The winter Olympics had yet to begin and Russia already felt the pain of the jabs that were being thrown at him. He had had to endure everyone criticizing his policies, his government, and his preparation. The Olympics were supposed to be the moment for the home country to shine, but it wasn't feeling that way to Russia. His stress needed an outlet and there was a very obvious way to do it.
Russia would never express his love for certain sports to anyone else. There was certain strangeness to sharing something like that with a different country, something human about it. It was the custom of countries to keep a considerable distance from the other countries by communicating only professionally and in a capacity that only had to due with their identities as countries. Anything personal was intimate, even a real human name was reserved for people with a close bond. Chatting about sports and hobbies was almost completely unknown, because that was like opening your human heart to someone else. Russia hadn't admitted some of his leisure activities to anyone, not even his sisters. But, he had the chance now, when no one else was watching, to indulge one of his favorite activities.
That was how he now found himself inside the newly finished skating arena pulling on his own pair of skates. No one would have ever guessed that he had a distinct passion for figure skating, what with his cold demeanor and constant sadism. It was as if everyone expected him to be hell-bent on dominating the world, or at least Eastern Europe, every moment of the day. It was frustrating that no one though Russia could possibly have a softer, more human side. He pulled the laces tight on his right skate and tied a quick bow in them. The skates were not particularly new, but they still fit perfectly. It was one of the few benefits of being a country, the sizes of things very rarely changed. This was even more important when you were as tall as Russia. He had had the pair of skates specially made in his size years ago. He wouldn't need to replace them until they wore out.
Once he finally had both skates on and tightly secured, he finally pulled off his heavy jacket. It was not one of the flamboyant rainbow colored jackets that the volunteers were going to be wearing, those were entirely too ridiculous for his liking. It was a heavy black jacket that he wore through most of his own winter; his usual light-colored scarf and a black fur hat accompanied it. Russia stripped away the rest of his warm clothing, so that he was just wearing a very tight t-shirt and a pair of skin-tight black pants. This was the sort of outfit it made sense to practice ice skating in, something that would not distract him from the sport. He took a couple steps to the edge of the ice and finally took off his bright red blade guards. Taking the first step onto the smooth, newly refinished, surface of the ice was easy.
He took a few strides on the ice and started to move himself around the oval. There was serenity to this, the smooth sound of the blade cutting into the ice the only sound that cut through the silence. He made a few rounds before getting slightly bored of this. It was nice to have this quiet and peace, but that was not satisfying part of this sport. What was most thrilling was the skill that went into it and that was what Russia enjoyed about it. He sped himself up a little and mentally readied himself to do a jump, which would be far more challenging, and, thus, far more exciting. He took a deep breath and threw himself into a jump. It only turned out to be a double axel, which was by far not the most advanced he could do, but it felt good to get up in the air again. This was a rush quite unlike anything else, it was not adrenaline per say, it was something sweeter that that. This was flying, but it was completely in control. This was abandon and control, the odd mixture of the two.
No one would have believed that Russia did this, despite his Olympic success in this sport. There was a disconnect between the actual embodiment of the country and the sports at which their citizens were skilled. Certainly, no one was suggesting that Yao was a gymnast or a diver. But, every so often, the two did coincide. Russia was blissfully lost in his own mind, lost in the feeling that figure skating created in him. It was warm, it was comfortable, and it made his heart soar.
He was quite suddenly broken out of his own thoughts when he made a turn and saw someone standing on the other end of the rink. His heart sunk, because this meant that someone had been watching his entire secret practice. If it were someone that he was not particularly close to then this would be exceptionally awkward. It took him a couple quick strides to get close enough to recognize the other country, or more accurately in this case ex-country. The albino had an indescribable look on his face, somewhere between lust and amusement. He spoke when he realized that Russia had noticed him, "Why, Ivan, I had no idea you did this during your free time. That jump was very graceful." His voice was full of laughter, which indicated that he found this incredibly funny. Russia clenched his back teeth out of frustration. He could not stand the idea of being mocked for one of his favorite hobbies, especially not by his lover. However, he kept his voice icy and clam, as was his custom when he was angry but not murderous, "When did you get here, Gil? I wasn't expecting anybody else to be here."
Prussia took a step forward so he was closer to the edge of the ice. Russia was slowly gliding back towards where his jacket was lying and where his lover was now standing. The albino answered the question, "A couple hours ago, I arrived with my brother and his whole team of athletes. Naturally, I wanted to find you as soon as I got here. " He looked over what Russia was wearing and his control seemed to break, "You do know this is a girly sport, right?" That was a too much for Russia, who was already sensitive enough about his affinity for this sport. If it had been anyone else, he would have gotten legitimately mad about the comment. But, since this was Prussia, he quickly hatched another plan, one that would playfully punish the albino for his comment.
Russia finally reached the other side of the rink and leaned against the wall on the edge of the ice. He smirked, "Do you think this is easy then?" Prussia seemed to recognize the tone and took a small step forwards. This was part of why Russia loved him, he would take the step forward when everyone else would have succumbed to fear and taken a step back. Gilbert leaned against the other side of the wall, "Maybe I do." The dynamic between them was now playful and teasing. Their faces were so close together now that Russia could have counted the different shades of red in Gilbert's ruby eyes. The Russian responded, "If it's so easy, then join me out here on the ice. I'm sure we can find you a pair of skates." Prussia shook his head slightly, as though these were the words he had expected to hear but he had hoped not to hear them all the same. The response confirmed that this was the case, "Actually, I brought a pair with me. I figured you might want some company since you were here by yourself. Granted, I've never actually tried this before." Russia simply nodded, which was the sign that he wanted Gilbert to change into the skates. The German understood the gesture and obediently walked over to the bench and changed into the skates.
He looked a bit unsteady when he stood back up. But, far be it from Gilbert to give up on a challenge. He made it to the ice in a few steps. Russia was fully smiling now; this was going to be entertaining. Prussia took off his blue blade guards and put them down next to Russia's red ones. He then took a single step onto the surface of the ice. Russia could see from the look that flashed through Prussia's red eyes that this was going to be nowhere as easy as he thought it was going to be. He took pity on his lover and extended a hand for support, which the albino gladly took. Russia knew that he was more than confident enough on his skates to keep both of them standing. Gilbert looked down at his unsteady feet and then back up into Russia's eyes.
Russia felt a rush of excitement at the pure helplessness that he saw in the other's face. Prussia managed a shaky laugh, "I think you've made your point. This is much harder than I thought it would be." Russia responded, "Oh come now, bunny, you've hardly tried." He extended his other hand as another offer to Prussia. The albino took his other hand off of the wall, which he had been using to support himself, and took Russia's extended hand. Russia took a couple strides backwards, which the other man attempted to match. Russia could feel the other's fingers digging into his hands, which meant that Gilbert was incredibly nervous about falling. Russia stopped right on top of the Olympic rings. Prussia couldn't stop his own momentum and slid right into his lover's chest. Russia smiled down at his lover and said, "You haven't been clinging to me like this for a while, it's nice."
He said it to intentionally enrage Gilbert; it would make Gilbert attempt to do more on his own. It worked perfectly; the German immediately released both of his lover's hands and took a shaky stride backwards, "Don't mock me, Ivan. I am perfectly capable of doing this own my own." Russia still thought this was hilarious. All of Prussia's inflated pride was attempting to struggle with his own lack of ability and it was exactly what Russia had been hoping to happen. He wanted his judgmental lover to see exactly how hard skating actually was. Prussia attempted to move forward, lost his balance and started to topple forward.
Russia reacted by quickly moving forward and catching his falling lover. He had to use both arms to catch the albino, but it was easy for him to keep his balance because he was so used to being on skates. Prussia had closed his eyes to brace himself for hitting the ice, but he slowly opened his eyes when he felt the arms around him. Russia felt his heart start to flutter when the red eyes locked on his own violet ones, there was deep beautiful trust within those eyes. Prussia's voice was almost weak when he said, "Vanya, don't let me go." He raised a shaking hand and ran it softly down the side of Russia's face. The Russian felt the fluttering in his heart grow to a glowing feeling that spread through his entire body. He loved seeing this vulnerability that Gilbert always tried to cover up with hostility and pride. He could also tell from the change of address that Gilbert was giving up his pride and putting all of his trust in Ivan. The German felt almost weightless in his arms, and holding his felt almost completely natural. He responded, "You know I won't ever let you go, bunny."
A couple seconds of complete silence passed as they looked into each other's eyes. Russia finally pulled both of them back up to a standing position with his hands firmly holding onto Gilbert's waist. He was keeping the space between the two of them the smallest it could possibly be. Prussia put his hands on the other's shoulder to keep himself balanced. It seemed that after the moment of connection Prussia had given up all pretense of holding onto his pride, which was exactly what Russia wanted. The Russian took one of his hands off of the other's waist and caressed the albino's face, "So, have I changed your mind yet?" Prussia took a breath and said, "You have. I won't mock you for figure skating." Russia internally congratulated himself for a job well done; he had gotten the result he had been hoping for. He replied, "Good, I'm glad. Let's you get back to safe ground."
He guided the pair of them back to the side of the rink. Russia first made sure his lover made it off of the ice first, and then he stepped off of the ice. It hadn't exactly been the stress relief he was looking for, but Russia always felt better when he had Prussia with him. They both quickly changed back into normal shoes. Ivan changed back into his own winter clothing and then grabbed Prussia's jacket. The albino looked around for his jacket and then turned and saw that his lover was holding it. He said with a slight irritation, "Give me my jacket, Vanya." Russia was not yet done having fun with his lover, so he said, "Come here and I will." Prussia sighed, but he obeyed. He took the steps to close the distance between them. Russia continued to give commands, "Now turn around." The albino glared at him, but turned around all the same. Russia felt a sense of pride rising in his heart; even after all of these years of secret affairs he still had the ability to make the German obey him. The Russian carefully held out the jacket and helped Prussia pull the jacket on. Once that was done, Russia ran his hands over the other's shoulders, "That's very good. I think we will leave it here for now. But, I will want you to come to me after the opening ceremony."
The albino turned back around quickly. He didn't even skip a beat before grabbing Russia's coat and pulling him down into a kiss. Their lips meshed together immediately. Prussia's tongue fought with Russia's, but Russia didn't allow the albino to have any dominance. When they both broke apart, Prussia said with a slight smirk, "We can leave it at that. You don't get to lead me on without at least a kiss." Russia nodded, giving a slight indication that he didn't mind the escalation. He responded, "Alright, get what you want, Gil. But that's all you get for now. Trust me, there is a part of the opening ceremony that will make you very nostalgic for out Soviet past. I will need you then, and we will go all the way." The German pouted slightly and said, "You're so cruel. At least walk me back." Russia replied to the bargaining, which was typical of Prussia, "Alright. I have one more deal for you: For every medal I win, I get you for a night." The albino responded with a smile and said, "Deal."
A/N: I was trying not to do any Sochi related stuff, I really was. But, I just had to after watching the opening ceremonies and the pairs figure skating for the team challenge. I may do a few more drabbles if people like this one. I will probably do drabbles with a bunch of different pairings, not just snowbunny. If you would want to see that, please review and tell me!