Winter Schnee tightened her grip upon the metal railing as she stared out over the city of Atlas so far below. A bitter cold wind tossed the errant strands of hair that had escaped her rather professional bun back and forth, tickling the skin on her forehead. Another stressful day had passed within the confines of Atlas Academy, and another night of bitter cold had greeted her outside upon her balcony. To Winter, everything about Atlas seemed cold, overly professional, and incredibly stressful. Everything but him.
At first, she couldn't stand him- his blasé attitude and carefree lifestyle contrasted so sharply with her own that she thought she might quit the moment he had joined the Ace Ops. Over time, however, General Ironwood had been right, and the man had proven a valuable addition to the team. Despite Winter's initial misgivings, Tony Hawk had indeed bailed out the squad more than once- though he had almost never bailed himself.
The sudden sound of metal on metal broke Winter from her reverie, and she looked up and to the left to see the subject of her thoughts speeding toward her. There he was, sparks flying from the railing two balconies over as the front truck of his skateboard screeched against the railing in a perfectly executed nosegrind. Tony's arms were spread to the sides, resembling the bird of his namesake as he sped toward the gap leading to the next balcony.
"Do a kickflip!" Winter shouted, her inhibitions chased away and her stomach growing tight at the sight of her approaching beau.
As though he had been born to please her, Tony leapt the gap with practiced grace, his board flying out from under him and into a perfect kickflip. The man landed upon the next railing with the griptape down in a darkslide. The friction of the rugged material against the metal began to slow Tony down, just as it caused Winter's heart to speed up. With one more jump, he was upon her balcony, and rode right up to her before dismounting his deck and gripping the nose with one hand.
"Hey, Winter," Tony said, his voice smooth and confident while remaining relaxed and tinged with a hint of refinement due to his age of 52. Perhaps in another life, Tony would be a cougar, if not a bird.
Winter's cheeks flared pink as she eyed up her man. The sandy blonde hair peaking out from beneath his protective helmet was slick with sweat, and his nose was also on his face, which was a plus. Tony's baby blue eyes were locked firmly upon her own, causing her blush to deepen. The Schnee snowflake was displayed proudly upon his dark blue shirt, a symbol of his undying love for her and a fitting background for the bird skull printed atop it.
"Mr. Hawk," Winter said after clearing her throat while trying to maintain her composure. Despite her efforts, her voice quivered ever so slightly. After all, he was a boy. She was a girl. Can I make it any more obvious?
"How was work?" Tony asked as he unstrapped his helmet and placed it gently upon Winter's head. Her bun squished beneath the weight of the heavy plastic. Winter loved it when Tony squished her bun.
"The usual," Winter replied, her voice wistful. "I feel like I've been taking on more and more work for General Ironwood, and it's beginning to stress me out. I'm doing everything I can."
Tony placed a gentle hand upon Winter's shoulder and rubbed it gently.
"Winter, we've been over this. You need to stop pretending you're a superman."
"I know," Winter admitted. "But every day, I feel as though I have 900 things to do, and I feel awful not doing them."
"It's in our nature to destroy ourselves," Tony responded sagely. "But you have to work at it. Little by little, each day."
"You're right," Winter replied with a sigh. "How do you deal with the daily grind?"
"Sometimes with a 50-50," Tony explained. "Sometimes with a Tail Slide."
"That makes sense," Winter accepted with a nod. "Shall we retire to the Birdhouse?"
"Lead the way," Tony said with a smile.
Winter picked up her own board from upon the balcony and began to coast toward the glass door of the balcony. She ollied over the metal tracking and rode up the plywood ramp leaning up against her bed before performing a Christ Air over the furniture and earning a 1,000 point mattress gap bonus. Tony was quick to follow, and the two spent the rest of the night riding around the couch in circles.
Author's Note:
I got about two hours of sleep last night.
-RD