A/N: It's a bird! It's a plane! No, it's Ash updating her story! This is from a prompt given to me by Riley-Hell-s-Princess who wanted ice skating! Here it is and I hope you like it!
"You're kidding." Nick said as he stared at the sign hanging above the parking lot in which he and Jeff were sitting. He and Jeff had been dating for a little over three weeks and Jeff had decided it was high time he took Nick out on a date of his own. "You've taken me out way too many times, it's my turn!" He had said, crossing his arms as if to say that the discussion was over. Only slightly hesitantly Nick had agreed to let Jeff choose a place, both excited and nervous for the blonde's decision. Okay, he'd actually been really excited about the date until he'd asked what they would be doing and Jeff had just smirked and told him to "wear something warm." After Nick had heard that he'd been equal parts terrified and excited. Now that they'd arrived at their destination though, the ice rink near where Nick and Jeff had their first date, all Nick felt was fear. He couldn't skate and he could already see the day ending up a train wreck.
"Come on Nicky!" Jeff replied playfully as he turned off the car and unbuckled his seatbelt. "It'll be fun, you'll see!" Nick looked over at his boyfriend with wide eyes and raised eyebrows. "You're kidding right?" he asked and Jeff smiled even wider, showing that no, he definitely wasn't kidding. "Jeff, I can't skate. Bambi can probably skate better than I can." Jeff shook his head and laughed, tilting his head back slightly in the way that Nick had come to know meant that nothing could bring the blonde down. "Don't worry, you'll be fine!" Jeff promised, patting Nick's hand gently before climbing out of the car.
With a sigh Nick followed suit, meeting the blonde at the tail end of the car next to the trunk. "I really don't think this is a good idea Jeffie…" Nick warned, glancing up at the "Adventure Zone Ice Rink" sign before looking back up at his boyfriend. Jeff laughed again, causing Nick's stomach to fill with fuzzy feelings despite his nerves, and grabbed the brunette's hand. "Seriously baby, relax." He said as he locked the car with the press of a button before leading, no, dragging the shorter male towards the glass double doors of the rink.
Nick felt his stomach flop as the tall blonde pushed open the doors with his open hand, the smell of ice, skates, and concession stand foods hitting the two males like a wave as they entered. He couldn't do this, he actually couldn't. He prided himself in being able to take risks when need be but this was not something he felt he could do. "Jeff…" He said quietly as he took in the large lobby area. It was split into three parts, an arcade sitting in the far right corner, the concession stand with its hot dogs and nachos sitting closest to the door, and the lobby area with chairs tables and a skate rental booth right next to the doors to the actual skating rink.
Jeff turned to look at the shorter male as he spoke, worry flitting across his face before it was replaced with kindness and happiness. "Listen to me." He started, squeezing Nick's hand lightly as he spoke. "You'll be fine. I'll be right there next to you the whole time, I won't let you get hurt." Nick felt the knots in his stomach begin to loosen and untangle as Jeff spoke. He nodded as the blonde continued talking, convincing him that he would be fine. Nick didn't hear the words, he was too focused on Jeff's eyes and the way looking at them made him feel like he was wrapped up in a warm blanket on a cold winter night.
Before Nick could register what was going on Jeff had stopped talking and had dragged him over to the skate rental booth. He watched as Jeff smiled at the man, exchanging greetings before being handed two pairs of skates. "Here you go." Jeff said with a smile as he handed Nick his skates and led him over to a table. The tan boot like shoes felt heavy in Nick's hands as he sat down on a bench, trying not to freak out. "Do you know how to tie these?" Jeff asked and Nick nodded. "I've gone skating before, I'm just really bad…" Nick admitted, wincing inwardly as he remembered the last time he went skating. It had been ages ago, back in high school. A local park had opened a pond up for skating one winter and Nick, Trent, and a few other friends from school decided it would be a great idea to go. The event had started off fine but had ended up with a trip to the ER after Nick and his friend Thad collided and both managed to break their arms.
Nick thought about his last skating experience as he laced up his skates. Jeff must have noticed his silence and identified it as nerves because as soon as Nick was done lacing up he felt a hand on his. "You'll be fine." Jeff repeated for what felt like the 100th time that day. Nick nodded, smiling slightly as he locked eyes with the blonde. "Okay." He said, taking a deep breath. "I've got this!" He exclaimed as he stood up, trying not to fall while still on normal, non-ice covered, ground. Jeff let out a short laugh as he watched his boyfriend hobble for a few feet before quickly moving over to the brunette and taking his arm. "Thanks." Nick replied sheepishly, feeling slightly embarrassed.
"No problem." Jeff replied with a shrug as he led Nick through a set of blue doors and into the actual ice rink. "You're okay right?" Jeff asked as they moved towards the ice. "You're not too cold or anything?" Nick shook his head. "I'm fine, I've got hat, gloves, and a coat, everything to keep me warm." He replied adding a silent And I've got you to keep me safe. As he smiled over at his boyfriend before letting go of Jeff's hand and hobbling onto the ice, clutching the side rail as he went. He glanced at the rink around him as he transferred from floor to ice. There was hardly anyone there besides him and Jeff, just an elderly couple slowly making their way around the rink, chatting quietly as they went. For once Nick was grateful that there wasn't a large crowd, it meant less people to run into.
"Alright." Nick said, looking down at his feet as he spoke. "I think I can do this." He smiled confidently as he lifted his hands off the side rail and steadied himself on his skates, looking up at Jeff once he was balanced. "That's great baby, now try moving." Jeff replied, trying to sound serious but failing when a goofy grin spread across his face midsentence. "Oh ha ha." Nick replied, sticking out his tongue as Jeff moved a little bit closer. There was a pause as the two stared at each other, locking eyes and smiling, before Jeff broke eye contact and looked down at Nick's skates. "So…. Are you actually going to move or are we going to stand here?" He asked jokingly and Nick shook his head. "I'm going, I'm going!" He exclaimed with a laugh, turning and beginning to slowly and wobbly make his way around the rink, using the side rail as a support beam whenever he needed to.
"See. This isn't too bad." Jeff said as he skated next to Nick, moving gracefully as he spoke. Nick nodded and smiled even wider, he'd managed to lap the rink twice without falling and felt much more confident. "I don't know what I was so nervous about!" he replied and Jeff grinned. "Do you think you're ready to move out into the middle?" The blonde asked and Nick felt his stomach flop but nodded anyway. "Okay, just take my hand. We'll go slow." Jeff said, holding out a hand. Quickly Nick grabbed the hand and let Jeff lead him out farther into the middle of the rink. They weren't dead center but they were far enough away from the side that the side rails were out of reach. Nick felt his pulse quicken as he continued to slowly skate, concentrating on not falling over. Suddenly a hand appeared on his waist and, surprised by the sudden touch, Nick flailed slightly, hitting Jeff before falling onto the ice with a soft thud.
"Ow." He said with a soft moan as he felt his tailbone receive the shock of the fall. "Are you alright?" Jeff asked, kneeling down next to the brunette. "I'm sorry, I should've warned you that I was going to do that I wasn't thinking and that was stupid of me." Nick looked up at his rambling boyfriend, whose cheeks had turned considerably pinker, and smiled. "I'm fine, don't worry." He said confidently. "I'm just going to sit here and let my tailbone recover." He added and Jeff laughed, shifting slightly before plopping down next to Nick on the ice and wrapping an arm around him.
"What are you doing?" Nick asked, surprise and amusement mixing in his voice. "Sitting down next to you, what does it look like?" Jeff asked, pulling away slightly to look at the brunette. "I see that but… this…" Nick motioned at Jeff's arm. "What is this?" he asked and Jeff shrugged. "We're cuddling. To conserve body heat and all." He replied simply and Nick laughed, leaning into Jeff, suddenly overwhelmed by the smell of him. It was an odd mix of mint, cologne, and fabric softener but the three scents mixed together beautifully to Nick and he happily breathed in the smell as he sat on the ice. "What are you doing?" Jeff asked with a laugh as he looked down at his boyfriend. "I'm smelling you." Nick replied and Jeff raised an eyebrow. "What? You smell nice." Nick replied, feeling his cheeks redden slightly.
Jeff chuckled and shook his head slightly before a shiver ran through his body. "Are you cold?" Nick asked, suddenly feeling the sharpness of the air himself. "Yeah, a little. Do you want to keep skating or are we done?" Jeff asked, looking around the rink before locking eyes with Nick again. "I think I'm ready to call it a day." Nick replied and Jeff nodded, swiftly standing up before helping Nick up off the ice himself. Slowly the two made their way back to the exit of the rink, Jeff holding Nick's waist as he half glided, half stumbled.
"You weren't half bad." Jeff mused he and Nick made their way out into the lobby and sat down at their bench. Nick scoffed and shook his head. "I spent half that time clinging to you or the rail and the other half sitting on the ground." He reminded the blonde who shook his head. "You did a lot better than my brother does, he sits on the ground and slides instead of skating." Nick raised his eyebrows at this, not sure if he should believe what the blonde was saying. "It's true!" Jeff exclaimed, his eyes widening slightly before shaking his head. "You'll see. I'll talk to my sister she has millions of videos of him scooting on the ice, maybe she'll send some to me."
Nick laughed, listening as his boyfriend explained his family and his many siblings to him. Nick listened as Jeff told Nick about childhood memories, funny quirks each of them had, and what each of them liked and disliked. As they were heading back out to the car, subtly holding hands, Jeff faltered. Nick looked up at the blonde, confused at why Jeff had stopped talking and wondering if something was wrong. "What's wrong?" He asked and Jeff blushed, looking embarrassed and maybe a bit flustered. "I'm boring you aren't I?" He asked and Nick shook his head. "No, not at all. I love hearing about your family." Nick gently squeezed Jeff's hand as he spoke, smiling up at the blonde reassuringly.
"Alright, just tell me if I am because sometimes I start talking and can't stop…" Jeff said sheepishly and Nick smiled and nodded. "It's fine." He promised. "I like hearing about them, I've always wondered what it was like to have a big family." He admitted, remembering how much he wanted a sibling as a kid. "Alright, just a warning though, there's a lot to say about them. I could keep you for hours." Jeff said jokingly and Nick smiled, actually liking the idea of sitting with Jeff for hours, listening to him talk about the Sterling clan. "I wouldn't mind that actually." Nick replied and Jeff raised his eyebrows before smiling and wrapping an arm around the shorter male. "Alright then, you asked for it. Where are we headed so you can hear all the tales of the Sterling family?" Nick smiled and blushed slightly before looking up at Jeff. "Coffee Grounds. "Coffee Grounds it is then!" Jeff replied, pecking Nick on the cheek before unlocking the car, an adorable smile plastered across his face as he climbed in.
A/N2: Alright! I hope you liked it. I wasn't too sure how to end so it's a bit weak but whatever right? Anyway, if you have any more prompts you want to have me write just comment or PM me with them and I'll write them! Until next time!
