Skating
234
And I really feel like skating.
This is the second of my holiday stories. More are planned… more need to be written ahaha. The mental image wouldn't leave me alone.
Also, if any of you readers ever get the urge to draw something related to the story you've read, by all means, go ahead! Just, show me afterwards.
Disclaimer: In three days, school will be done.
Skating
The winter season had finally settled itself upon the Northern part of the land and as the freezing temperature settled in, snow graced the ground and the lakes froze over.
Alfred F. Jones had grabbed at the occasion and had called his friend and former mentor, Arthur Kirkland, to ask him if he wanted to come for a visit and enjoy the winter sports together. At first, it had seemed as though the Briton was going to refuse, but Arthur quickly accepted the invitation for motives unknown and had taken the first plane out of his own land.
That was how, the day following Arthur's arrival, the older nation had suggested that they go to the local exterior skating rink to get some much needed fresh air and exercise. Alfred hadn't been able to find it in his heart to refuse when he had seen his friend's face light up with a bright smile.
However, the problem was that America, or more like Alfred, did not know how to skate.
When they got to the rink, they both rented some skates and tied them on. Arthur was chatting happily and Alfred was merely nodding every now and again. Once they had their skates on, Arthur headed out thinking that Alfred was right behind him and only realized that he wasn't when he was a small distance away.
He skated back to the start of the rink with a quizzical look on his face. There was Alfred, looking at the skates with a forlorn expression as if the greatest tragedy had just happened.
"What's wrong, Alfred?"
"Well…Idon'tknowhowtoskate." He mumbled. England had to strain his ears in order to catch what had been said, but despite his excellent hearing, the words were still lost on him.
"Sorry, what was that?"
"I said, I-DON'T-KNOW-HOW-TO-SKATE." There was a short moment of silence between the two. Alfred looked at the older man with a sort of embarrassed look before starring at his feet as if they were quite interesting. England didn't know what to think of this. Surely, America the great knew how to skate.
"Come now, America, surely you jest." He said quite bewildered.
"I'm not 'jesting'. I don't know how. No one ever bothered to teach me." The younger of the two said, his gaze still reverted to his feet.
"I find that hard to believe. You're always boasting about your athletic skills and you expect me to believe that you, the almighty America, does not know how to skate?" Alfred looked up at Arthur and the older nation knew that this was no joke. America truly did not know how to skate.
"Well, in that case, we'll just have to fix that, won't we?" England took the other's arm and placed the taller country's hand on his own upper arm before walking towards the ice, but America was still hesitant.
"What is it now?" The Englishman said as he tried to contain his patience.
"I'm scared of falling." He whispered. England tried hard not to roll his eyes.
"Don't worry about that. You just hold on to my arm as tightly as you wish, put one foot in front of the other and leave the rest to me. I won't let you fall, I promise." He patted the taller man on the back in an encouraging way and took a step towards the rink once more. This time, America shuffled closely behind.
~-
The first hour or so had been spent mostly walking for Alfred. At least, that's what Arthur had called it. For America, it had felt more like tight rope walking. He had put one food in front of the other while England skated smoothly and effortlessly next to him. America silently envied him. Every now and then, Alfred would take a rest on the side and he would watch as Arthur skated beautifully across the rink. It was truly a sight to see. It seemed as though the older nation was gliding across the ice.
~-
Eventually, America got good enough that England could skate ahead of him and have the taller man skate to him. It looked as though Alfred was learning how to walk and Arthur was the parent who had his arms outstretched in front of him, ready to catch him if he were to fall. Somehow, neither of them cared how strange the scene could seem at the moment.
When they got to a curve, England didn't see the crack in the ice and managed to avoid it by skating passed it. However, the same could not be said of Alfred whose skate got stuck in it. He tried to regain his balance by flapping his arms like a bird, but it only made him teeter-totter some more until he slid backwards with his other skate and fell face first into a snow bank.
Arthur had skated back to his friend, but by the time he got to Alfred, he had already fallen. The younger country pulled his face out of the snow and the sight caused England to laugh. There was snow all over the American's face and his glasses were lopsided. Arthur clutched at his stomach as he laughed some more which only made Alfred upset.
"It's not funny! Quit laughing and help me up." Arthur got closer to him and gave him a hand, but because America did not know how to get up and because England was still laughing hysterically, Alfred ended up pulling Arthur next to him.
Arthur fell on his backside and he was about to let out a stream of curses at the younger, foolish man, but when he saw America's face crack up with a smile, he found it to be contagious and soon, the two of them were laughing together.
Eventually, they managed to regain their composure. Arthur finally helped Alfred up to his feet and showed him the correct way of getting up in the process. America no longer needed to clutch England's arm like a lifeline so he simply linked his own arm with his friend's. They skated like this for the remainder of the time, neither feeling uncomfortable with the other and simply enjoying this time together.
When the sun went down and the stars came out, they both felt that it was high time to go back home. Not only that, but it was getting colder and America had started complaining that his feet were killing him. They brought back their skates and changed back into their boots. Arthur drove them back to Alfred's place since it looked as though the latter one was about to fall asleep at any moment.
Once they were back, Alfred made them both hot cocoa while Arthur started a fire in the hearth. By the time he was done, America was waiting for him with their drinks on the couch. England sat down near the edge of the couch and for some unknown reason, America leaned against him. Arthur could feel his cheeks heat up from the close contact, but said nothing. This did feel rather nice and it was a pleasant change from the bickering they were known to do. They drank in companionable silence for a while before America finally spoke.
"Thanks for teaching me how to skate. It really means a lot to me." England composed himself before giving an answer. It was so unlike the American to be so civil.
"It was my pleasure, Alfred."
"We should do this more often. I'm really glad you're here for a few more day." The younger man said as he put his mug down seeing as he was done with it. He then snuggled closer to Arthur and wrapped his arms around the older nation's chest. England didn't know what to do and simply turned a darker shade of red.
"You're right, we should." Arthur said after a moment. He was about to ask America to get off of him since this was rather awkward, but he then noticed that his former colony was fast asleep. England removed the glasses that Alfred always wore and put them on the table before combing his fingers through America's sandy blonde hair.
He watched him sleep for a moment longer before a small smile tugged at his lips. He then propped his legs onto the small pouf that was in front of him and linked one of his hands with Alfred's hand that had been on his chest. Arthur looked at the sleeping man once more before closing his eyes and joining him in sleep.
OWARI
I could just see America not being able to skate and England being all graceful and stuff. Eh, don't ask. Please review though, those always make me happy.
Started writing: November 30th 2009, 10:42pm
Finished writing: December 1st 2009, 12:43pm
Started typing: December 5th 2009, 10:16pm
Finished typing: December 5th 2009, 11:21pm