tumblr || rudy pankow

0.9

After the events of the morning and a nap, Rudy decided he needed to spend some time with his brothers. The pair bundled up, getting into the car he'd rented and driving to the Jr-Sr high school. His mom had called the school stating she'd forgotten that two younger Pankow brothers had a dental appointment and would be picked up at 1:00. Rudy knew his brothers wouldn't believe that, but went along with it, pulling up in front of the school and dragging his best friend into the office.

"I'm here for Alec and Henning." He told the receptionist, who he was sure had been there since the school opened. She didn't particularly care for the oldest Pankow sibling, his ADHD getting him into more trouble than he'd willingly admit. He'd been a good student though, just a little chaotic.

"I should have known it wasn't a dental appointment, your mother doesn't forget those kinds of things." She said, narrowing her eyes at him. "How long are you in Alaska for, Rudy?"

"A week and a half, Mrs. Schilling, I was sad to hear about your husband. Dan was a good man." He said. "This is my girlfriend, Beau. It's her first time here." Girlfriend? That was the first time he'd referred to her as that before. Sure, he told her he loved her all the time but they'd never put a label on it, even when there was another human involved.

"He keep you on your toes?" The lady asked her. Beau smiled softly with a nod. "He was in the principal's office every week for something."

"Hey now, I think Mr. Anderson just didn't know how to deal with me. It was easier for him to send me here, there were a couple of times where I didn't even do anything but breathe the wrong way" he said. Suddenly, the door to the office swung open and Rudy was knocked back against the counter as his brother hugged him tightly.

"Alec, hey. Mom agreed to let you guys out early today since you didn't know I was home." He said. "Where's Henning?"

"Mr. Anderson won't let him out until he finishes his math test." Beau could see Rudy roll his eyes, then with a mischievous smile look at the receptionist.

"One time, Pankow. Just because I know you don't see your brothers very often." She told him. Rudy looked at his youngest brother and nodded.

"Go on out to the car with Beau, I'll be right there." He said. With that, the 23 year old ran out of the office and down the hall.

Rudy finally found room 234, his old geometry room, and knocked a couple of times before opening the door. The teacher looked up at him with a glare when he realized who it was.

"Gooooood afternoon, Mr. Wade Anderson. See, we have a tiny issue. My dear brother, Henning, has a dentist appointment in fifteen minutes, but you won't let him out until he finishes his test? Are you going to explain to my mother why she has to pay a $25 late fine per brother because we're late to his appointment because you won't let him out?" He said. The teacher continued to glare at the oldest Pankow, shaking his head.

"Rudy, you know my rules. No leaving during my class unless you're dying." He said.

"Unfortunately, Wade, I also know that is against school policy as my mother went round and round with you when I was in your class. So if you don't mind, I will be taking my brother to his appointment." With that, Rudy reached over to his brother's desk, grabbing the test and sitting on his former teachers. He nodded at his brother, who grabbed his things and followed him out.

When they finally got out to his car, he noticed Beau had already started it. He couldn't help but laugh, because she'd grown up in Northern Minnesota and when they'd visited last winter at thanksgiving, even he complained about the cold. He smiled at her as he sat in the driver's seat, leaning over to kiss her cheek.

"You cold, pretty girl?" He asked.

"I haven't recovered from this morning, honestly." she laughed. A groan was heard from Henning in the backseat. "Not like that, ya nasty. We fell asleep on the dock watching the sunrise."

"Who wants to go ice skating?" Rudy asked, looking back at his two brothers. "Then food. Gotta show Beau our favorite places" Beau scoffed at the blonde man.

"Rudy it is 28 degrees outside" she said. "And it's snowing!"

"Perfect ice skating weather, pretty girl. It'll be fun trust me" he put the car in drive and drove out of the parking lot.

Beau watched from the bleachers as her best friend and his brothers played an impromptu game of hockey with several other locals as she clasped a too hot cup of coffee between her frozen fingers. The coffee was Rudy's attempt to help her not freeze completely while they played on one end of the rink. Beau had yet to actually get on the ice, but she craved to. She'd grown up on the ice, won state level competitions in figure skating. She was well on her way to becoming an Olympic skater when an injury took her out her senior year of high school. She hadn't tried skating since

She finished her coffee, disposing of the paper cup before she put her AirPods in and found the song she'd done her last memorized routine to, stepping on to the rink and gliding effortlessly around on the ice. It felt good knowing she could still do it, and when the song came to an end she was almost disappointed. She could feel people staring at her but she paid no attention, until Rudy skated up and stopped in front of her.

"Holy shit, Beau." He said. "I didn't know you could do that."

"Yeah, well, as fun as it was, my knee is killing me so I need to sit down." She laughed. "I was almost a pro skater. Tore my ACL and my meniscus and it took me out."

"Never torn my meniscus, but I have torn my ACL and fucking ow." He said. "Let's get you sat down and I'll get you some ice."

Ultimately they decided to skip food as the more time went by, the more pain Beau was in. By the time they got back to Rudy's parents house, Henning and Rudy basically had to carry her. Rudy instructed his brother to find him a pair of basketball shorts, then helped her change and propped her knee up with ice while he went to find his mom.

"So, Rudy tells me you hurt yourself while ice skating." Penny said, coming into the living room where Beau was. "I'm a nurse, and I have three boys. I have seen bones sticking out, including one of my sons."

"I just irritated an old injury. I tore my ACL and my meniscus when I was 18, I haven't been on the ice since I did." Beau told her.

"And I'm sure your surgeon told you that if you did get back onto the ice, to ease into it. Because those injuries are really easy to do again. Once you've torn them, it's easier to do it again." Penny sighed. "Move the blanket, Beau. Let me see how bad it is."

Begrudgingly, Beau listened and moved the blanket and ice, groaning as she looked down at the bruising and swelling in her knee. Deep down, she knew she had really fucked up by getting on the ice, but it has been an exhilarating experience. Rudy was waved over from the kitchen by his mom with a sigh.

"Get your brother to help her back out to the car. She needs to go get that looked at. I'm not an orthopedic doctor but if I had to guess, she's torn something again." She told him. Beau groaned at the words.

"So much for a relaxing trip to Alaska huh"