Inspired by a piece of fanart linked in my crosspost on Tumblr!


"I'm so excited!" Blaine said, swinging his and Kurt's joined hands higher than strictly necessary as they walked up the stairs of the subway station. "I can't believe the skating rink at the Rockefeller Center is still open even though we're already into March."

"It's been cold enough," Kurt observed, smiling at his husband. "So at least the ice won't end up melting beneath us, which is possibly the only thing I won't have to worry about while skating."

"Hey, I won't let you fall," Blaine said with a squeeze of Kurt's hand. "And I've seen you skate before, I know you can do it."

"When we went skating that Christmas, I'd just gone with Rachel and What's-his-face a couple weeks before - I still remembered how to balance. I haven't been skating since then, so I'm probably about to faceplant into the ice in front of a bunch of tourists."

"Again, not gonna let that happen." Blaine laughed softly. "At least we're not Beyonce-famous? Any falls you suffer probably won't be commemorated on social media for the rest of time."

"You always see the bright side," Kurt said, a smile pulling up one side of his mouth. "Alright, you go get us some skates while I see if there's an open locker. I'm not leaving my shoes out in the open where God only knows what could happen to them."

"I wouldn't expect you to," Blaine teased, pecking Kurt on the cheek before wandering over to the rental station.

Kurt smiled after his husband for a moment before heading off the other direction. Thankfully, a family was clearing their items out of their locker as Kurt headed over, so he just waited for them to clear out before sticking his shoes in the small space to reserve it.

Blaine reappeared soon afterward, brandishing two pairs of skates with a flourish.

"What a gentleman," Kurt said, accepting his pair with a playfully dainty gesture. "I knew I kept you around for a reason."

"I live to serve," Blaine said. He sat down on the bench in front of the lockers and started tying on his skates, Kurt doing the same next to him. Once they both had their skates on, Blaine stood up and turned to Kurt. "Shall we?"

"We shall," Kurt replied, taking Blaine's extended hand to hoist himself up. They walked awkwardly on their skates over to the ice, where Kurt entered first and immediately grabbed onto the side of the rink.

"I'm almost jealous of how tightly you're gripping that wall," Blaine said, wobbling slightly as he adjusted to the new surface.

"Believe me, you'd break something if I held you the same way I've got this wall," Kurt said, scooting along the rink in awkward, staccato motions. "If you want to do a lap or two, don't let me stop you. You look like you've already got your ice legs."

Blaine snorted softly. "That's a new term for me. Let me do a quick lap just to make sure I've got my balance, then I'll come back and help you. I came here to spend time with you, not make myself dizzy skating in circles while you try to meld with the sides of the rink."

"Oh, but I'd already picked out an ad for them to paint on my side once I become one with the rink," Kurt teased. "Go! Do a little skating where you're not in danger from me and my ineptitude."

"Try not to leave an imprint of your hands in the walls while I'm gone - we're not rich enough to afford the damages yet!" Blaine said, smiling at Kurt before zooming off.

Kurt slowly made his way along the side of the rink, completing about half a lap while Blaine did two. He could feel himself gaining a little more stability as he moved, but he still hadn't moved his hands off the wall by the time Blaine got back.

"You want me to try to help you out?" Blaine asked, resting a hand on Kurt's elbow.

"As long as you're willingly accepting the risks," Kurt said with a smirk. He shuffled around so his butt was against the wall instead of his hands, giving Blaine an opportunity to grab onto him. "You're gonna skate backwards?"

"I don't think I can do it for hours or anything, but I can get us started this way," Blaine said, pushing off slowly and craning his neck around to make sure their path was clear. They skated along for a moment before Blaine said, "See? Easy as-"

Kurt wobbled so violently that it almost took them both to the ground.

"Or not," Blaine finished wryly. "Maybe this is the wrong approach. Hang on."

"Wait, where are you-" Kurt flailed a little again as Blaine let go of him.

"Let's try this," Blaine said, wrapping his hands around Kurt's waist from behind. "Maybe bracing you will help more."

"Makes sense to me," Kurt said, placing his hands over Blaine's on his waist. "Let's give it another try."

They pushed off together, luckily not clashing skates, and continued off around the ice. Kurt tried to wobble a couple more times, but Blaine's hands tightened on his waist whenever he got too off-balance, keeping both of them upright and moving for a few laps.

"This is fun!" Kurt said, turning his head back as much as he could to face Blaine without falling.

"Glad to hear it," Blaine said with a smile. "Mind if we put it on pause for a minute, though? I really need to find a restroom."

"Please do," Kurt said. "Skate me over to the wall first?"

"Absolutely."

Once Kurt was safely braced against the wall, Blaine zipped away toward the entrance. Kurt kept skating on his own, taking his hands off the wall for brief stretches when he felt comfortable, but mostly keeping close to his support. He didn't want Blaine to come back unexpectedly and get any funny ideas, after all.

Kurt was on the opposite side of the rink from Blaine when he returned to the ice. He stopped to wait for Blaine to skate back over, but as Blaine headed back, he skidded over a rough patch on the ice and went sprawling to the ground hard.

Kurt flew over the ice, coming to a controlled stop next to Blaine before crouching down near his head. "Are you okay?!"

"Oof. Yes, I just got the wind knocked out of me," Blaine said, rolling onto his back and sitting up slowly. "I may be hallucinating though - I could've sworn you just skated over here as if you were an Olympic champion skater."

"Well…," Kurt said hesitantly, biting his lip. "I may have played up how bad I am at skating a little?"

"A little? Babe, you just broke a speed skating record to get over here."

"I wouldn't have had your arms wrapped around my waist all afternoon if you'd known I was good at skating, though," Kurt said.

"You could've just asked," Blaine said, rolling his eyes fondly.

"Where's the fun in that?"

"Point taken," Blaine said, pushing himself back up to standing. "So do you want to actually skate together now, or would you like to go back to pretending you can't skate in order to con me into cuddling you?

"Can we do a little of both?" Kurt asked, standing up as well.

"I was hoping you'd say that."