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"Please don't make me do this." Keith pleaded as he was dragged by the hand toward the rink. His shoulders were slumped and he already knew that no amount of pleading would get him anywhere. This had been Shiro's favorite place to go to since they were young, and he honestly should've known that this is where Shiro would have wanted to go for their date. He kept trying to get out of it, though. He really did not want to go ice skating. This would be the first time he'd ever skated in his life and he didn't want to make a fool out of himself, especially in front of Shiro. Keith looked to the side and felt his face heat up as he thought about how he got here in the first place.
Shiro.
The man had asked him out on a date a few days prior, the epitome of respectfulness, politeness and shyness. As though he didn't know how Keith felt about him, which was absurd given how the younger man had basically followed the other around and declared him his favorite person when they were young. Keith had harbored feelings for the older male for years -something that was pretty obvious- but he'd only outright confessed after Shiro had asked him out. So he now had a boyfriend, and they were going on their first date. Which brought him back to his current predicament.
"Kashi..." Keith tried again as they reached the entrance, planting his feet and tugging at Shiro's hand in his.
The other man turned to look at his boyfriend and sent him a smile. "It's okay if you don't know how to skate. We'll take it easy and I'll show you how to do it." He told Keith, his voice full of confidence.
Keith pursed his lips and looked around Shiro, observing the people that were already skating. Most of them wore big smiles on their faces, a lot of couples holding hands and helping each other stay up. He saw a woman stumble and her boyfriend quickly put his arms around her, making sure she wouldn't fall. Maybe... he wouldn't completely suck at this. He could give it a try...
He looked back at Shiro, seeing the hope-filled smile that stretched across the taller man's face. Keith closed his eyes and sighed. He had a feeling that he was going to regret this. "Okay... let's do this." he said, defeat audible in his voice.
Shiro chuckled and leaned forward, pecking his cheek. "You'll be fine, Keith. I'll make sure you won't fall." He reassured the shorter male as he started dragging him toward the rink again.
Keith raised an eyebrow at Shiro's back but followed him. "Uh huh" he hummed doubtfully. He could already see himself face first in the ice.
They carefully stepped onto the ice, Keith wobbling dangerously and shooting out a hand to hold onto the wall in a death grip. He really did not want to fall. Shiro turned around and pried Keith's hand off the wall, grabbing it in his and slowly pulling him a little more towards the center of the rink. He gently instructed Keith on how to position his feet so that he wouldn't fall as they slowly skated around the rink. The taller man wore a gentle smile the whole time, the expression making Keith's own lips twitch up into a smile after a bit. He was doing okay. He hadn't fallen. And he had his boyfriend there to support him if he did. Keith stood up a bit straighter, his eyes flickering down to his feet, as if the intensity of his stare alone could make him a good skater. His smiled widened as it hit him that he was actually doing it, he was skating. He slowly let go of one of Shiro's hands, confident enough to skate on his own. He wanted to show Shiro that he could do this, that he could skate on his own after only a couple of minutes, and maybe impress him with how fast he had picked it up. He leaned forward a bit, increasing the speed they were going at.
Shiro immediately noticed and slightly frowned at his boyfriend. "Keith," he warned, gently tugging the other back by the hand. "If you go too fast you may lose control and fall. I don't want you to hurt yourself."
Keith chuckled slightly and turned his head to look at Shiro, sending him a smirk. "I had a good teacher. I can do this." He responded surely, no trace of doubt in his voice.
Shiro laughed softly and shook his head. Keith was a force to be reckoned with. "Alright then, Mr. Confident. But don't blame me when you fall." He told the shorter man, unlinking their hands and pulling ahead.
Keith's smirk widened and he sped up, his confidence rising the longer he went without tripping or falling. He could do this. He saw Shiro look over his shoulder from his place a couple of feet ahead and he smirked back at Keith, a challenge in his eyes. Oh, so this is how he wanted to play it. It was on now.
This continued for a couple of minutes. Keith would start to catch up and Shiro would just increase his speed, always staying ahead. Keith heard his laughter bounce off the walls of the rink, the sound filling him with both happiness and frustration. He just wanted to catch up, dammit. It wasn't fair that Shiro used his skating skills against him. The taller man had been practicing for years now, after all, and had even entered some competitions.
It was after a couple of minutes of this game, the two speeding around the rink, that Keith realized that he'd never actually learned how to stop. He felt dread pool in his stomach and he looked around him. He was screwed.
"Shiro," Keith called apprehensively, not daring to change his movement in case he tripped. "You never actually taught me how to stop..."
Shiro had turned his head to look at Keith as he called, his eyes widening as he realized what Keith was saying. Oh boy. This was going to be a problem. Shiro slowed down so he could pull up next to Keith but he didn't move out of the way fast enough, his boyfriend slamming into him at full speed. They spun around twice before they fell, wrapping their arms around each other in an attempt to keep themselves up.
It didn't work.
They fell in a tangle of limbs, grunting as they slammed into the solid, cold ice. Keith's nose ended up cracking against Shiro's chest when he fell on top of him, and he was afraid that he might've broken it. He sure hoped not. They laid there for a couple of seconds, disoriented, before Keith rolled off Shiro's chest to lay on the ice next to him.
Adrenaline was still coursing through their veins from their brief game, both slightly out of breath from how fast they were going and how hard they had hit the floor. Shiro felt laughter bubbling out of him and he covered his eyes. He couldn't believe he'd forgotten to teach Keith how to stop. He laughed harder as Keith turned his head to look at him, confused.
"What are you laughing at?" He asked, narrowing his eyes. He could feel Shiro's laughter infecting him and he pursed his lips, trying to contain it.
"Oh god, you-your face when you realized you couldn't stop. That was hilarious. You looked so scared!" Shiro managed to get out between laughs, the image making him laugh louder.
Keith huffed and let his head drop back onto the ice. "Yeah, yeah, whatever. You should've seen your face when I slammed into you." He snickered and reached over, intertwinning their fingers.
Shiro lifted their joint hands and kissed the back of Keith's, turning his head to look his boyfriend in the eyes. "Thanks for agreeing to come here. This was fun." He commented softly, shooting him a crooked smile. He wiped off a few tears of laughter that had escaped and leaned over, giving Keith a chaste but sweet kiss.
Keith put a hand on Shiro's cheek and returned the favor, happiness almost making him glow. He was glad he'd agreed. He may have not known how to skate, but he'd spent time with Shiro, and that's what truly mattered. He pulled back and rested his forehead on Shiro's. "Thanks for asking me out then." He retorted playfully, a grin stretching across his face.
He couldn't wait to do this again.