xp_logs | Friday night, Forge & Crystal, ice skating

Not a dream! Not a hoax! Not an imaginary story! An actual date!

The pasta had been nice, Forge thought. After a period of worrying exactly what kind of restaurant would be appropriate to take Crystal to, he'd remembered his father's advice: "Make it someplace that you like. Restaurants - they don't impress women as much as we think they do, and food always tastes good on the first date."

The dinner had been easy; classy, elegant, and with surprisingly good company given that both he and Crystal professed to be awkward at "small talk". Now, of course, ice skating was the difficult part. Forge surmised that even had he possessed two fully working legs, this was an activity that bore absolutely no basis in human logic. The concept that someone somewhere had possessed the idea to strap metal blades onto their shoes and go rocketing across a frozen lake with barely-controllable velocity seemed like it had to come from the mind of a lunatic. Possibly demonic possession had been involved. Definitely some form of heresy against all logic.

Yet here he was, wobbling unsteadily as the other skaters whizzed by him.

Crystal had been surprised when Forge suggested ice skating. Yet here they were, at Rockefeller Plaza, out on the ice. She, of course, had no problems with it. She was a dancer, and this certainly wasn't her first time out on the ice. She hadn't bothered with a jacket, either; the time of dressing "appropriately" for the weather was long over for her. She was who she was, and although she wasn't a visible mutant, the fact that her manner of dress remained mostly the same throughout the seasons could be a pretty good indication that she was comfortable in just about any sort of climate.

As Crystal skated past him - backwards, to boot - Forge mock-scowled and circled his arms to try and keep his balance. "You," he accused to the princess, "are cheating. You are far too good at this for someone who comes from a Mediterranean climate."

Crystal shook her head. "I am not cheating. I am using both my natural gifts and those I have acquired through training and practice. What reason would there have been to spend so much time on perfecting my skills if I did not ever use them?"

"See, I say that when people complain about me spending all my time in the lab," Forge protested, "but admittedly, spending an evening with a machine press and a brand new array of light-metal semiconductors would be somewhat less enjoyable. Much less enjoyable," he corrected himself, trying to avoid his usual habit of self-deprecating understatement. Cautiously, he pushed off harder with his skates, managing to stay balanced enough to keep up with Crystal.

"There is a difference there," Crystal pointed out. "Spending all of your time in one place, especially indoors, is not such a good thing. When I practice, I spend time outside and move around. People might joke about the fact that they rarely see me walk, but I exercise. Still, you do not really spend all of your time in your lab." Crystal kept her eyes on Forge. He seemed to be doing fine on his own, but if he needed any help, she saw no reason not to "cheat" for him.

"I get enough exercise in the big metal room, thank you very mu--!" Forge's protestation was cut off as one of his skates hit a bump in the ice, sending him tumbling face first. However, instead of meeting the cold ice at high velocity with his head leading the way, he opened his eyes when he felt a warm current of air under him, holding him inches from what would have been a very painful fall. "I recant my earlier assertion," he said sheepishly as he felt the winds raising him back to his feet. "Cheat all you like."

"I had the feeling you might feel that way," Crystal replied, doing her best to keep an amused look off of her face. "Also, exercise in a natural environment is quite different from exercise gained in a 'big metal room', especially when one does spend so much time in a lab." Crystal held out a hand to Forge. "Care to skate without worrying about falling?"

Tentatively, then with a bit more confidence, Forge reached out and placed his hand in Crystal's. "Not worried about falling, right," he said out loud to remind himself. "Not worried at all."

On her own, Crystal would have carried out jumps and spins and would have sped across the ice as fast as she could. Now, she simply skated across the ice, following the flow of other skaters as they made their way around the rink.

For his part, Forge was content to follow along, buoyed by an occasional gust of air keeping him from taking a spill, but after a few laps, he seemed to find a sense of rhythm to the subtle shifts in balance required to stay upright. Although he was enjoying himself, a few twinges from his hip reminded him that he wasn't exactly equipped for this kind of exercise so quickly. Subtly, he gave Crystal's hand a quick squeeze and motioned towards some nearby benches.

Aided by a few warm gusts of wind, the pair made their way off the edge of the ice, and Forge sat down with a thump, massaging his leg where the prosthetic attached. "Sorry," he apologized, "obviously I do need more exercise than the big metal room. The metal doesn't get tired, but the flesh is regrettably weak."

"We have been skating for a while," Crystal replied, sitting in mid-air next to him. "We do not have to skate anymore. I believe we will count this as outdoor exercise, and you have probably had your fill of that already. I was surprised that you suggested ice skating for tonight."

At that, Forge gave a sheepish shrug. "I figured it would be something unique and simple. I know New York doesn't have much to compare to the kind of, well, royal treatment that Attilan provides... but I've enjoyed this. I--" he paused to look past Crystal to where a middle-aged couple was looking disapprovingly at the young woman hovering in midair. "Excuse me," he half-barked at the two, "would you mind? Hmm?"

When the two got up in a huff and left, Forge returned his attention to Crystal. "Anyway, I was saying? Yes. I've had a really great time tonight."

Not having noticed the couple's stares, Forge's harsh words had taken Crystal by surprise. She was confused, watching them walk away. "So have I." Looking back at Forge, a slightly puzzled look on her face, she asked, "Why did you shout at those people?"

Forge colored slightly, then looked downwards. "Sorry. You were attracting a bit of attention. I don't think they approved. Hell with 'em," he said with a shrug. He reached out impulsively, taking both Crystal's hands in his lightly. "Let them stare."

Crystal took a quick look around. "I do not see them. I doubt that they are staring anymore." While not a visible mutant in the usual sense, Crystal was well aware of the fact that both her outfit and floating in the air made it a bit noticeable. Still, she refused to hide who she was. There was no reason for it. If non-mutants had a problem, well, it was their problem, not hers. She turned back to look at Forge, a half-smile on her face. "What, have they never seen a mutant before?"

"Most people haven't," Forge explained, "not that it justifies the reactions, but people will be small-minded when they can. Besides, if they want to hold what we can do against us, their loss. We are who we are." He stood up without letting go of Crystal's hands, looking down at the contrast of skin and metal. "And I don't care who stares or whispers or thinks whatever. I like being here. With you."

"Even though it is cold and you almost fell and I am not sure how interested you are in skating?" Forge's words and behavior were surprising Crystal... a lot. "I, too, have enjoyed our evening together."

Forge nodded. "Even though." He shrugged slightly, looking away for a moment. "It's not like working in the lab. With my machines... I always know what works, what will happen if I do something differently. I can see the outcome almost automatically. Outside... it's different. I don't have any natural skill or advantage to things like this. It's... unpredictable. But I am finding myself liking that unpredictability." He looked back at Crystal and squeezed her hands again with a small smile. "Even if it scares me a little sometimes."

Crystal stood up. "It is perfectly fine to want stability, to want to know what will happen and avoid surprises. However, as both of us know, that cannot always happen. We do not always know what will happen from one day to the next, and what you thought would happen does not always happen. Still, if one was never surprised at all, if you knew everything that would ever happen in advance, life would be a bit boring, would it not?"

Forge thought about that for a moment, then laughed. "Very true. And then I am reminded that my last 'date' of any sort was with a precog, and that was more like work than actual fun." He shook his head, remembering the series of faux-dates he and Marie-Ange had undergone to spur Doug into finally acting to win back his ex-girlfriend. While the subterfuge had been successful, it had soured Forge somewhat on the entire dating experience. And yet, here he found himself.

"I have never been on a date before." Crystal looked out at the rink for a moment before looking back at Forge. "Do you want to give the ice another try, or are we finished with skating for the evening?"

That particular revelation caught Forge by surprise, and he froze for a moment in bewilderment. "Wait, what? You've never...? I just figured, well, with the royal get-togethers and galas and all those 'here, princess of so-and-so, meet prince of blahblah' things you read about that, well... you mean to tell me that you've never had someone just want to spend time with you and enjoy your company?" He rubbed his forehead in disbelief, then shook his head. "I just... wow. I would not have guessed. Wait... am I going to guess then that New Year's Eve, that was...?"

Crystal shrugged lightly. "Those are not dates. Being assigned an escort for a social function does not mean that you are on a date with someone. If the two people become interested in each other, fine, but there are no expectations of ever wanting to see the other person again. And yes, Forge, that was my first kiss, not that you are the first person to make the attempt."

"Ah," Forge said, speechless for a moment. Then he cleared his throat and smiled. "Let's give it another try. The skating, I mean. Unless, that is, you were thinking... and another would be, um... all right?"

"All right." Sometimes a simple answer was best, and let him make of that what he may.

"All right," Forge repeated quietly, a small nugget of doubt forming in his mind, but just as quickly squashed by a quick surge of confidence. "For the record, this has nothing to do with tradition," he said as he stepped in close to kiss Crystal again, surprising even himself with the sudden boldness.

As she had told Forge, their kiss at the stroke of midnight on New Year's Eve had been her first one, and as she wasn't quite sure what to do here, she let him take the lead. However, unlike their first quick kiss, when she had just stood there in shock, this time Crystal kissed back.

After a few long moments, Forge finally opened his eyes and took a half-step back to catch his breath. "Okay, that was a lot better than 'all right'..." he said quietly.

Crystal nodded, eyes slightly wide. "I... yes," she agreed. "Better than 'all right'." She stood there, not quite sure what else to say or do. "Much better." Not that she had anything to compare the kiss to, as she was sure Forge did, but she wasn't disappointed at all.

Blushing deep crimson, Forge glanced down and took Crystal's hand in his. "If you'd like to go back on the ice, I think I might manage not to fall."

"Yes, I would like that." Smiling, Crystal skated backwards, keeping hold of Forge's hand.