"I'm ready!" Alex announces
"Oh, my goodness... What are you wearing?" John gasps as he sees Alex waddle over to him in his swaddling of clothing
"Um, two pairs of regular pants under my snow pants, two shirts, a sweatshirt, a winter coat, a scarf, two pairs of fuzzy socks, two pairs of gloves, and a hat" Alex answers with glee
"Alex, how are you going to skate if you can barely move?" John asks through a strong smile
"Um... Well, I didn't think about that, but we'll figure it out" Alex laughs nervously as he lifts his hat off his eyes so that he can see john
Unlike Alex, John looks sleek with his heather grey turtleneck layered under his black trench coat
"I suppose we will" John says kissing Alex's gloved hand
They walk down the street together as Alex gazes at the lights adorning their neighborhood.
This is Alex's sixth Christmas in America, yet his bewilderment with twinkling lights has not ceased a bit, he loves how they reflect off the snow and icicles, they seem to cast a shadow of glittering hope on the world about him. John on the other hand far prefers watching Alexs eyes light up as he watches the decorations pass.
Their apartment is merely a few blocks from the ice-skating rink, so it takes practically no time at all to get there.
Alex watches John lace up his skates delicately as his curls fall into his face until John looks up and notices Alex watching him.
"You ready?" his voice rings sweetly through the air filling Alex with confidence and comfortability
"Absolutely" He says standing up quickly
Alex has never been ice skating before, and it shows as he awkwardly shuffles his feet to the rink with john.
John steps out on the ice backward so he can lead Alex correctly.
Watching Alex learn to skate was much comparable to watching a baby giraffe learning to walk, but John was patient and caring, making sure he didn't fall too hard
It took about 20 minutes but Alex was skating, I mean it was clumsy but at least he was staying upright.
"So remind me where you learned to skate so well?" Alex asks following John slowly around the rink.
"Well, I went skating with the Schuylers' every weekend of every winter for about 10 years, plus Peggy and I were really competitive so after a few years of competing tooth and nail to be better skaters, we just got pretty good at it" John responds turning around to look at the graceless Alex stumbling along behind him.
"Sounds about ri-" Alex begins but is cut off by his skates slipping out from under him
Just before he crashes to the ground John catches him with one arm around his waist and the other placed on alex's cheek endearingly
"Are you okay?" John asks delicately
"Yeah... I..." Alex has completely lost his breath, not only from his fall but there is just something about the way John is looking at him. His charming smile, his black jacket bringing out his glowing Amber eyes, Alex had never seen a more handsome man in his life.
John pulls him up and sets him back on his feet
"What do you say, we go get some hot cocoa and warm up a little before heading home?" John suggests
Alex nods quietly and they shuffle off the ice together to go change into their regular shoes
"John, should my feet be all prickly?" Alex asks, his eyes wide
"Yeah, that's normal, they're probably just cold." John says
After getting their drinks, John returns to Alex and sits next to him
"How are you feeling?" he asks
"I'm good, a little sore, but good" Alex says taking a sip
He truly does look like a toddler, all bundled up, holding his cocoa to his mouth with both hands
"So... Tomorrow you have to see your dad, are you feeling any better about that?" Alex asks breaking the silence
"Can we not talk about that for now..." John responds looking down at his cup
"Sorry... um, I have something to show you then"
"What?" John asks cautiously looking back up to Alex
"Come one, Its only a few minutes from here. let's go"
They walk down the street together until Alex stops them at a medium-sized house adorned with lights
"Alex where are we?" John asks confused
"Well we're graduating this year and this house is close to the Marine wildlife conservancy you want to work with, and it's within our price range..."
"Alex... are you saying what I think you're saying?" John asks
"It went up for sale two weeks ago so I wrote them a very heartwarming and mostly true letter about why they should give us the house instead of taking the slightly higher offers they were getting. And they accepted my offer... If you want it, it's ours" Alex explains
John begins to tear up, his eyes reflecting the lights surrounding them
"Its perfect Alex"
"Does that mean... this is our house?" Alex asks, excitement ringing in his voice
"Yeah, I think so" John says grinning ear to ear
They crash into each other's arms, hugging and smiling
"Merry Christmas Jacky"
"Merry Christmas Lex"
(Happy Holidays from your friendly neighborhood fluff writer!
-E.M. )
