Wake Up

Chapter 14

The day continued in the city as Dan denied Phil's request of going back to the house after breakfast.
"So what do you wanna do?" Phil asked, as they sat on a park bench together.
Dan hummed to himself before taking Phil's hand and started playing with his fingers, all the while letting thoughts circulate around his mind.
"Could we go skating?" Dan asked shyly.
Phil looked over at Dan with his head slightly tilted with a sense of intrigue.
"That sounds nice," Phil smiled, and stood up at once. "Let's go," he said, reaching his hand out to Dan, who smiled gratefully and took his hand.
They hopped into a cab that took them to a nearby outdoor skating rink, where it didn't look too crowded with only two families and a few groups of friends. It was a lovely day with the clouds parted to show the high noon sun, beaming down light upon the ice of the rink. Dan paid the cab driver, since Phil paid for breakfast, and they headed towards the building.
After renting skates, and helping each other put them on, they were out on the ice. Well, more like Dan was out on the ice. Phil was a little nervous, for he hadn't been skating since he was a kid, and he was struggling to remember how. Dan saw this as he looked at Phil with a saddened expression. He skated up to him, and checked in on him.
"Hey, Phil," Dan said caringly. "Won't you join me?"
Phil's breath suddenly became short, and his legs were trembling badly.
"I-I don't know," Phil stuttered nervously. "I don't really remember how to skate."
Dan awed at how scared Phil was, and slowly took both of his hands into his own.
"Do you trust me?" Dan asked.
Phil nodded nervously.
"Okay," Dan said finally, and slowly skated backward to let Phil's skates touch the ice beneath them.
Phil held his breath, and just let Dan pull him gently onto the ice.
"You're doing great," Dan said, smiling sweetly.
Then he began to slowly let go of Phil's hands so he could try on his own. But Phil immediately got anxious, and gripped Dan's arms tightly.
"Please don't let go," Phil pleaded softly as he didn't want anyone else nearby to hear.
"It's okay," Dan reassured. "I'm just going to let go so I can show you how."
With that said, Dan let go of Phil's hands and gave himself some skating space, while Phil tried not to lose his balance.
"All you have to do, Phil," Dan explained, "is step with one foot, and then push off with the other."
Dan demonstrated his instructions, and then turned back to Phil.
"Simple," Dan said with a shrug of his shoulders. "Wanna try?"
Phil let out an anxious exhale, and followed Dan's instructions. Step, and push off. Step, and push off. He was doing quite well as he inched closer to Dan, who was trying to be as encouraging as he could in a public place.
"You're doing really well, Phil," Dan said, smiling sweetly, and then reaching his hands out for Phil to take. "Reach for me!"
Phil smiled as he continued to skate towards Dan, but at that moment, he felt unbalanced, like he was about fall.
"Dan!" Phil called out, swinging his arms and trying to keep from falling over.
"Phil, it's okay," Dan tried to reassure, but it was almost too late, and Phil landed on the ice. But not before Dan took his hand, and they both fell with Phil on top of him. The impact was rough and pressurizing, but they just laughed with their faces only inches away from each other.
"Sorry," Phil said through laughter.
"Don't worry," Dan replied. "You are doing really well, though."
Phil smiled and when he realized they had been on the ice this whole time, he decided that another few seconds couldn't hurt. He leaned down and pressed a gentle kiss to Dan's lips, feeling the warmth from his nose as Dan exhaled into satisfaction. He could barely feel the cold, hard ice from underneath him as Phil's body heat was keeping him warm.

They spent so long laying on the ice that a stranger passing by asked if they were all right.
"Oi, you alright, mate?" The stranger asked in a much heavier British accent.
Phil's head shot up, and he blushed red.
"Umm, yes, we're fine," Phil said, getting off of Dan and brushing himself off.
Dan sat up, and the stranger offered his help by pulling Dan up to his feet.
"Thank you," Dan said politely.
"No problem," the stranger nodded. "Just gotta be more careful out here on the ice. Anyway, have a good one!" The stranger said to them kindly, and skated off.
Dan smiled simply and looked over at Phil, who was playfully glaring at him.
"Yeah, Dan, be more careful," Phil mocked the stranger in a joking manner.
Dan chuckled and pointed his index finger at Phil.
"Just to be clear, it was you who fell," Dan pointed out. "So you, be more careful."
Phil rolled his eyes with a smile on his face. But the smile quickly dropped as Phil felt Dan take his hand and pull him into a twirl.
"Dan!" Phil shrieked, and Dan only laughed.