Work Text:
“I don’t know how to skate.”
Pezzy and Droid were cautiously walking down the dangerous street, flurries sweeping around the air on the chilly winter Tuesday. Ice and salt covered the nearly abandoned roads, most people choosing to stay inside with their cozy blankets and hot chocolate. Droid and Pezzy were not most people.
“It’s easy, I’ll teach you,” Droid eagerly declared, carrying a backpack with worn-out skates and spare gloves in it. He hopped around rather than walking normally, as his excitement couldn’t be contained. For months, he had tried to convince Pezzy to try something new other than playing games and sleeping after school, but it never worked. Until now.
They were walking to a nearby pond that was popular for skating, but nobody would want to go outside in the nearly below freezing temperatures right after a snowstorm. All Droid saw out of the situation was a full skating rink to themselves, even if it meant risking the cold. Besides, both of the boys were bundled in puffer jackets and scarfs, which ensured that they wouldn’t freeze to death in the next hour.
Pezzy rolled his eyes, “But what if I fall? Or break the ice and go into the lake? Or-”
“Nahh, don’t worry about it. We’ll be all good. I’ve done this plenty of times when I was younger,” Droid proudly exclaimed with confidence in his voice. It reassured Pezzy.
“You’ve also broken your arms twice and gotten a concussion from being an idiot before. I watched you fall out of a tree because you thought you could climb it like a cat,” Pezzy breathed out, his giggles increasing as he spoke. Droid facepalmed and laughed into his hands, drawing out an “oh my god…” that was muffled by his gloved hands. Pezzy apologetically clapped his shoulder as he walked ahead to look at the lake, only because they were getting closer to their destination.
“Dawg, I still can’t believe you haven't been here before.”
“Like I said, I don’t skate.”
“You don’t do anything,” Droid whined, shrugging his backpack off as the other stared out at the frozen-over lake, his hands deep in his jacket pockets. A gust of wind sent snow flying off of trees to instead swirl through the air, some of the flurries landing in Pezzy’s hair. He shook his head to rid of the snow, imitating a dog that ruffles its fur when it’s wet.
“Here’s your skates,” Droid loudly stated, hap-hazardly tossing them Pezzy’s way. Droid was either at volume or zero or one-hundred, a quality Pezzy found more endearing than annoying. It was also probably why they were both the outcasts at school, which Droid seemed to just ignore. He did things the way he wanted, like it was just his world that we were lucky to be living in.
Pezzy was so lost in thought he didn’t realize that the other already put his skates on, shuffling awkwardly through the frozen grass towards the lake. Hurriedly, he dropped to the ground to discard his Converse, taking an obscene amount of time to tie the ice skates together with his freezing hands. Droid spoke up right before he was about to finish, “Any day now, chico.”
“I’m almost done, you impatient bitch.”
“Are you sure you don’t need help?”
“No!”
“Damn, alright. Try standing up and see if you keep that attitude,” Droid retorted, grinning like an idiot at his friend’s struggle. But Pezzy was determined to prove the other wrong. He finished tying both skates and, forgetting he had blades under his foot, tried standing up normally. Instead, he just fell back on his ass, garnering a squeaky laugh and an “I told you so,” from Droid as he was being helped up.
“Let’s just get on the ice, yeah?” Pezzy mumbled, waddling like a toddler towards the lake with Droid close behind him, using his left arm for support. The more experienced of the two glided onto the surface, turning around to face Pezzy.
“You coming?”
“Can you- y’know- help me? Onto the ice..?” Pezzy asked sheepishly, half-yelling out his pleas for assistance. Droid smiled and laughed but extended his arms for Pezzy to grab, who took the gesture as an invitation to latch onto Droid and step onto the ice with wobbly feet.
The two faced each other for a moment, one of them with worry and the other with excitement. Droid began moving backwards, pulling Pezzy along with him despite his yells and other indistinguishable sounds of frustration and fear. They eventually settled into a slow, but even pace, with Droid showing him the proper way to glide and even push forward.
When Pezzy seemed to get the hang of it and show more confidence in his strides, Droid slowly retreated to his side, though still holding each other’s hands. They skated slowly in a large circle around the pond, listening to music through Droid’s iPod and a pair of well-loved earbuds as they sang or hummed the lyrics.
They skated for almost 2 hours, until the sun went down. They made hot chocolate and stayed at Droid’s house to enjoy the rest of their snow day. Together.