Title: Much Ado About Skating

Author: Trixie

Email: goldynangyl@yahoo.com

Status: Finished

Rating: G

Pairings: Jyoushiro

Warnings: Nothing.  Possibly OC (I don't know).  Set when Jyou and Kou are in their early twenties.

Disclaimer: I do not in any way own any of the characters mentioned in the piece of fanfiction below.  I am merely borrowing them for entertainment purposes only; no money is being made from this.

            "I can't."

            "Yes you can."

            "No, I can't."

            "I'm sure you can."

            "Are you not listening to what I am saying? I can't!"

            "You can, you just don't want to give it a try."

            "But – HEY!" A tenor voice exclaimed in surprise.

            A hearty chuckle met the shout as a blue-haired man carried a shorter man with flaming red hair to one of the small gates leading into the ice skating rink.  Upon reaching the ice, the taller of the two set the other back down, a smirk gracing his handsome face.

            "I suppose you have no choice but to skate to another gate to get out, ne?" The blue-haired man said wittily as he blocked the current gate, his smirk growing wider as the other man grasped the side bar in hopes of it keeping him from falling.

            A smoldering look was the only answer.

            "Oh, come on, Kou, it'll be fun, trust me!" The taller man remarked as he circled around his companion, attempting to show how easy it was to skate on ice.

            "Hmph.  Easy for you to say, Jyou – you can actually skate, unfortunately, I cannot," Koushiro replied testily, still holding onto the black bar tightly.

            "Well, you will never learn how to skate if you don't try, silly!  Here, I'll teach you!" Jyou said, offering a gloved hand toward the smaller man.  True, he had the advantage, but Jyou knew what Koushiro was going through – he himself was once in the same position with his brother Shuu teaching him how to skate.  Jyou smiled warmly at that memory.

            "I rather like my spot, thank you very much," Koushiro said firmly, effectively breaking through Jyou's musings.  Koushiro absolutely refused to even _think_ about letting go of the bar.  What he wouldn't give to be at home in front of his computer right now…

            "Stubborn mule," Jyou retorted, a mischievous grin upturning his lips.

            "Jyou… don't smile like that, you're making me nervous," Koushiro remarked warily, knowing full well that when Jyou had that smile something bad was going to happen – to him.

            "As you should be," Jyou quipped as he pulled Koushiro away from the bar, effectively dragging the red-haired man onto the ice, free from any buttress. 

             "JYOU!!" Koushiro yelled as he flayed, quickly latching onto Jyou's arms.

            "Hm?" Jyou asked innocently, lazily dragging Koushiro along as he slowly moved across the ice.  Of course, Jyou knew that they made an awkward image, but at the time, he didn't really care – he was having way too much fun.  It wasn't like he had the chance to act like a kid everyday.  And although Jyou wasn't the athletic type like his good friend Taichi, he did enjoy and was rather decent at ice-skating.  Plus, having Koushiro with him made it all the more fun.

            "Let go!" Koushiro cried, his face as red as his hair.

            "Okay… if you say so," Jyou complied, another impish grin adorning his face as he removed his arms from around Koushiro.

            Koushiro suddenly realized that Jyou was the reason he had not fallen onto the ice and quickly attempted to retract his command – but too late.

            Koushiro, unprepared for the sudden lack of support, quickly fell onto his rear end on the ice.  Looking up at the sound of laughter coming from his partner, Koushiro pouted and furrowed his eyebrows.

            "JYOU!" Koushiro yelled, trying futilely to get back up.

            "What?  I only did as you asked," Jyou replied cheekily as he surveyed his younger companion.

            "Oooh!" Koushiro cried in frustration, "You can be such a pain the posterior sometimes, Jyou, and I believe it is one of those times."

            "I know," Jyou said simply.

            "Jyou!" Koushiro exclaimed, "You are one of the most exacerbating men I have ever known!"

            "And you love me for it," Jyou remarked as he took pity on the redhead and helped the poor man up.

            "Hmph," Koushiro huffed, as he held onto Jyou's arm for balance.  Once able to stand on his two feet without fear of falling again, Koushiro tentatively reached out one hand to brush off the ice that had clung to his pants; his other hand never releasing it's iron grip on Jyou's arm.

            "Oh, come now, it wasn't that bad," Jyou asked, poking the redhead in the ribs.

            "Hmph," came the reply.

            "It was for your own good.  This way, you now know what it is like to fall – and it is _not_ that bad, now is it?"

            "Hmph," Koushiro replied, obviously not willing to answer Jyou with any decipherable comment.

            "You enjoyed it – I can tell," Jyou prodded, gently dropping a small kiss on Koushiro's nose.  The red-haired man wrinkled his nose and looked away.

            "I'll let you go again," Jyou warned good-naturedly.

            Instinctively, Koushiro tightened his grip on Jyou's arm.

            "I thought so," Jyou said, a smile playing on his lips, "So, now that I've gotten you on the ice, care to learn how to ice-skate?"

            Koushiro gave Jyou a withering look.

            "I'll take that as a yes," Jyou commented, his obsidian eyes twinkling, "But you'll have to loosen your death-grip on my arm first."

            Slowly, but surely, the force with which Koushiro grasped Jyou's arm lessened until Koushiro's hand was only using Jyou as a balancing point.

            "See, it's not that hard to keep your balance," Jyou remarked softly, taking Koushiro's hand into his own, "Now, skating is somewhat like walking, except not...  just move your feet like this."  Jyou lifted his foot up and demonstrated in the air.  "See?"

            Koushiro shook his head, his eyebrows furrowing in confusion.

            "Okay… let's try another way… let's go over to the side again, okay?" Jyou asked, trying to come up with the best way to teach the redhead how to skate.

            At this, Koushiro nodded vigorously to display his approval…

//20 minutes later//

            After much explaining on his part, much whining, and much falling on his love's part, Jyou happily watched as Koushiro skated, albeit shakily, around the rink – all by himself.  It had taken a great amount of patience, but Jyou had finally taught the little redhead how to ice skate.  Jyou mentally congratulated himself – that had not been a task easily accomplished.

            But it was completely worth it as he noted the bright smile that graced Koushiro's flushed face.  Short tendrils of crimson whipped about Koushiro's visage as he became more accustomed to skating and gained speed.  Rich laughter tickled Jyou's ears as Koushiro passed by, waving with a gloved hand. 

            Jyou smiled and pushed off from the side he had been leaning against and skated after the redhead.  In a few strides, Jyou caught up with the shorter man and grabbed Koushiro's hand.

            "So, still stuck on the idea that you can't skate?" Jyou asked, his voice full of amusement.

            "I believe that question requires no answer," Koushiro replied breathlessly, flashing Jyou a smile before returning his attention to where he was going.

            "I see," Jyou chuckled merrily, "I take it that you enjoy skating now?"

            "What do you think?" Koushiro replied, squeezing Jyou's hand.

            "I think that you enjoy it very much," Jyou commented warmly as he squeezed Koushiro's hand back.

            "Exactly," Koushiro said, laughter in his voice, "Jyou?"

            "Yes, Koushiro?"

            "Thanks for… everything," Koushiro said softly.

            "The pleasure was all mine, Kou-kun," Jyou replied, equally soft.

            Koushiro spared a moment to give Jyou a loving smile, which Jyou happily returned.

            And so, for the rest of the afternoon, the two skated in companionable silence, hand in hand.

~Owari~