It was an ideal winter day in Northern Minnesota. The wind seemed to be humming from Mother Nature herself; it blew through the area lightly, like receiving butterfly kisses from a small child, and lightly dusted the frozen land with a smattering of glittering snow. A steep hill led down to the frozen lake, where it appeared the life cycle had literally frozen in time. The temperature was just severe enough to cause a passerby to bring their clenched fists to their lips and give thanks for the reminder that there were still alive and able to view the winter wonderland Mother Nature had prepared.
The serene atmosphere was suddenly pierced by a shrill scream. "Blaine!" Kurt hissed, clutching onto his boyfriends arm with a vice-like grip. "I'm not doing that!" Kurt watched in terror as the snow mobile swerved and zigged and zagged at dangerous speeds across the ice, all the while pulling a sled behind it. Two lunatics were clutching onto each other in the sled, barely hanging on.
"Oh, come on, Kurt, it's going to be alright! The lake is frozen at 2.5 feet deep- they checked it this morning! We won't go through."
"That's the lake?!" Kurt squealed, suddenly turning a lighter shade of porcelain. At Blaine's reassurance, he stopped in his tracks, refusing to continue to the path that led through the snow.
"Kurt, come on!" Blaine laughed, pulling him with him.
No budge.
"It'll be fun!"
Nothing.
"It'll be a new experience!"
Not even a flicker of recognition.
"You'll be with me!"
Kurt glanced over at Blaine's wide, puppy dog grin. He softened slightly but still didn't say anything.
Blaine let go of his arm and instead placed both hands on his shoulders. "What are you worried about?" It wasn't mean, it was curious. Blaine was genuinely concerned for him, and Kurt found it increasingly hard to be irritated at him when he used this tone of voice.
"It's stupid." Kurt mumbled, ducking his eyes to stare at his designer boots.
"No, it's not." Blaine assured him, lifting his chin with the index finger of his mittened hand. Blaine looked into his eyes and smiled patiently.
Kurt let out a deep sigh.
"Hey, I'm just pleased I got you into snow pants." Blaine teased, knowing how unhappy his boyfriend had been when he had learned he was going to have to sacrifice fashion for warmth. He was only too relieved when Kurt let out a huffed giggle.
"I've never done this before." Kurt said quietly. "And I'm nervous. What if I get hurt? What if we fall out of the sled? What if my hair gets messed up?"
Blaine bit up on his upper lip to keep from snorting. "Hey, there's a first time for everything." Blaine told him. He breathed slowly and squeezed Kurt's shoulders, watching as his breath floated in the cold like a tiny cloud. The two glanced towards the frozen lake and watched as a couple toppeled out of the sled and flopped and flipped and summersaulted across the snow-laidened ice. "As for crashing," Blaine commented. "I think that's inevitable. But you'll be fine- you have on a lot of extra padding. He reminded him, patting his layer of thermals and sweatshirts and faux furs and coats that Kurt had almost refused to wear ("What would Marc Jacobs say?!")
"And my hair?" Kurt asked in a small voice.
"Your hair will dry. Here-" Blaine pushed some of his auburn locks into his hat and under the band of his earmuffs. "There. Perfect." The two turned towar5ds the lake and watched as another sled went zooming across its glassy depths.
"I'm ready when you are." Kurt suddenly blurted out, squeezing onto Blaine's hand tightly.
Blaine turned to his boyfriend with an exuberant smile. "Really?!"
"Really. Now let's go before I change my mind."
The two made their way down the steep slope and towards the lake. Blaine turned to Kurt, who was staring straight ahead and hardly blinking or breathing.
"Who's next?" The snowmobile driver called out.
"We are!" Blaine called, grabbing Kurt's hand before he could turn around. He clambered into the sled and extended a hand towards Kurt. He grabbed it and situated into the sled and settled in between Blaine's legs.
"Here we go," Blaine whispered to Kurt as the snowmobile and eventually the sled began to move. He pressed a single kiss gingerly to the back of Kurt's neck.
Soon they were speeding across the lake. "Blaine, I can't breathe!" Kurt squealed as they picked up speed. Snow was spewing towards him and seeping into his eyes, his nose, and his mouth, not to mention his pores.
"Look down!" Blaine called out. He squeezed Kurt towards him as they approached the first turn. "Lean!" he commanded. Kurt let out a high pitched squeal of terror and delight.
"Oh my god Blaine Anderson!" He screamed. Blaine could only laugh as they successfully maneuvered another tight turn, spinning on the solid ice. The snowmobile picked up speed, intensifying the screams from Kurt.
"Here we go, Kurt!" Blaine called out. They were now going 40 mph and Blaine knew they weren't going to make this next turn. He squeezed Kurt to him tightly and clenched his eyes tightly closed, bracing himself for the crash, the impact, his impending doom, when- WHAM!
They hit the ice with a thud; Blaine's face scraped harshly against the frigid snow has he attempted to keep his grip firmly around Kurt. He had landed on his shoulder and he had had come crashing down on the solid surface, all the while snow biting into his skin with the idea of frostbite in mind. He reached down to release his grip on Kurt but- oh my God- he wasn't there.
"Kurt?!" Blaine cried out. He scrambled to his feet and found his boyfriend lying face first in the snow, as still and stiff as a board. "Oh God, Kurt?!" Kurt!" Blaine sprinted to him and fell to his knees, almost too worried to inspect the damage on his porcelain boyfriend. He prodded him gently and heard a whimpering noise. Blaine was joined by the snowmobile driver, and together they managed to flip Kurt onto his back. "Kurt?" Blaine gasped, openly crying as he leaned towards him. What had he done? He knew this was a terrible Idea. "Oh, God, Kurt, you were right, I'm so sorry, are you okay, I didn't mean-"
"Blaine, listen!" The driver told him suddenly. Blaine forced himself to settle his nerves, to physically shut up. And that's when he heard it. Kurt was laughing. His face was red with wet snow, his hat was askew, his ears were exposed, and his hair was an utter disaster. And yet he was laughing! Blaine didn't understand it.
"Kurt?" Blaine choked out.
"Oh my God, Blaine, that was the funnest thing I've ever done!" He exclaimed as he sat up and clutched Blaine close to him, still laughing. He didn't even hesitate when he exclaimed, "Let's do it again!"
"Are you sure?" Blaine asked, still shaken.
"Shut up and get in!" Kurt called with a malicious grin. "And this time, can we go faster?"