"Nervous?" Sebastian asks, as they link hands. After a bit of driving around they'd managed to find a relatively empty underground garage to park the bike.

"Yeah, kinda," Sam replies. Not as nervous as he was about Sebastian driving without a helmet, but he's not about to start that argument again.

"I'll tell them you're a virgin," Sebastian says, smirking.

Sam knows that Sebastian's talking in terms of piercings, not sexual encounters, but he gives him a light shove anyways. "So are you, asshole… you did all of yours at home. That's like… piercing masturbation."

Sebastian laughs. "Not really… but that's a good band name."

"Abby would never go for it," Sam replies with grin.

"Definitely not," Sebastian agrees. He falls silent for a minute, then asks, "So, are you excited to lose it? Afraid it's gonna hurt? You know, I hear it's normal to bleed the first time you get penetrated."

Sam rolls his eyes. He watched Sebastian do his own piercings; he thinks he has a pretty good idea of what to expect. "You're such an ass, Seb." He hesitates, then adds. "I thought that was only for girls, though? Do dudes bleed too when, um… you know?"

Sebastian's look of amusement is quickly replaced by one of concern. "No. It was a joke, Sam."

He breathes a sigh of relief. "Oh. That's good to hear. I think… I think Abby's been fucking with me. She told me, um, she told me there was a lot of blood when she did it. Like, that scene with the elevator in that movie. What movie was it? We watched it together, like, two weeks ago."

"Yeah, dude, she's definitely fucking with you," Sebastian says with a laugh. "I still think she's lying about the whole thing; she's probably just making up some creepy bullshit because she's weird like that."

"I hope so," Sam replies. "I mean, then we could do it first."

Sebastian stops walking, and Sam comes to a stop next to him. "We could tonight, you know," he says, in a low voice. "If you want to. You're already staying over… we could pick up some stuff on our way back."

Sam feels his face heating up. He'd be lying if he said he hadn't thought it since the first night they'd spent together. He'd thought about it a lot, actually. At night, in his bed, or in the shower, with one hand wrapped around himself, pretending that it was Sebastian's hand he was thrusting into. He thought back to earlier, when Sebastian had licked the frosting off his thumb, and how turned on he'd been.

Sam could have that tonight; they're both adults, it wasn't like there wasn't anything stopping them. Haley had even suggested it, as a sort of birthday gift (as if he weren't planning on spoiling Sebastian enough today). And Sam knew it would feel good, so fucking good, to have Sebastian pressed up against him, without any clothing or bedsheets in the way. To have Sebastian's mouth against his own, or against his neck, or maybe around his-

"Sam?" Sebastian interrupts, and Sam lets out a shaky breath.

"I dunno," he says, because that's the honest truth.

He wants to have sex with Sebastian, and he knows Sebastian wants it, too. What he doesn't know is how it's supposed to work. No one's ever taught him how to have sex with another guy – Sam barely knows how the mechanics of having sex with a girl would work.

It's not the stuff like hand jobs that worry him; Sam's pretty sure he's got a solid grasp on that. It's the more… advanced stuff. Things like blow jobs. Sam doesn't know how to blow a dude. How much of it are you supposed to put in? What do you do with your teeth? And then there was butt stuff… Sam didn't even know where to begin with that. He'd worked up the courage to watch some gay porn on one occasion – his cheeks burning the entire time – but it hadn't really answered all of his questions.

Sebastian seems concerned by his silence. He lets go of Sam's hand, reaching out to cup Sam's face instead. "Hey, it's okay. It's okay to say no, Sam. I'm not gonna be mad."

"I know," Sam replies, looking down at the dirty concrete. "Thanks for being cool about it. I just… I don't know if I'm ready, Seb… sorry."

Sebastian presses a kiss to Sam's cheek. "It's fine, Sam, really. Don't apologize." He pulls his hand away from Sam's cheek, and laces their fingers back together again. "Do you still want to sleep over tonight?"

"Yeah, of course," Sam reassures him. "We could, um, still fool around a bit? Nothing heavy, but like, making out and stuff. Like we usually do."

Sebastian squeezes his hand. "That sounds good."

"I want my first time to be with you," Sam adds, because he knows Sebastian has self-esteem issues, and Sam doesn't want Sebastian thinking that the problem is him.

Sebastian smirks. "Maybe we could book a hotel room. Make it special."

"Order some roses," Sam teases. "Sprinkle the petals all over the bed. It's gonna be romantic as fuck."

"Yoba, no," Sebastian says, looking horrified. "You have allergies, Sam; there's nothing sexy about you sniffling your way through the entire time. That's gross."

Thinking about his allergies makes Sam think about noses, and thinking about noses brings up another question that's been on his mind. One that isn't about sex, thankfully. "Hey Seb? How are you gonna blow your nose with a septum piercing? Isn't that gonna be weird?"

Sebastian rolls his eyes. "Like a normal person?" He tugs Sam in the direction of the stairs. "Now let's get out of here; it smells terrible."

Sam laughs. "Not really the most romantic place to have that conversation. Although, I do know a romantic spot we could go after we hit the shop, if you're up for a surprise activity." He waggles his eyebrows at Sebastian.

"I guess I'll trust you," Sebastian agrees, "as long as we're home in time for dinner."

"Of course," Sam promises. "Such a momma's boy."

"Fuck off, you're a momma's boy."

It's nice, being able to hold Sebastian's hand out in the open – although they do get a few dirty looks that Sam really hopes Sebastian doesn't notice. The tattoo parlour is tucked in between a couple of shops – the most interesting of which are a cannabis 'culture' store, and a stag shop with a smiling condom sticker stuck on the window.

"Holy shit dude, it has a cut out for year head," Sebastian laughs, pointing. "We should take a picture with it for Abby. She'd hate it."

"Maybe after we get the piercings," Sam suggests. "Then she'll know we actually went through with them."

He squeezes Sebastian's hand tighter as they enter the shop. "Speaking of Abby, she'd fucking love this place," Sam says as he glances around the entrance. The walls are painted a dusty shade of lavender, and the interior's decorated with lots of dark wood, potted plants, candles, and crystals of all colours.

Sebastian gets them checked in at the front desk, where they each fill out a form. There's a nerve-wracking fifteen minute wait in the shop's small lobby until a lady, who introduces herself as Ebony, finally leads them into a side room.

"Do you want me to go first?" Sebastian offers, while Ebony starts sanitizing the station.

"No, it's okay. I can go first," Sam assures him, hopefully sounding a lot more confident than he feels. "Unless you want to? I dunno, yours is way scarier, dude."

Sebastian smirks. "You first, before you chicken out."

"Which ear are we doing today?" Ebony asks with a cheerful smile, as Sam settles into the chair.

"Uh, the left," he answers. Sam wasn't really sure if there was a 'correct' ear he was supposed to pierce – he'd tried looking it up online, but the answer had varied from site to site, and Abigail had laughed at him when he'd asked her if she knew.

"Got it. So, I'm going to first I'm going to clean your ear, and then we're going to mark the spot you want pierced, okay?"

Sam nods along, reaching for Sebastian's hand as she starts disinfecting his ear. "Relax," Sebastian murmurs, "it'll be over before you know it."

Ebony marks his ear, lets him double check the placement in the mirror, and then the next thing Sam knows, she's got the needle sterilized and ready to go.

There's a sharp, pinching pain, and then it's over, and she's holding a mirror in front of him again. "Awesome," Sam says, admiring his new piercing in the reflection. He grins at Sebastian, who presses a quick kiss to his cheek as Ebony starts prepping a new needle for Sebastian.

Sebastian's piercing is definitely a lot scarier looking than Sam's was. He grips Sebastian's hand (whether it's for his own sake, or Sebastian's he's not actually sure) as Ebony punches the weird hollow needle through Sebastian's septum, and then slides the temporary piercing through it.

"Woah," Sam says. "You're a lot braver than I am, dude."

"Wasn't so bad," Sebastian mumbles, though his voice sounds a little less steady than when Sam was the one sitting in the chair.

Ebony adjusts Sebastian's piercing so that it's flipped up in his nose – "Leave it like that for the first month," she tells him – and then runs them both through their aftercare. Sam takes notes on his phone, because he knows his boyfriend, and he's willing to bet his entire music collection that Sebastian won't bother following it.

"I think I'm gonna get gold hoops for mine," Sam tells Sebastian, once they're out of the shop. "What about you?"

"Something black," Sebastian replies, and Sam rolls his eyes. Sebastian elbows him in response. "Hey, no making fun of my birthday present… I didn't make fun of you for getting a piercing in the gay ear."

Sam groans. "Oh no, is it the left one? I was hoping it was the right."

"Nah, I'm just messing with you." Sebastian grins. "I don't think that's even a thing anymore."

"Asshole," Sam says, as affectionately as he can. "Are you ready for your next birthday surprise?"

"I hope it's a pony," Sebastian replies in a deadpan tone. "You still know your way around the city, right? If we get lost without the motorcycle we're fucked."

"It's really close by," Sam promises.

It's a ten minute walk to the square Sam has in mind, and he's pleased to see that it's just as romantic as he'd imagined when they arrive. There's a small, oval ice rink next to some large, light-up letters that spell out 'Zuzu City'. A couple of arches stretch over one end of the rink, decorated with little dangling star lights for the holiday season.

"A skating rink?" Sebastian asks, as they stop to take in the view.

"Isn't it pretty with all the lights?"

"We're not skating, are we?" Sebastian frowns when Sam doesn't answer. "Sam, we can't go skating; I don't know how, and we don't even have skates. Plus, what if I fall on my face? I just got my nose pierced!"

"You won't fall down, I know how to skate! And we can rent them from the little shop over there, you just need to give them your license," Sam replies. Sebastian gives him a reluctant look. "Please, Sebby? It'll be fun, I promise! My dad used to take me here in the winter when I was a kid."

Sebastian's expression softens at the mention of Sam's dad. "Yeah, okay. Just a few laps, though?"

Sam nods. "A few laps, and then can we get a picture by the Winter Star tree? I thought maybe it would be cute to have a picture as, you know... a couple."

"Okay," Sebastian agrees. "And one picture, Sam. Not twenty."

Sam quickly discovers that getting the skates on Sebastian is the easy part, but getting Sebastian on the ice is a whole different story. "Just don't let go of my hands," he instructs Sebastian, who's still standing on the rubber mat lining the rink. "I won't let you fall, I promise."

"I'm not scared," Sebastian, who's clearly lying, mutters. "I just got my septum pierced. I own a motorcycle. Ice does not scare me."

"Of course not," Sam agrees, "but maybe you could just try putting one foot on the ice? That would be a good start." Sebastian takes a step down onto the ice, and immediately lets go of Sam's hands, wrapping his arms around Sam's middle instead. "Okay, well you did the opposite of what I told you to do, but that works too, I guess."

"Shut up, I'm on the ice," Sebastian mutters. "Now what?"

"Here, take my hands again. I'll skate backwards and pull you along, and then you just need to not let go." Sebastian releases his grip on Sam's waist, and takes Sam's hands again instead. "Warn me if we're about to bump into anyone." Slowly, Sam skates backwards, and Sebastian seems to relax a little.

"I guess this is kind of nice," Sebastian admits, giving Sam a smile that makes his heart flutter.

Sam wants to kiss him, but he's a little scared of bumping Sebastian's nose – or worse, losing their balance, so he settles for a peck on the cheek. Sebastian has other plans, going in for a full kiss on the lips instead, and Sam's glad, because kissing Sebastian in public is even more thrilling than holding his hand.

They manage to get two (very slow) laps in, before the Zamboni comes to clear the ice. Sam gets them some maple bars and hot chocolate from a nearby shop, and they enjoy them together while watching the rink fill up with skaters again.

"Was it as good as you remember it being?" Sebastian asks.

"It's better," Sam decides. "I mean, they didn't have the big sign and stuff when I was a kid." He takes a large sip of his hot chocolate, wincing as it burns his tongue. That was definitely still the same. "I miss doing things with my dad," he continues, once he's able to talk again, "but I think I like this better. Doing things with you. I'm not really sure if things can be the same when he gets back, you know? And I guess things aren't ever going to be the same between us, too, but… it's in a good way." He sighs, leaning into Sebastian's side. "Sorry, did any of that even make sense?"

"Yeah," Sebastian answers, "I know what you mean. Kinda like what I was saying earlier… if I got to choose between growing up with my real dad, or growing up in Pelican Town and meeting you? I think I'd still pick Pelican Town. I really like you, Sam."

"I really like you, too."

Sebastian shoots him a brief smile. "Sorry, I shouldn't be bringing up depressing things again."

"It's okay… it's nice having someone to talk about that sort of stuff with. I mean, we always used to, but… being able to be completely honest now. About how I feel about you."

Sebastian pulls him into a hug. "Hey, let's get that picture," he suggests. "Before things get ridiculous sappy and sad."

"Good idea," Sam agrees, pulling back. "Wouldn't want you to cry and ruin your eyeliner. Someone might confuse you for Gerard Way."

"Hey, I did that just for you," Sebastian protests.

"And I like it!" Sam says, grinning. "Very handsome. Did you swipe one of Abby's pencil's at the sleepover?"

"Abby gave one to me, thank you very much," Sebastian retorts. "She snuck out earlier to drop off my birthday gift. And my gas money. By the way, we need to grab gas on our way back."

"And a helmet!" Sam reminds him. "Come on, let's go get those two girls over there to take our picture. I'm like, ninety percent sure I saw them holding hands on the rink, so they probably won't be rude about it." He waves them down as Sebastian follows after him. "Excuse me, do you mind taking a picture of me and my boyfriend?"

Yoba, it feels so good saying that word out loud.