Gabriel & Clint | Saturday Afternoon

[x-hawkeye.livejournal.com]

Ice skating. 'nuff said.


Clint took an easy lap around the rink, breath frosting the air as he turned, skating backward as he grinned at Gabriel. "Did you skate a lot in Texas?"

"Hell no, you show off." Gabriel tried to focus on staying balanced, the blades of the skates a little shaky with each stride. "I mean, it gets cold sometimes, and sometimes it snows, but people didn't really go ice skating. And I was a jock in high school, so by the time people were doing that as cute dates, I probably thought it was bad for my rep." He took another tentative skate-step toward Clint.

"Watch out," Clint said, still grinning. "I think I'm bad for your reputation." He turned around and waited for Gabriel to catch up with him before continuing around the rink. "What kind of jock were you? Track? Soccer?"

"Huh, now that you say it..." Gabriel tried looking around covertly to see if they were being spotted, but concern about falling down stifled his good pantomime. "Baseball. Béisbol."

"Ah, the great American pastime," Clint said dryly. Then he turned to skate backward again, glancing over his shoulder to make sure he wasn't heading directly for anyone - or the wall. "Did you like it?"

"Sure." A mom and two small children whizzed by him, and Gabriel's eyes followed them. He smiled, then looked back at Clint. "I mean, yeah. It was fun, even if I wasn't a slugger or anything. But I ran fast - did cross-country too, the last year I was in school. Watch out," he nodded toward the wall.

Taking the curve smoothly, Clint didn't bother pointing out his almost perfect spatial awareness. He just went with it because this was fun. Kids were laughing and people were chatting. It was open-air, so cold but nice. It was nice for New York. "I never really did actual sports. Like, pickup games in the neighborhood were cool, but nothing in school."

A gust of wind came and Gabriel finally moved his hands from his sides so he could tighten his scarf. "Yeah, but pickup games are fun. No weird competitive vibe, no stress about whether you're good enough for a scholarship, or if your teammates are gonna carry their weight." He tried to put his track skills to use and speed up a little bit. "I guess I miss it a little bit."

"Aren't there like. Leagues and stuff you could join?" Clint asked, reaching out to straighten Gabriel's newly tightened scarf. "Like, neighborhood things or something? Maybe District-X has something like that going on?"

"Eh, maybe. But mutant baseball probably means everybody cheats."

Laughing, Clint shook his head. "Pretty sure there are 'no powers' rules involved. Y'know. On your honor and all that." Reaching out again, he hooked his fingers into Gabriel's scarf and tugged him a little closer.

"Well, still," Gabriel shrugged as he glided toward Clint. "I've got other things to keep me busy now, you know?"

"Right, right," Clint said, nodding. "You've got a job, friends... all kinds of things to keep you off the baseball field..."

"Well, sure." Gabriel reached out to straighten the lapel of Clint's coat. "Johnny keeps me really busy."

"That's good," Clint said. "I mean, you know what they say - idle hands and stuff." He was smiling, though, hand dropping so he could tangle his fingers with Gabriel's. "Nice of Johnny to like. Bite that bullet for everybody. Keep you outta trouble."

"I know." He leaned toward Clint, intending to whisper something mildly seductive into his ear, but flirting had taken away his focus on his skates. As his weight shifted, one of his skates tapped into Clint's. He reacted by moving his foot back, but by that point, his balance was gone, and he fell onto the ice, bringing Clint down with him.

Clint sat there and laughed for a moment. "Smooth, Gabriel. You are so smooth." He leaned in and pressed a kiss to Gabriel's cheek anyway, then set about getting himself back on his feet so he could help his boyfriend up.

"Smooth enough, anyway." Gabriel turned over and tried to climb up to his feet. "You know, the movies make this look so easy."

"Movies have body and stunt doubles," Clint pointed out, laughing again. "C'mon, I think there's like an actual figure skating pair over there, we can watch them do lifts or spins or whatever."

After some struggling, Gabriel made it to his feet. "Who?" He followed Clint's gesture. "Them? I think that's just a gay guy and his beard."

"Yeah, but that doesn't mean they're not actually figure skaters," Clint pointed out. "See? They're doing the weird twirly thing."

"Oh, sure." Gabriel just nodded like he had some idea what his boyfriend was talking about. He grabbed Clint's arm for balance. "You know, if you want to go join them, you're more than welcome. You've got serious skating chops."

"Not falling over doesn't give me skating chops," Clint said, shifting so he was holding Gabriel's hand again as he started skating backward once more. "But I mean, I'd rather keep you from getting any more bruises."

"Pft," Gabriel waved his free hand. "Only thing bruised is my ego." He was quiet as they glided along, very much aware of their being one of those couples in a way he'd never quite imagined he'd be. "This was a good idea."

"Yeah, seems like you have those sometimes," Clint said, casting Gabriel a smile.

"Well, you know. Probably too few to mention."

Clint got ready to reply, say something smarmy or funny, but something tiny and cold hit his face. Colder than the air that kept frosting, anyway. He paused mid-glide, turning to face Gabriel as he looked up. "Hey, it's snowing"

"Shut up." Gabriel looked up as well. "So it is." A few wet flakes fell onto his pea coat as he pulled Clint slightly closer to him. "This was more what I had in mind."

"I'm on board with this," Clint said, letting himself be pulled even closer. He propped his forearm on Gabriel's shoulder, eyebrows rising a little. "Definitely on board with this plan."

"Good." Gabriel leaned toward him, putting an arm behind his back. "You better be." As they moved together, he leaned his head down and kissed Clint.

Clint kissed him back, smiling for a moment before he laughed softly. Eyes closed, he muttered, "I think we're officially a cliche."

"Maybe." Gabriel smiled, his cheek pressed against Clint's. "But we're an awesome cliche."