just a bit of established relationship fluff for cooltennant on tumblr

"I can't believe I let you talk me into ice skating," John said, eyeing the ice rink warily as he laced up his skates.

"It'll be fun!" Rose insisted. "I still can't believe you've never been before."

"Why would I want to attempt to balance on knife blades while gliding across ice? How is this supposed to be fun? I normally try to avoid ice!" He protested.

"You're being a spoilsport and we haven't even started yet."

"You know, you're lucky I love you otherwise there is no way I would be here," John said, jabbing his elbow into her side.

Rose laughed. "You made me sit through that lecture on astrophysics last week on our date night, this is more than fair play."

"Yes, but I made up for that thoroughly when we got home," John leaned in close to her ear. "Or have you forgotten how I once again proved that my tongue was as talented as I claim."

Rose turned bright red then pushed him lightly. "You're trying to get me to get me to go home and go back to bed but it's not going to work."

John gave her his best puppy dog eyes but she remained unmoved. "We're going ice skating. Already paid for the skate rentals so you're not getting out of it."

"But the bed is warm and clothing optional. The ice is cold and you're so bundled up that I can barely get to you," John whined. He illustrated his point by trying to sneak his hand under her coat only to find a jumper underneath.

Rose just smirked and pulled his hand out of her coat. "You wouldn't let me touch you during the lecture, this is mild torture in comparison." She laced her fingers through his and pulled him to his feet as she stood up. He wobbled precariously on the blades of his skates. "Come on, let's go," she urged.

"I don't see how you're balancing on these things," he commented as they slowly made their way to the ice rink. "I'm barely staying upright and I don't think putting me on ice is going to help. Are you sure we can't just go home? I can think of lots of ways to spend our time."

"Oh my god, we're going skating John, not to a pear tasting or something awful," Rose said, exasperated.

His face screwed up in disgust. "Do pear tastings even exist? That's a horrible thing to put people through and whoever runs them should be stopped."

Rose rolled her eyes. "Not the point."

They'd reached the entrance to the ice and Rose gave him a brilliant smile before dropping his hand and stepping out onto the ice.

"Rose, where are you going? Don't leave me here," John called, leaning out over the ice without stepping onto it himself as Rose started gliding away.

She turned around and shot him another smile. "Gonna have to get on the ice and catch me, then, aren't you?"

He waited until she made a complete circuit of the rink and was approaching the door again before taking his first step onto the ice. He almost fell and clutched the handrail for dear life.

Rose gracefully came to a stop in front of him. "You're going to have to let go of the rail eventually."

"Well, yes, but not until I figure out how to move without falling over," he retorted.

"It's a gliding motion, don't pick your feet up too much."

He made a few tentative movements that propelled him forward and Rose cheered. He glared at her.

"I'll be back in a minute, don't fall while I'm gone," she said with a wink.

John watched her skate off and had to admit that at least if she was going to leave him in the dust on this outing, she had worn tight jeans and he was getting a great view. He took a few more baby steps and tried to mimic the smooth motions of the other skaters around him.

By the time Rose made it back around, he was confident enough to exchange his hold on the rail for a hold on her hand. Slowly, they started around the rink.

By their second circuit, they were both laughing and John was starting to think that maybe ice skating had been a good idea after all. Of course, that was when Rose shot him a wicked smirk and let go of his hand, leaving him to face the ice on his own.

Rose's laughter told him he looked about as panicked as he felt.

He made it about five steps before he slipped and fell on his bum, windmilling his arms as he fell. Rose immediately was there to help him up, still laughing as she did.

"I told you skating was a bad plan," John huffed, trying to brush the moisture from the ice off his bum.

"Admit it, you're having fun," Rose answered. She rested her head on his shoulder and looked up at him with her tongue caught betwixt her teeth.

"A little bit."

She navigated to the edge of the rink and pulled him down for a kiss and John decided that skating was much better than the astrophysics lecture after all.

(He fell a few more times but Rose gave him a kiss every time she helped him up so he wasn't complaining.)

(She also made a compelling point when they got home that their bed felt even warmer when they'd spent the afternoon being cold and, really, they should spend the whole evening wrapped around each other warming back up.)