A/N: A little Raura birthday one shot, just because I was inspired by pictures from last week's taping, and also because my babies are turning 18!
Disclaimer: I do not own anything, not the show, not the characters, not the songs. I am not affiliated with nor have I ever met anyone depicted in this fictional story. Song credits to Walk the Moon, Mickey and Sylvia, Eric Carmen, Bill Medley and Jennifer Warnes, and Patrick Swayze. I certainly do not own Dirty Dancing, Sixteen Candles, anything Disney related, or Blades of Glory.
Rating: M for language and themes
the time of my life
"That was pretty awesome," Raini murmured as they walked off set, finishing another live taping. She scrolled through something on her phone almost walking right into Calum, who abruptly stopped in front of her.
"Ha, this is why you shouldn't text and drive, Raini. It can wait," Calum deadpanned.
"Stop replying to my texts then," she returned, looking up at him with a smile.
"Ha," he chuckled. "Hey, those little girls were all over you tonight, Ross. You still got it, dude."
"Aww, those little girls were soooo cute. Their eyes were all lit up and the one like couldn't keep her hands off you," Laura squealed, playfully pawing at his arms and chest.
"They were like 12! Sick, dude," Ross shook his head. "And I wouldn't talk. You couldn't keep your hands off me. Still can't apparently," he noted smugly.
She gave him a look. "What? Guys, Ross is being delusional again…"
"You just sounded like Candace from Phineas and Ferb," Calum joked. "M-Om, Ross is being delusional again…"
"I'm not delusional, you totally were like rubbing your hands all over me out there," he quipped, getting in her face.
She moved her face closer to his. "Your hands were sweaty. Of course, I'm going to rub your nasty sweat off my hands," she replied matter-of-factly.
"Ew," Raini responded. "Gross."
"That wasn't sweat!" Ross insisted. "That was hand sanitizer. Excuse me for trying to prevent illness."
Laura rolled her eyes. "Oh whatever, Mr. Sweaty Palms. That was your normal hyperhidrosis."
A voice stopped the two from their bickering. "Hate to interrupt the love fest, but…"
"Vanessa!" Laura shouted, giving her big sister a hug, practically knocking her over.
"Hey Vanessa," Ross winked as he pulled the both of them in.
Laura gave him a look. "Ross, don't." He rolled his eyes at her.
"What are you doing here?" Calum asked, giving the elder Marano a side hug.
"Oh, just here to pick up Laura's car."
Laura looked at her, confused. "My car? Why? Is something wrong with it?"
"No, nothing's wrong with it. But she's going to drive it home for you, so I can take you out. Happy early birthday!" Ross stated with an excited smile.
"What? What's going on?" she quizzed, her brow furrowed.
"Well, I'm out of town on your birthday, so I thought I would surprise you early! Surprise!"
"Well, okay…" she stated, her eyes giving him a look of pure suspicion.
"Come on, we're gonna be late."
"For a very important date," Calum added as Raini elbowed him in the stomach. "Ow."
"Okay, you're all acting weird…er than usual." Vanessa grabbed Laura's keys from her hand and gave her a hug again. "Have fun, see you at home later, kid. Ross, have her home by midnight."
"You know I can't promise that. But I will get her home at some point."
"Good enough," Vanessa replied, shaking her head.
"What is all this?" she questioned dubiously.
"What? A guy can't take his friend out for her birthday?"
"A guy can, but this guy is being super shady about it."
"Not shady, just cryptic. There's a difference." He opened the passenger door for her, and she slid in. She wondered where they were going.
"So what are we doing, food?"
"There will be food," he responded.
"Can you BE more vague?" She stared at him, but he just looked straight ahead, grinning that silly smile of his.
"Yes."
"You're killing me."
"I know," he replied. "I love it."
She impatiently tapped her foot on the floor, fidgeting back and forth in her seat. "Can you at least tell me where we're going? One hint."
"Okay. Okay. Anaheim."
"Are we going to Disneyland? We're going to Disneyland, aren't we?" She clapped her hands and jumped in her seat. "We're totally going to Disneyland."
"Maybe, maybe not. I'm changing the subject." He turned on his iPod and Walk the Moon blasted through the car. They both started singing along, Ross tapping out the beat on the steering wheel. Laura's head bobbed along to the music.
"When you are close to me, I shiver!" he reached with the falsetto, making her laugh.
"I'm still pissed you didn't invite us to this show. I bet it was so good."
"I'm taking you on a birthday surprise, and you're complaining. Story of my life."
She stuck out her tongue.
"It was awesome. They were so great, we'll go next time," he promised.
"We better."
He smirked, "You're so mad." He made a squinty-eyed face at her and within seconds she busted out laughing. "Ha, you can't stay mad at me."
"Let's not test that theory."
"Fair enough. God, this traffic is killing me." He hit the steering wheel as he watched the trail of flickering brake lights littered in front of them.
"You're so California right now, you don't even know it."
"It'll take us like 2 hours to get there at this rate. We won't have much time."
"That's okay. It's nice that you're doing this…whatever this is. You didn't have to."
"I know, but I feel bad that I'm not going to be around for your birthday. It's a big one."
"I know. I'm gonna be an adult," she bit her lip excitedly.
"You already are kind of an adult. But now it's official, old lady."
"Thanks a lot. Your turn next."
"I know. I can't fucking wait. Finally," he sighed, as the traffic started to let up. He weaved in and out between cars as he sped down the 5.
"Well, let's try and get me to my 18th birthday in one piece, shall we?" she stated, gripping the side bar.
He looked over at her. "You look so frightened."
"Your driving is scary."
"If you think this is scary, you are in for a treat tonight."
She gulped. "What's that supposed to mean…?"
He just smiled and stepped on the accelerator.
As they neared their destination, Laura started clapping her hands together. "We're going to Disneyland, we're going to Disneyland!" She watched as they made the exit on Lincoln. "This is a weird way to go to Disneyland."
"Maybe because we're not going to Disneyland."
"What? You led me on, you tease."
He laughed, "I never said any such thing." He turned into an empty parking lot in front of a big gray building.
"We're spending my birthday celebration in a warehouse?"
"No, it's an ice skating rink. Anaheim Ice. The Ducks practice here."
"Oh cool. Wait, what?" she halted, her eyes wide. Ice skating?
"Surprise," he stated meekly with a laugh. "This is gonna be so classic. Here you're going to need these, it gets chilly." He pulled out a scarf and a beanie from the backseat. "Happy birthday."
"Thanks…I think."
He led her inside, where a guy in a fleece greeted Ross and shook his hand. He started pointing out different features of the arena, but she wasn't paying attention. She could only marvel at the space. They were the only ones there in a behemoth of a building with a gleaming sheet of ice in front of them.
"Enjoy, guys."
Laura hadn't even noticed that the guy had been talking. She could only focus on the frozen sheet of death in front of her. The lights slightly dimmed and some twinkly lights sparkled a colored snowflake pattern over the ice.
"Why?" she breathed looking around at the gigantic, empty building.
"Well, you said you'd never been ice skating for real before. And as you know, I'm a great skater. It gave me an idea," he answered.
"You and your ideas. You know I want to live to see 19, right?"
"You will, it won't be that bad." He held out his hand, and she hesitantly took it.
"I hope you know what you've gotten yourself into."
"Oh, I can't wait to see this, it's like an early birthday gift for me, too. I'm having them tape this…"
"You're not!" The shock and horror on her face was apparent and he could only smirk back at her.
"Just kidding, jeez. You're too easy."
He led her over to a bench where skates were laid out. He deftly tied up his laces as she just watched.
He looked up at her. "Well, are you gonna put on your skates?"
She sat down and reluctantly pulled on the boot. "Oh, I don't think these are the right size. They're really tight."
"No, skates have to be super tight. Here." He knelt down in front of her, pulling the laces as tight as he could, effectively cutting off her circulation. She put her hands on his shoulders to keep from toppling over.
"Oh my God, I'm going to die and my feet are going to fall off."
"You're fine." He wrapped the scarf around her and pulled the beanie down over her curls. "Now you look the part. You look cute in a beanie."
She blushed at his compliment, but then faltered as he tried to take her hand. He grabbed her and led her out to the edge. She timidly stepped on the ice, almost slipping backwards. "Okay, maybe you're not fine," he laughed, bolstering her up against him.
"I'm glad this is so funny to you. I'm gonna remind you that I did not ask for this." She clutched the side rail slowly moving along the edge of the ice.
"You've never been on the ice ever?" He skated backwards and looped around swiftly, showing off as usual.
"Does it look like I've ever been on the ice?" she yelped as she continued to grip onto the rail for dear life.
He skated over to her, putting his hands on her waist. They both ignored the tingly sensation they got down their spines. "Here, let me help you. It is my goal to get you on two feet on the ice by the end of the night."
"Ross, I don't want to be here all night, let's pick a more realistic goal."
He shuffled beside her, but she wrapped her arms around his torso, so that basically he was pulling her along. "Laura, you have to try and propel yourself forward. I can't just lead you the whole way. First, you have to stand up straight, then you lean a little forward."
"Seems to be going fine," she stated through gritted teeth. He moved so that his arms were wrapped around her abdomen from behind, gliding them both smoothly across the ice. His chest was pressed against her back, and if she hadn't been so frightened of falling, she maybe would have been feeling pretty warm at his proximity.
"Are your eyes closed? Laura? No. You can do this." He unhooked one of her hands and took the other one, skating in front of her and trying to lead her. She bent down, almost touching the ice with her hand. He was practically dragging her around.
"That's really sexy looking, the position you're in right now," he chided as she shot him a glare of death. He lifted her up so that she was upright, and held his hands out for her to hold onto as he led her to center ice. She straightened up as best she could and started to slide her feet along the ice, watching as the blades cut patterns into the solid ground. "See, you're doing it!"
He started to let go. "ROSS NO! DON'T!"
Her legs started to wobble as she reached out for anything. He skated back towards her to catch her, but she was already on her way down. He slid to catch her with his arms outstretched, but she fell back on her butt with a thud. He busted out laughing.
Her eyes widened and her jaw dropped. "Ross, I swear…I'm leaving, I will call a cab or my mom or something."
"Oh my god. No, no, come on," he soothed. He pulled her back up, "That was cute, I'm laughing because the look on your face was so cute. Like you weren't expecting that. Come on, give me a hug." He enveloped her and he rocked her back and forth exaggeratedly. He moved away and she followed suit, sliding to catch up with him as he was still holding on to her.
"See you're doing it!" He held onto her with one hand.
She looked around, then down at her feet, moving along the ice. "Oh my god. I'm doing it!" She looked at him excitedly, "I'm doing it!" She jumped up a little as his eyes widened at the same time hers did as she realized that this was an advanced move that she was not ready for. He tried to catch her again by trying to sweep her up, but the momentum of her body was enough to bring both of them down.
"Ooomph!" She lifted up her head from his chest and blew an errant hair out of her face. "Never. Do. That. Again. That didn't work out so well."
She panted heavily, their faces close, her head resting back on his chest. The hair fell back into her eyes, and he reached up instinctively to move it, brushing the pads of his fingers across her forehead. The icy sting that his fingers left on her skin was not lost upon either of them. Their lips were centimeters away, and they must have stayed there, staring at each other for minutes.
"Seems to have worked out fine for me," he muttered as he gestured to her position sprawled out over his body. He was lucky the ice was cold. She scrambled off of him hurriedly and laid flat on the ice, looking up at the ceiling.
"Well, let's regroup and take a break." He got up and lifted her up with him. He held one hand and the other against her back, leading her carefully. "See, you're already so much better."
He gingerly led her off the ice and to a bench, where somehow two bags of In-n-Out awaited them. "What, do you have magic elves working for you? Where did this come from?"
"I have my ways."
"Apparently. Mr. Connections can shut down a skating rink on a whim. Well, good call, I'm starving." She tore into her cheeseburger, no onions, just as she liked it. "You got my order right, down to the strawberry milkshake and the animal style fries."
"Of course I did, who do you think I am?"
"Ross Lynch. Torturer. That's just who you are."
"What are you talking about? You're like a natural out there," he stifled a chuckle.
"A natural what?" she laughed along with him, their giggles echoing through the empty space.
"You're not that bad. It just takes practice. You'll get it. I'm confident that you will."
"Oh okay, well if you're confident I will…" she said, the sarcasm dripping in her tone.
"It'll happen." He nodded, staring at her. A few stray tendrils poked out from underneath the beanie, but she looked perfect bathed in the low light of the rink. They quietly devoured their meal, not really knowing what else to say in the moment.
"Thanks for this, this is really nice. You really didn't have to," she stated.
"I know, I wanted to. Thanks for always being you."
"Me is the only thing I can be, so…" They both looked at each other, then looked down at their food, suddenly finding it all very interesting.
"You know what you're missing?" he suddenly asked.
"Coordination?"
"No, music. I know just the thing that will improve your skating immediately."
He fiddled with his phone until the familiar chords of a song played. He raised his eyebrows and set his phone down. "No way, cheeseball," she protested.
"Yes way, come on. One more skate. Then we're done," he pleaded. "There's no way you can hear the soundtrack to Dirty Dancing and not want to dance." He stepped out onto the ice again, making a come hither motion.
"How about I sit this one out over here?" she motioned to the end of the rink.
"Hey, nobody puts Laura in a corner…"
She shook her head. "Nope. Don't do that, Ross."
"You set me up for that joke!" he exclaimed.
She smirked. "Maybe. But, if you sing She's Like the Wind, I'm out," she returned.
He called out, already zipping along the ice, "Sylvia, how do you call your lover boy?"
"Come here, lover boy," she rolled her eyes as she followed him out. He grabbed her hands again, leading her around in a big loop. She had to say, it was getting a little bit easier as her balance was improving. The skates hurt like hell though and her ass was already sore from where she'd fallen on it, but this was getting better. She shook her head. She looked up at him, but he was already watching her. That was a little disconcerting, but nice and unexpected at the same time.
"We're gonna skate to one song, and one song only," she quoted, as he let her go.
"Oh, ladies and gentleman, Laura Marano with a Blades of Glory reference…Nice."
"Or was it a Jay-Z/Kanye reference?" she questioned.
He tossed his hands in the air. "Mind blown. Now who is surprising who, Laur?"
"Well, I gotta keep up with you, somehow."
He swiftly circled the rink, crossing over to complete a figure eight, as she slowly made her way to the middle. He skated up to her, "Are you thinking about how you fell? Because I am."
Her mouth dropped open and she moved quickly to shove him away.
"See! Maybe I need to insult you more so you have to skate after me. You look good," he commented. "Now you just need a sparkly leotard."
"You'd like that, wouldn't you?"
"Kind of." Her cheeks flushed. Even though it was frigid on the ice, she was feeling kind of warm. Maybe it was the way he kept looking at her.
She swatted him on the arm and he skated away backwards. "Hey! Come back, so I can hit you again…"
"Hey yourself, you can catch me." She shakily moved one foot in front of the other, choppily making her way across the ice, her arms flapping wildly at her side.
"If you're a bird, I'm a bird," he mimicked her motions as she cringed.
"I cannot deal with you and your jokes right now, Ross Shor Lynch."
"Oh shit, using my full name? I'm in trouble now." He raised his eyebrows at her. "Come on, I'll have you ready for Austin and Ally on ice in no time." She shakily moved one foot in front of the other, awkwardly making her way across the ice. He skated in a circle around her, his body fluidly moving to the beat. She hated how he was so smooth, all the time.
The song changed and he slid right up to her, wrapping her arms around his neck, effectively changing the mood. "Come on, we'll skate together." She had to stand on the toes of her skates just to reach him, but he was swaying with her and she didn't want to let go.
I've been meaning to tell you With these hungry eyes
I've got this feelin' that won't subside
I look at you and I fantasize
You are mine tonight
Now I've got you in my sights
One look at you and I can't disguise
I've got hungry eyes
I feel the magic between you and I
She just breathed in his familiar Ross scent and closed her eyes. Was this real? Were they in an ice skating rink, slow dancing to the Dirty Dancing soundtrack? This was like a movie or something, like kind of a cheesy bad one on cable, but still.
He laced his fingers with hers and backed away from her, starting to slowly spin the two of them in a loop. His eyes didn't leave hers, and she didn't even pay attention to what her legs were doing. It felt like she was flying anyway, and he wasn't going to let her go. She trusted him.
"Last song? They're gonna kick us out soon," he said sadly. He changed the song and started singing. "The perfect duet." He started to sing as he rapidly skated around her. She wasn't going to admit it to him, but this was sort of fun. She was totally going to be sore the next day, but it was worth it, she guessed.
Now I've had the time of my life
No, I never felt like this before
Yes, I swear it's the truth
And I owe it all to you
She picked up effortlessly where he left off. He shook his butt as he continued to sing, grabbing her for a spin. He let go and she started to shake her shoulders and dance to the music.
"There you go! I know you want to let it out, Laur. Do it."
She laughed and started to belt out the lyrics with him.
'Cause I've had the time of my life
And I owe it all to you
They both giggled at the silliness of the situation and the song, but it was fun, and they were singing and dancing and literally having the time of their lives.
"Don't I look so graceful?" she yelled as she started doing her Ally Way dance moves.
"Winter Olympics, watch out," he chuckled. "Hey, I want to try something," he shouted from across the ice.
"What?"
"The lift."
"No way!" she protested.
"Come on, just skate towards me and then jump."
"Do you know what you're asking, Crazy?"
"We're not leaving until we try this. Come on, the song is playing, it's an homage to the movie."
She shook her head. "Oh my god, I can't believe I'm doing this." She scraped her foot against the ice a few times, like a bull ready to charge. She tried to skate as fast as she could, but she was still unsteady, so it seemed like a snail's pace to him. But she got to him, with enough momentum to try to leap into his arms.
It was more like half a jump, and he would've caught her if he wasn't laughing so hard. He doubled over, taking her down with him.
"ROSS! You were supposed to catch me!"
He had to calm down his giggles, he was short of breath. It was so funny seeing her try that, that they both landed on the ice, his body pinning hers.
"Sorry. That was awesome. I wish we had that on video."
"I hate you so much."
"You are having fun," he goaded.
"I was until that little stunt," she pouted.
"Come on, say you liked it."
"No. I'm not going to lie."
"You didn't like anything about this?" He leaned down so that he was practically straddling her. She lay completely still and motionless, not sure if she could or should move.
"You're crushing me," she replied, tight-lipped.
"I'm not getting off you until you say you enjoyed it."
"I guess we're going to lay here forever then."
He raised his brow again, and started tickling her.
"ROSS! Stop, that…tickles…oh….my…stop…please!" she begged as his fingers found her most squeal-inducing spots. She wriggled underneath him on the ice, the cold hard surface making it hard for her to escape his clutches. "Okay, I liked it! Happy?"
"Yeah, a little." He brushed a strand of hair off her cheek, his fingers icy a cold contrast burn against the burning heat of her skin. "You're the one thing, I can't get enough of," he sang along.
His eyes darkened, his pupils dilating. Her breath was ragged, her chest rising excessively, like her lungs were about to burst. She was about to burst.
"Umm, Laura?" he whispered, the ice turning his breath into morselized crystal in the air.
"Yeah, Ross?"
"I really adore you. Happy birthday."
And then with the gentlest of pressure, his lips were on hers, and she saw everything go white and she couldn't think. She couldn't move and she worried that she wasn't doing a good job, but it felt great and he was so beautiful, and what was she supposed to do? She was freaking out and she was kissing her friend? Their lips were moving together so innately that she realized she didn't need to think about the next move because both of them knew what to do on a deeper level.
She shifted to reach his head, running her hands under his beanie, tossing it somewhere, and through his downy hair. His lips grazed hers in the sweetest, softest way imaginable as he broke their kiss to take a much needed breath. There was that flicker of recognition in his eyes with hers, that moment when they knew this was what the endgame was and had always been. He captured her mouth again, with a more firm kiss this time, his tongue gaining entrance, greedy, hungry for more. His hands skimmed the fabric of her shirt, rubbing circles into her lower back. They barely moved, but their lips were constantly working to deepen the kiss, their tongues skating around one another.
Then his cool hands were on her cheeks, memorizing every inch of her face, as he reluctantly broke away. Their chests rose and fell in concert as they just gazed into each other's eyes. No words needed to be spoken. Everything had already been said.
His head snapped up as he heard someone clear their throat. He sheepishly motioned to the manager than he knew their time was up. He quickly stood up, offering his hand to Laura. She lay there for a second, her hair messy and splayed out over the ice, her cheeks rosy from his warmth. She looked up at him, and he wore the same dumbstruck expression as she probably did.
She shakily stood up, and not because of the skates, although that didn't help much. He wrapped his arm around her shoulder and they skated off the rink. He helped her across the step and they both sat down, discarding their skates. They still hadn't said anything. She wondered if when they left, they'd leave everything that happened in the moment behind, too.
"Are you gonna open it?" he gestured to the bench.
She looked down at the bench between them. She hadn't even noted the pink box. She gave him a look, but flipped up the cardboard to reveal a birthday cake with eighteen candles. He pulled out a lighter and suddenly they were aglow in the flickering candlelight.
The wax drippings were melting onto the cake, but all she could do was stare at it. When the flames burned out, this would be over, so she wanted to prolong it as much as she could.
He looked at her, concerned as to why she seemed catatonic at the prospect of blowing out some candles. She looked up at him and in that second, he saw every fear wash through those expressive eyes of hers.
"Make a wish, Laura." He leaned over the cake, taking her chin his hand and tilting it up towards his face for a lingering kiss. She broke contact first, closing her eyes and blowing out the candles.
Her eyes slowly opened, seeing him sitting in front of her with an expectant look on his face. "It hardly seems fair, my wish already came true."