Once again, Misha lost his balance and crashed into Gabriel's chest, an annoyed "huff" leaving his mouth. In half an hour, they had barely skated a few meters. If he glanced over his shoulder, he could still see the ramp. A lone street lamp shone above it, putting it in the spotlight amid the evening's darkness, almost as if to mock him.
"You're terrible at this," Gabriel chuckled softly, holding onto Misha's waist to steady him. "Take it slow. The ice isn't going anywhere, and neither am I."
Misha gripped his partner's arms tightly, unsteady on his feet.
"Hockey players make it look so frigging easy," Misha snorted, visibly annoyed to have to use Gabriel as a sort of crutch not to fall headfirst. Now that they were practically hugging, though, he jumped on the opportunity to snuggle his face into the crook of Gabriel's neck, smacking his lips in contentment. "Gaby, I kid you not: my ankles are trying to bend at weird angles. Gosh, it actually hurts."
"Your ankle muscles are just not used to stabilizing your legs on skates." Gabriel muffled another chuckle. "They're going to be quite sore tomorrow."
Pretty sure they're not the only things that're going to be sore tomorrow, though. But that bit, Misha kept to himself. They hadn't addressed the subject since their first time at his birthday. Heck, they didn't even have the time to be snuggly with each other these past two months, not with Angela's and Matthew's deaths. It'd been hard not to let his hands wander on his lover, but they'd been around people most of the time. Tristan even shared their bed for a bit, too.
"Mom!" Misha heard a little boy call. He instinctively glanced askance to look at the kid. "Look! These two grown-up men are hugging!"
"Sweetie, don't point at people," his mother replied, pushing down his hand. "It's rude."
"But they're hugging!"
"And what's wrong with that?" The mother, noticing Misha's stare, smiled apologetically at him before bringing back her attention to her son. "I hug your father all the time."
"Yeah, I know!" The boy let out an indignant, self-righteous snort. "But that's not the point! Why doesn't Ethan want to hug me? He says boys shouldn't hug! But these two are hugging! That's not fair if grown-up men can hug, but boys can't! I want a hug, too!"
The mother appeared slumped, and Misha had to bite his bottom lip not to laugh. It was a cute interaction, and he could not help but watch the mother-son duo skate away. The boy was still trying to make his point, while his mother was trying to explain that other kids might not want to hug others all the time. It was called personal space, a strange concept in the boy's eyes.
"Is it me," Gabriel hummed, a knowing smile on his lips, "or have you been distracted today?" He leaned his head against Misha's before adding for good measure, "You almost bumped into a streetlamp earlier and didn't only because I pulled you away at the last second."
"Why not call me an airhead while you're at it!" Misha grunted, but he didn't deny Gabriel's words. Instead, he mumbled, "Do you think Yuki was serious back then? About the insemination stuff and raising kids, I mean."
"I doubt she'd joke about the matter." Gabriel's grip tightened on his coat, making Misha frown slightly. "If the thought is still on your mind, then I think it'd be worth sitting around a table and talking seriously about it. Co-parenting requires a lot of discussion, like, for example, housing accommodation. The best would probably be to live either next to each other or in the same house. Then again, a duplex would allow us, the adults, to have our own quarters, while allowing the kids to freely visit their parents any time. With that, you also have to consider—"
"Gaby," Misha cut him off, "let's keep the serious talk for another day. And with Yuki and my sister." Misha turned his head back toward his lover, stealing a quick peck. "We're on a date tonight."
"You're the one who brought up the subject, though," Gabriel chuckled, rubbing his nose against Misha's.
"And you're the one who went on a tangent!" Misha rolled his eyes before trying to push himself up and steady his uncooperative legs. Being physically fit did nothing to help him skate. His ankles couldn't care less whether or not he could run a marathon or bend his body like a contortionist. "Alright, I think I'm getting the gist of it. Whatever you say, I at least want to reach the Ferris wheel. I refuse to settle for less!"
Misha lifted his eyes, glaring at the Ferris wheel in the distance. He could only see the top of it over the tree canopy, the Christmas lights twinkling in the dark sky. It wasn't as gigantic as the one at La Ronde, as it had been temporarily set up for the holidays and would be dismantled in January. Still, it was tall enough to be seen from the river.
***
"Are you alright?" Gabriel asked Misha, holding onto his arm as his partner caught his breath. "You might have gone overboard for the last few—"
"Shut up!" Misha interrupted him, forcing himself to stand upright, although without much success. The next instant, he slouched back, holding onto Gabriel's arm for his dear life. "I'm fine. Let's just…" He gasped, inhaling the cold air. "Let's just sit on the bench for a bit and put our boots back on. I can't wait to remove those goddamn skates."
Gabriel wisely decided not to comment and helped Misha to wabble his way to the bench. He had to admit that he, too, was starting to feel it in his ankles. He hadn't skated in years, as he only did some during high school, and his legs took great pleasure in reminding him. Still, he kept his back straight and held onto Misha as his lover plopped himself onto the bench. With a faint smile curling his lips, Gabriel half-crouched, half-kneeled on the snowy ground, dropping his backpack with their boots beside him, and started to untie Misha's skates.
"I can do it on my own…!" Misha weakly protested.
"Yes, I know," Gabriel coaxed in a sweet voice. "But I want to do it and dote on my lover." The word "lover" had a magical effect on Misha, and he stopped protesting in a heartbeat. Instead, he pursed his lips, while red crept onto his cheeks. It was hard to tell whether it was due to the cold wind or embarrassment.
In silence, Gabriel removed his skates and helped him put on his boots. Then, he sat on the bench beside Misha before also getting rid of his skates and slipping his feet into his cold boots. Shivers ran up his spine. The warmth of the day was slowly fading away, replaced by the cold of the night. There were fewer people on the streets, too.
"Hm?" Gabriel arched an eyebrow. Misha had been staring at the Ferris Wheel for a while, his crystal blue eyes never leaving it. "Do you want to ride the Ferris wheel? We can go, if you want to."
"No, that's fine." Misha waved Gabriel's offer away. "I know you don't really like heights, and I kinda don't want you to throw up the sky-high price dinner we ate. That'd be such a waste."
Right, the one-time Gabriel rode a roller coaster with Misha, he ended up emptying his stomach in a trash bin at the amusement park, didn't he? Misha's shocked, troubled face popped into his mind, and a smile found its way on Gabriel's lips. The stunned expression on that cute, boyish face of his had been quite a sight.
"The younger you wouldn't have hesitated to drag me to it, though," Gabriel teased, unable to help himself. Misha had been quite the little devil at the time. In his defense, he saw him as a monster who had driven his sister to her death, so it was no wonder he tried his best to evict him from their lives. Things certainly had changed since then.
"Young me was an insupportable bitch!" Misha clicked his tongue, his nose crunching up in annoyance. "Anyway, let's just get back to our hotel. My feet hurt, I'm cold, and I just want to take a good ol' shower."
"I'll go hail a taxi," Gabriel offered, but just as he was about to stand up, Misha grabbed his wrist and pulled him down back onto the bench. "Mish?"
"Just call a taxi with your phone." Misha hummed, leaning his head against his shoulder. "Hailing a taxi in this part of the town is going to take you forever, if not the whole night. Better just call one."
"Fair point," Gabriel admitted, passing an arm around Misha's shoulders and holding him tight against him. With his free hand, he picked up his phone, swept the screen open, and searched for a taxi company nearby through the search engine.
Although Gabriel wouldn't admit it aloud, he also couldn't wait to get to their hotel. Like always, Misha had been an open book all day.
His flustered cheeks from time to time, his tendency to stare at his lips, and the intense gazes Misha threw at him when he thought Gabriel had his back to him and wouldn't notice… They were pretty glaring signs. If anything, his partner was expecting them to have an interesting night to complete their date, and Gabriel had no intention whatsoever to dash his hope, as he, too, might or might not have been expecting to pull an all-nighter and enjoy the night to his heart's content.