Chapter 9
His smile just warms me inside and out. There's just one tiny problem, or maybe it won't be a problem, but an advantage.
"Vaughn?" I say, detangling my arms from around his neck.
"Hmm?"
"There might be a slight problem." he cocks his head to one side and I swear I might melt, " I know how to ice skate and all it's just that, well.you know."
"Actually, I don't" And there's this huge smirk on his face because he knows exactly what I'm trying to say.
"I haven't ice skated in years.and I might need some help" I know my face must be beet red. He just chuckles and helps me to the ice. Now that I look at it, the ice seems pretty slick, and it must show on my face.
"Is Sydney Bristow, super-spy, scared of a little ice skating?"
"Shut up" I can't help but smile.
"Don't worry, Syd, I won't let anything happen to you" And for some reason, I find those words extremely reassuring. With Vaughn's help I get on the ice and hold on to the railing. "You're not going to hang onto that railing the whole time, Syd, if it's the last thing I do" I can't believe this. He gets on the ice and takes off. He's a real pro too.
"How'd you get so good at ice skating?"
"Well, I play hockey, don't I?" He responds, skating around me in a circle. He grabs my hands, despite my slight hesitation, and pulls me out to him.
"Vaughn!" The railing is so far away, yet I feel completely safe with Vaughn holding onto me.
"Don't worry, Syd" He turns around so that he's looking at me and extends his arms out, still holding onto my hands. Then he starts skating backwards slowly. As much as I'm enjoying this long-term handholding with Vaughn, I'm a little frightened, as we start moving. He just seems so far away, but after a while I start to enjoy it.
Suddenly, he stops and goes towards me and twists me around, never letting go of my hands, so his arms are folded around me, our hands at my sides. He continues skating backwards; in this much more cozy position and I don't ever want this to end.
"You ready to try on your own?" As much as I hate letting go of him, I decide I should give it a try and nod my head. He slowly lets go of me and leaves me standing alone in the middle of the ice. Suddenly, I'm overwhelmed with a feeling of panic, the railing seems miles away, as does Vaughn. "Come towards me, Syd" I carefully glide forward and start to lose my balance. He holds out his arms and is about to come and catch me when I steady myself.
After a couple more unsteady glides, I'm almost there. I'm a lot more confident now than when I first started, so I think I can handle it. Which, of course, explains why as soon as I glide forward I lose my balance and fall forwards. Thank god for Vaughn. Before I can touch the floor, I'm in his arms again. And it takes a minute or so to realize that I should let go now, I'm just enjoying myself so much.
We skate around for an hour or so more. We try several different positions, each one cozier than the next, but our favorite seems to be the one where his arms are folded around me. Time goes by too quickly, and when I look at my watch I realize that I should go.
"Vaughn, as much as I'm enjoying this, I need to go. I promised to do something with Will and Francie tonight" I can see the disappointment in his eyes, which I'm sure Is reflected in mine, but he hides it quickly. Hand in hand we make our way back to the bleachers and sit down.
We remove our skates silently and then look back up at each other.
"This was so much fun Vaughn, thank you so much" He smiles.
"Keep the skates" He reaches into his coat and pulls out a small white box. "Open your hands" I open them and he places the box in them.
"Happy Birthday, Syd" with a quick wink, he grabs his coat and the box with his skates and climbs under the bleachers.
"Bye" I say, my voice barely a whisper. I look at the box in my hands. What could it be? I carefully remove its lid and gasp with delight. Inside, is a silver charm bracelet, with two charms on it: an ice skate, and a rose. Their significance is obvious, and I smile to myself as I tuck the box into my jacket. I grab the skates and take a look around. I'll have to come here more often.
A/N: short, but sweet ;)
His smile just warms me inside and out. There's just one tiny problem, or maybe it won't be a problem, but an advantage.
"Vaughn?" I say, detangling my arms from around his neck.
"Hmm?"
"There might be a slight problem." he cocks his head to one side and I swear I might melt, " I know how to ice skate and all it's just that, well.you know."
"Actually, I don't" And there's this huge smirk on his face because he knows exactly what I'm trying to say.
"I haven't ice skated in years.and I might need some help" I know my face must be beet red. He just chuckles and helps me to the ice. Now that I look at it, the ice seems pretty slick, and it must show on my face.
"Is Sydney Bristow, super-spy, scared of a little ice skating?"
"Shut up" I can't help but smile.
"Don't worry, Syd, I won't let anything happen to you" And for some reason, I find those words extremely reassuring. With Vaughn's help I get on the ice and hold on to the railing. "You're not going to hang onto that railing the whole time, Syd, if it's the last thing I do" I can't believe this. He gets on the ice and takes off. He's a real pro too.
"How'd you get so good at ice skating?"
"Well, I play hockey, don't I?" He responds, skating around me in a circle. He grabs my hands, despite my slight hesitation, and pulls me out to him.
"Vaughn!" The railing is so far away, yet I feel completely safe with Vaughn holding onto me.
"Don't worry, Syd" He turns around so that he's looking at me and extends his arms out, still holding onto my hands. Then he starts skating backwards slowly. As much as I'm enjoying this long-term handholding with Vaughn, I'm a little frightened, as we start moving. He just seems so far away, but after a while I start to enjoy it.
Suddenly, he stops and goes towards me and twists me around, never letting go of my hands, so his arms are folded around me, our hands at my sides. He continues skating backwards; in this much more cozy position and I don't ever want this to end.
"You ready to try on your own?" As much as I hate letting go of him, I decide I should give it a try and nod my head. He slowly lets go of me and leaves me standing alone in the middle of the ice. Suddenly, I'm overwhelmed with a feeling of panic, the railing seems miles away, as does Vaughn. "Come towards me, Syd" I carefully glide forward and start to lose my balance. He holds out his arms and is about to come and catch me when I steady myself.
After a couple more unsteady glides, I'm almost there. I'm a lot more confident now than when I first started, so I think I can handle it. Which, of course, explains why as soon as I glide forward I lose my balance and fall forwards. Thank god for Vaughn. Before I can touch the floor, I'm in his arms again. And it takes a minute or so to realize that I should let go now, I'm just enjoying myself so much.
We skate around for an hour or so more. We try several different positions, each one cozier than the next, but our favorite seems to be the one where his arms are folded around me. Time goes by too quickly, and when I look at my watch I realize that I should go.
"Vaughn, as much as I'm enjoying this, I need to go. I promised to do something with Will and Francie tonight" I can see the disappointment in his eyes, which I'm sure Is reflected in mine, but he hides it quickly. Hand in hand we make our way back to the bleachers and sit down.
We remove our skates silently and then look back up at each other.
"This was so much fun Vaughn, thank you so much" He smiles.
"Keep the skates" He reaches into his coat and pulls out a small white box. "Open your hands" I open them and he places the box in them.
"Happy Birthday, Syd" with a quick wink, he grabs his coat and the box with his skates and climbs under the bleachers.
"Bye" I say, my voice barely a whisper. I look at the box in my hands. What could it be? I carefully remove its lid and gasp with delight. Inside, is a silver charm bracelet, with two charms on it: an ice skate, and a rose. Their significance is obvious, and I smile to myself as I tuck the box into my jacket. I grab the skates and take a look around. I'll have to come here more often.
A/N: short, but sweet ;)