laughing didn't help their balance any but Jacob was only human and Serefin's laugh shot straight to his heart.
"If you take out a child with that arse of yours, I will never let you live it down. Fair warning." His teasing voice was tender, but there was no question he was telling the truth. He reached out to pull Serefin in towards him, spreading his own skates wider to keep them both stable and trying to straight out his boyfriend's overcorrected posture. The idea was to keep them moving, slowly forward, like the world's most awkward dance. But he aimed them for the wall, a less crowded place for Serefin to turn and face front again. "Hang on!" he jokingly cried out, close to Serefin's cheek. "I've spotted safe haven!"
"Blood and bone, I might take out more than a child at this pace," Serefin said, letting Jacob move him into a better, and admittedly less strained, position as they glided slowly across the ice. If Serefin hadn't been so earnestly messy in his attempts to skate, someone might have thought he set it up so that Jacob could be pressed close against him with his hands everywhere. And also so that Jacob could be the one doing most of the work. However, Serefin was not that skilled to pull off something so equally clever and lazy at the same time.
But he certainly wasn't going to complain at Jacob's warm voice against his face, a respite from the bitter cold. Serefin was torn between wanting to lean inappropriately into Jacob and not be squished against the rink barrier. Better judgment made him reach out to catch himself on the wall with a gentle oof. This was going better than he had imagined when they first agreed to come here for a date.
Feeling much more stable, Serefin took a deep breath and spun with surprising deftness so that he was leaning on his elbows against the top of the wall with casual ease. "See? That was not so terrible. I might master this before the night is over," Serefin said. "I cannot be good at everything, you know. I imagine you would grow terribly bored."
Jacob could have easily slid in against the boards with a spray of ice from his skates if he were moving alone, but with Serefin close and other skaters to avoid, it was all a bit more awkward than that. Delightful though, watching Serefin catch himself and pose. Jacob caged him against the wall with an arm on either side of him and imagined his own face was veering towards obnoxiously enamored.
"You couldn't be boring if you tried. But I admit, I don't mind being a little more skilled at this one thing. I think I've earned it," he hummed, reaching up to scratch at his beard. "With all the falling on my arse I did the first month. Tripped over my own feet more times than I can count." Smiling, he dipped forward to kiss Serefin gently on the mouth. It felt like a reminder to himself, that he had this, that he could do this, here in the open. Be in love. "I do think you'll get it eventually though. You're stubborn when you feel like being stubborn."
"You are skilled at more than one thing, towy nóżczko. Some are more inappropriate to mention here than others," Serefin said, tipping his face up, as if the kiss was expected, instinctual. It was only because of Jacob that Serefin thought that was even possible and didn't shy away from the affection. And being trapped between Jacob's arms on the ice made his stomach do somersaults in a pleasant way. The cold didn't remind him of Tranavia as much anymore; the warmth from Jacob reminded him of better things.
"When I feel like being stubborn. Is that not all the time? Or perhaps not always, simply on the things that are important. Fighting is important, climbing fences, using chopsticks properly so that I can steal wontons from your container faster," Serefin said, smiling softly. "I am stubbornly in love with you too, but you already knew that. I would not allow just anyone to convince me to strap blades to my feet for entertainment."
He glanced away demurely, over Jacob's shoulder, then to his chest as he smoothed down the front of the coat he had so aggressively clung to. "And who knows? I might need to chase people on ice who are threatening you, and I'll be useless if I can't stay upright."
One would think Jacob Frye would be experienced enough at this point to not blush at innuendo but one would be wrong. He ignored the heat creeping up his neck and captured Serefin's hands between their chests, pressing them over his own heart. It was admittedly colder than he generally preferred out here on the ice but he had more experience with that now. Enough to know that staying on the move helped.
"I suppose I'm spoiled now. Or horribly biased. If you're stubborn with me, I enjoy it too much to notice it's aimed in my direction." A part of him very much enjoyed the thought of Serefin chasing someone down to protect him. Most of him really. He only had so much pride and usually he reserved it for being a shit to Evie. "If you want to chase someone threatening me on the ice, we'll need to get you some pads and a uniform too." Oh, bollocks, that idea pleased him too. And if they didn't get moving soon, it was going to be obvious in the lack of space between their bodies.
"How about I be the one who goes backward, yeah?" Jacob slowly slid backward, taking Serefin's hands with him.
Serefin didn't look apologetic for his obvious intentions to keep Jacob pressed against him, and perhaps get a little handsy where others could see. It wasn't that Serefin was any sort of exhibitionist, only that public displays of his affection for Jacob were consistently on the mind. And he was excessively charmed by the blush he could get on Jacob's cheeks.
"Is the uniform necessary? I could just put on the gear, in an attempt to look menacing. People feared me, you know. Just my sheer presence in an area caused them to run to the mountains. Perhaps I can get there again, but on the ice. Do you think—Jacob." Serefin's attention dropped to their clasped hands, and how unobservant he had been. Here was his boyfriend warming his palms as a distraction while taking him back out onto the ice.
He didn't move his feet, just planted them shoulder width apart and let Jacob pull him. "It is too late to say no, I suppose." Not that he would have, and he took an experimental skate forward, then another. Much better than he had been doing minutes ago. "Next year, we need to learn to do something together that neither of us are good at."
"The uniform is not a requirement, but you could wear mine sometime." Jacob made no attempt to hide the interest in his voice. He was too busy slowly moving them along and peeking over his own shoulder for the subtleties of intrigue. Not that Serefin would believe it of him anyway.
He smiled, helplessly, at Serefin locking his legs like a baby deer sliding across a frozen pond. His hands moved to gentle correct his posture as he gamely tried to distract him with words. "We don't have to wait for next year to learn something together, you know." Saying the words next year without any hesitation sent a fun little zing up his spine. Who'd have thought? Jacob Frye, comfortably planning for the future.
A child went screaming by so he leaned in. "I don't know if you've noticed," he added in a conspiratorial whisper, "but I am rather easy where you're concerned."
It truly was a testament to his stubbornness that Serefin didn't promptly sit down on the ice and call it quits. He continued to be pulled along, with one steady step after another. He didn't think he could let go of Jacob any time soon, but progress.
"I've noticed," Serefin answered, turning his head just slightly so he could press his cheek against Jacob's, and catch his eye out of the corner of his. "I do believe the sentiment is mutually exclusive. If you'd like, why wait to wear the uniform too? I could wear it this evening, if you're so inclined."
Serefin leaned away with a knowing smirk, the heated moment gone. Where was the fun if he did not tease Jacob a little with a promise he couldn't exactly fulfill at this moment, in the middle of the ice? It was something to look forward to, another year's worth of things to look forward to with the person he loved the most.
"I was thinking we could take a cooking class," Serefin continued conversationally, in a way that was difficult to tell if he was joking. "Or perhaps learn to do that thing with clay and the wheel? Have you ever done blacksmithing? Diego may have a hundred knives, but he doesn't have a hundred unique knives made by hand."
Jacob's balance was a little shaky for a moment, with the promise of seeing Serefin in his uniform potentially within hours, but luckily he didn't dump them both on the ice. He did nearly run into a kid as Serefin pulled away.
"Bollocks, sorry," Jacob said over his shoulder. Course-correcting, he kept their speed sedate because Serefin was still talking and it was likely to erode his concentration again in no time. "Unique knives sounds like a fancy way of saying ugly homemade shivs. Though I suppose he might appreciate the gesture more than the small fire the pair of us doing any real cooking would likely cause."
He answered seriously, even if his eyebrows suggested he wasn't buying any of the options on hand. They were very fond of their takeaway, after all. And not particularly artistic. That didn't stop him from adding to the joke. "Are you going to add a painting class to the list? One of the ones with the nude people?"
"Are you trying to say you would not accept my ugly homemade shivs? I suppose there is still time to return your gift for the holidays then," Serefin teased, as he continued to skate while ignoring the obstacles Jacob was clearly dodging on his behalf. He still clung tightly, but looked less likely to tumble. There was a difference between having fun with Jacob on the ice and being an embarrassment, and perhaps that was why his stubbornness persevered. He did not want to be the latter.
He was focused though now on his feet, willing them to keep up this progressive pace. "Will you be the model? Or am I the model in this scenario?" Serefin hummed thoughtfully, contemplating the thought of a painting class. Or any of their classes really. It had been a joke, but now that it was starting to form into a possibility, Serefin grinned, a slow dawning thing. His whole face hurt with his smiling, and it felt good. He tried to dig up a moment in Tranavia that came remotely close to this, and he came up short.
"You know we do not need to take a class for that. You can pose for me back at the train and I can practice that way." Feeling bold, Serefin let go of Jacob, gliding briefly apart before he skated back to close the gap again.
"I would happily accept anything you made, but still test them before taking them into the field. I'm in love with you, not an idiot." Laughing, Jacob only managed to not blush about the nude model suggestion because it was so ridiculous. And also because he had to direct them around an even slower old couple.
"I think a proper class would have a model in place. But I like this other idea better." He lifted their arms as Serefin drifted away and then helped pull him back in close. Seeing as he was a hockey player and not a figure skater, though, there was a misjudgment in strength and he had to wrap his around Serefin to keep them both steady as they slid blindly across the ice. "You've distracted me thoroughly now, well done. Think you can put a pin in that until we go around a few more times?" He leaned in and pressed a kiss along Serefin's jaw. "We can take turns modeling."
Serefin wrapped his arms around Jacob in return, somehow smug that he had managed to distract Jacob just as much as staying upright had distracted him. "It is my specialty, you should know this by now," Serefin said, turning his face up to steal a kiss from Jacob. Nothing sneaky, or quick, or half-hidden, it was unnecessary. He got a little thrill every time he could kiss Jacob, unabashedly, without concern of who might watch.
"But I suppose I can go around a few more times, as long as you don't let go." Serefin said, tangling his fingers tighter into Jacob's coat. "Not because I don't believe I could do this on my own accord, but it's very difficult to whisper the positions I plan to model in if you are a few feet away."
And just like that, Serefin pushed off hard on his skate, misjudged his step, and very nearly took them both down onto the ice.