A/n:
First off, calm your tits I know the writing is choppy, the execution is cringe-worthy, and my editing sucks. Okay? I know. So don't you go writing some nasty review, I'm a sensitive person, I get sad easily. Constructive criticism is welcomed though.
This fanfiction takes place after season three.
Also, a thank you to BrightSideoftheMoon for the prompt!
His long ginger hair flowed freely, and his vibrant green eyes were focused. His body glided effortlessly yet precisely across the ice. The pale skin on his cheeks and nose were flushed a soft shade of pink, most likely a side effect of the cold air around him.
"Come on, Jack, get off the wall!" His laughing voice startling the other boy, causing him to trip up and nearly fall on his face. Luckily, however, he was caught before he did.
"But I'll fall!" Despite his protests, his right hand was gently pried away from the divider, and he was pulled further onto the ice by his arm, "Viince!" Jack whined. The redhead merely laughed, "Relax, look, let's hold hands, that way if you fall I'll fall too." The smaller boy couldn't help but laugh too, feeling his legs wobble slightly. "That doesn't help, you know!"
Vince grinned, gently squeezing his hand, "don't you sass me, mister!" Suddenly, another skater whizzed by, knocking Jack off balance. "Aah! Vince!"
The taller boy quickly grabbed his shoulders to steady him. "You okay?"
He nervously looked over at him. "Y-yeah..."
The redhead smirked. "Heh, well then, let's get goin'!" Jack yelped as he was pulled across the ice. "H-hey!" He squeaked. "You're fine," Vince retorted, releasing his hand so he could do a small circle around him, "I'm not gonna let you-" Just then the raven-haired boy's skate got caught in a groove. His blue eyes widened as he collided with the ice, butt first.
"Fall?" He finished, glaring up at the broad-shouldered ginger.
...
All around were small stands and stores, decked out in fairy lights and fake snow. Families, friends, and couples gathered together, talking and laughing as they walked along the road with dozens of shopping bags in their hands. Above the noises emitting from the crowd, you could just make out the faint sound of people singing sappy Christmas carols. Jack's blue-grey eyes darted around the market, a small grin forming on his lips.
He glanced over at his boyfriend. "Wow!" Jack exclaimed, "it almost makes going out here in the unbearable cold worth it!"
"'Almost'?" The redhead arched an eyebrow.
The raven-haired boy shrugged, trying to look innocent. "Yeah. But I bet another cup of coffee would-"
"Oh, no!" Vince cut in, "absolutely not! No more caffeine for you!"
The smaller boy let out a small huff, crossing his arms tightly over his chest. Figures Vince would drag him out of bed, outside, in the middle of the night, after only one cup of coffee and expect Jack to survive. Which was really quite impossible, after about ten o'clock his body felt like a sack of potatoes, and he almost always refused to go out.
But, of course, Vince had gone through a lot of trouble to get last-minute tickets to Japan, and there was only a few more days left until there flight, may as well enjoy them.
As the couple strolled down the road, Vince gave Jack's hand a small squeeze, which the boy returned. He could never stay mad for too long, it had always taken too much effort. Missing out on cuddles and make-out sessions just wasn't worth it. "I spoil you too much," Vince joked, ruffling Jack's raven locks.
The thin boy rolled his eyes, but smiled when a kiss was planted on his cheek. He was well aware people were staring, both disgusted and awed by the display, but he couldn't care less. It was Christmas; why ruin a perfectly good holiday because of a few offended homophobes? Jack leaned forward and gave the taller boy a small peck in return, softly whispering "I love you" into his ear before pulling away, a soft smile on his lips. Vince offered him a smirk.
Jack's blue eyes drifted back to the market. There weren't many Japanese people around, aside from the shop owners, he supposed they all knew about the crowd of crazy foreign tourists currently taking over Osaka. He was a bit surprised though, since it was Christmas Eve, but then again not everyone celebrated the holiday, and hey, some people just didn't get presents on time.
Presents. Biting his lip the raven-haired male looked back over to the redhead, who was taking a picture with his phone. He hadn't quite figured out a gift for him yet. He'd gotten one for his mother, his friends, and even Vince's family, yet he hadn't managed to get one for his boyfriend, the man who meant the world to him.
It wasn't that Vince was picky or anything, he was just... hard to shop for. Despite the fact they'd been dating for about three whole years, Vince always insisted that gifts weren't necessary, it annoyed the hell out of Jack. Vince never seemed to want anything.
"What's on your mind?" Vince's voice snapped Jack out of his thoughts.
"Hmm?" Jack tilted his head.
"You've got that far-away expression again."
Nervously, the smaller boy adjusted his woolen scarf. "Do I? Err sorry, I was just thinking- don't worry, it's nothing."
"If you say so," The redhead's brows scrunched together, and his thin lips twisted into a small frown, Jack recognized the expression as confusion, which he found to be adorable. "You know, I kind of expected there to be more food in a market overrun with people."
Jack smiled in amusement. "Hungry?"
A small grumble from the ginger's stomach confirmed it, causing both boys to laugh. "Don't worry, once we're done looking we can grab something to eat, if not here then maybe at a restaurant."
"Whoo!" Vince punched his first into the air, startling a few people.
Giggling, the dark-haired boy grabbed his arm in an attempt to restrain him. "Vince!"
"Ah, my bad."
A woman who'd been glaring at them rolled her eyes before leaning over to a rather buff man, whispering something into his ear, not letting her eyes leave them. Jack felt his cheeks heat up and he began to pick up his walking pace, dragging his boyfriend along. "L-let's move."
...
After a long while of walking, the two stumbled across a richer part of the market. It mostly had jewelry and fancy apparel, and the shops were large and the architecture was expensive. Most of the people around appeared to be important, they had that business sort of aura.
Vince was mesmerized by the clothing, and Jack found himself having to practically carry the redhead away each time his emerald eyes found something else. Figures everything he'd want would be way over Jack's price budget; typical LA boy.
Despite him getting distracted every three seconds, Jack could see a set expression in the redhead's eyes.
They passed a flower stand, and Vince abruptly stopped, nearly tripping Jack. "H-hey!" The smaller boy protested.
Ignoring him altogether, the redhead smiled at the owner."Kon'nichiwa!" He said, speaking to him in sloppy Japanese.
Rolling his eyes the raven-haired boy sighed. It had been lucky that Vince's stepmom was Asian so he'd been able to pick up some Japanese, otherwise things would have been a bit more awkward, not that it wasn't already; the citizens were nice but Jack could tell they weren't impressed with either of them.
"Here," Vince held out a single white rose to him.
Jack's blue eyes widened. "R-really?"
The ginger rolled his eyes, "Nah, just kidding, I bought this for myself." Without waiting for a retort, he gently lifted the smaller boy's head up and began to fidget around with his hair. "There we go." He removed his hands and grinned. "cute."
"I-it's probably going to fall out, you know."
Vince kissed his forehead. "No, it won't."
They continued to weave their way through the crowds, holding hands.
Jack recalled when they were sixteen, and Vince had challenged him to race. Both had wanted to impress Sierra, a popular girl in their school. After beating him twice, Vince had been a complete asshole. Jack had earned some respect from his classmates, but had never really cared much. He'd always been shy and reserved, and kept to himself for the most part, Sierra had been the only one that interested him.
Eventually after the excitement had died down Vince had started to leave him alone, though he did a number of times attempt to get between him and Sierra, and would occasional make a snide remark. Sierra, however, had never shown any interest in the redhead.
Just when Jack had started to get closer to her, Arcee had come to pick him up from work, and she'd mistaken her for a girlfriend, and after that had kept her distance.
Shortly after the 'Bots left, Jasper had started to get built up, and he and his mother moved back. Miko returned to Japan, and Raf and his family moved to another state due to his father's job. Jack hadn't talked to either of them since then.
At Jasper, in the new school, Vince and him had had a few awkward run-ins. This time though, things were a bit different. Due to Jasper being rebuilt, there were a lot of new and unfamiliar faces, it was strange for the both of them. So after making amends, they started to hang around each other more, and eventually became friends.
When prom had rolled around the corner, Vince asked Jack to come with him, not as a friend. After that, they'd slowly started to grow closer, until finally the two moved together to California.
"I want to look around in here," Vince brushed past him, over to a jewelry store.
When Jack realized the redhead had left him, he quickly stumbled after him, calling for his boyfriend to wait.
The door opened with a small ring, and Jack instantly glanced around for Vince.
"Over here." The raven-haired boy saw him looking down at a glass display.
He rushed over to the man, scowling. "Don't just leave me like that!"
Vince had the nerve to smirk, not taking his eyes from the display. "Sorry, sorry. Just got a bit distracted."
"I noticed," The smaller boy huffed, "what are you looking at anyway?" he had to stand on his toes in order to see over the other male's shoulder."Rings?"
A smile ghosted the ginger's features. "Yeah. I like these ones," he pointed to two golden rings.
"They're nice." Jack grudgingly agreed, "expensive as fuck too, I bet."
"Yeeeeah."
"Hello there, anything you're looking for in particular?"
A small Japanese man strolled over to them from behind the counter, smiling kindly.
Vince smiled back. "Hai!"
The two began chatting away, so Jack quickly flicked out his phone to avoid any kind of socializing.
He was aware of movement beside him, and glanced up to see what they were doing. The guy handed Vince a paper bag before the redhead tugged Jack by his arm. "Come on," He could hear barely suppressed excitement in the male's voice.
"Merry Christmas!" The shop owner called after them.
Once they'd stepped back out into the freezing December air, Jack glanced up at the redhead nervously. "What's with that look?"
Vince's smirk widened. "Don't worry about it,"
Jack's eyes looked over to the small bag dangling from Vince's fingertips. His heart skipped a beat. D-did he... get us m-matching rings!? His face heated up at the very idea. D-does he plan on p-proposing to me!?
Noticing his expression, Vince winked. "Let's get back to the hotel."
"O-okay." It felt like his heart would pound out of his chest. He did!
...
Letting out a nervous sigh Jack flung the door open. Vince trotted past him over to the bed, quickly taking a seat, Jack following him. Once the two were settled, Vince tossed the bag carelessly on the bed, the ring box spilling out. Vince grabbed it and flung the top open, removing the two rings.
He held out one to Jack. "Please hold this," the raven-haired male opened his hand, allowing the redhead to carefully drop the ring into his palm.
He reached for the smaller boy's left hand and slowly lifted it up.
His vibrant emerald eyes stared into Jack's misty blue irises. "I'd be lying if I said this wasn't just a spur of the moment; you know me, always plannin' at the last minute," he glanced down at the ring in his hand, "consider this a promise, alright? A promise that we'll stay together." He slid the ring onto Jack's finger.
Jack squeezed Vince's hand. "Yeah... alright." He slid the ring onto Vince's finger.
Jack shut his eyes, still tightly gripping the redhead's hand, knowing that every event leading up until the present moment had been worth it.
"You know, I'm still fucking hungry."
