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Written for the first day of the 2017 "Holigay" prompt challenge.
The prompt was: "Two of your characters are going ice skating. It’s not a date – they swear it – but everyone, including their friends, thinks it is."
Summary: Aiden definitely doesn't want to call this a date with Carter. After all, Carter didn't call it one. If he did call it a date, then he might have to face the disappointment of finding out it's not.
Fluffy, slice-of-life.
“It’s not a date,” Aiden protested again, trying to make his last glance in the mirror as subtle as possible. No need to give her any more ammo. And he was not going to assume anything was a date until it had been explicitly outlined as such. This had not been; therefore, it was not a date. The only thing he did know about Carter’s dating history was that he had had a girlfriend, though they’d broken up some time ago. His interest in men in general—and Aiden specifically—remained unknown.
“Uh… it’s a date,” Elsie insisted, in that frustrating I know better than you do tone. “He asked you to go ice skating with him.” Like ice skating was somehow equivalent to a marriage proposal.
“Only because it came up that I liked it, but I told him that I hadn’t done it in years.”
“And yet he wanted to go with you! How many people are going?”
Reluctantly he had to admit, “Just us.”
She nodded. “Just you. And how long have you spent getting ready? You do look wonderful, by the way.”
“Thanks. I don’t see what that has to do with anything.”
“Well, you never put that much effort in when we’re going to hang out, do you?” she asked.
“Considering that we’ve been hanging out since we were both six, I think I lost any chance to make a good impression on you a long time ago.”
“So I’m not even worth the effort?” She faked a swoon backward onto his bed.
He just sighed and stared down at her, waiting her out.
Elsie abandoned her dramatic pose and looked back up at him, lips quirked up in a barely contained smile. “All right, let’s get going and I’ll give you a ride before you’re late to your totally-not-a-date.”
“I’m heading out!” Carter called over his shoulder, hand already on the doorknob.
“Ooh, heading out on a date?” His younger brother’s voice was louder than it should have been. Carter must have misjudged where in the house he was.
Carter sighed, letting his hand drop. “No, Danny, it’s not a date. I’m just going out for a while.”
“You never go out,” Daniel said. “And you only ever said it like that when you were planning on seeing Lisa. Since I know you’re not going to see her, you must be seeing someone else.”
Carter resisted the impulse to grind his teeth. Daniel was a sweet kid, and usually Carter loved that he was so smart, but unfortunately the thirteen year old was utter crap at keeping his mouth shut. And worse, this wasn’t even a date. Carter hadn’t called it a date when he made the offer, and neither of them had called it a date since, so it wasn’t a date. It was a… casual friend thing.
“Look buddy, I’m just going to go spend some time with a friend, okay?”
“What’s the friend’s name?”
Carter took a deep breath. None of your business was what he wanted to snap, but that could easily prompt Daniel to tell everyone that he suspected Carter was sneaking out. “Aiden,” he answered, opting for honesty.
Unfortunately, his parents were just paranoid (or perceptive) enough not to assume Carter was automatically platonically hanging out with a friend just because of the typically-male name. And boy was that not a conversation he wanted to have with them right now.
“It’s just for a few hours,” he pushed on. “It’s not a big deal, okay?”
Daniel fixed him with a stare that somehow conveyed every bit of skepticism a thirteen year old could muster. “The gentleman doth protesteth too much.”
Carter resisted the urge to correct the mangled saying. “Can you please be cool?” he asked.
“For the next week you vote with me every time mom asks what we want for dinner, even if I say nachos, and if we get asked to pick a movie, you let me pick.”
Carter stifled a smile, and pretended to consider. Finally he held his hand out for a fistbump. “You drive a hard bargain, but I’ll do it.”
Daniel was crap at keeping secrets… but not if he had incentive. Securing Carter’s agreement on dinner options and movie choices was enough to buy a lot.
Daniel returned the fistbump with great solemnity, before saying, “Have fun not-dating Aiden.”
The outdoor skating rink had opened just a few weeks before in the central courtyard of an outdoor shopping center. Aiden had been thinking about going, just hadn’t gotten up the guts to go alone. Elsie had no interest in it. He’d even half-heartedly suggested that she could come along when she agreed to give him a ride. She’d declined, citing both her total disinterest in flinging herself around a patch of ice while already barely balanced on skates, and her lack of desire to be a third wheel.
He rented his skates, and surrendered his shoes as collateral. Then he stood awkwardly outside the rink, waiting, watching the skaters. He was glad he’d at least found the scarf he was wearing; it wasn’t windy, but he was certainly chilly. He considered buying a cup of cider, but figured it’d be better to wait. With his luck, Carter would show up right when he got it, and then he’d have to chug it, and then he’d burn his tongue…
“Hey, stranger.”
He managed not to jump, and turned toward Carter. “Hey! How’s it going?”
“Pretty good,” Carter answered. “You didn’t have to wait for me. Let me go rent some skates, and we’ll go, okay?”
Once they were on the ice, Aiden felt like an idiot. He probably should have gone out onto the ice before Carter arrived, just to get the most embarrassing awkward-deer-legs moments out of the way.
First step onto the ice and he nearly fell. He was only saved by Carter grabbing his elbow until he got his feet back under him. Then when he was ready to start moving, he couldn’t build up any momentum, and just sort of shuffled in place.
Carter laughed good-naturedly, and pulled him forward several feet. He was mostly all right for a bit, until a rough patch in the ice sent him toppling back into the rail with the little kids who were pulling themselves along.
“I… uh, maybe overstated my abilities with this,” Aiden confessed. “I mean, it really has been years.”
Carter laughed again. “But you said you liked skating, right?”
“Well, yeah, I did, but by ‘a few years ago’ I think I really meant more like ‘maybe eight years ago when I was eleven.’”
“Don’t worry!” Carter said. “You’ll pick it up again. Let me do a quick lap, and I’ll see if there are any more rough patches, okay?”
Aiden nodded, and Carter took off. Unlike Aiden, Carter really did look like a natural on the ice. Maybe not an Olympic skater or anything, but he was confident, and deftly avoided the less-experienced skaters around the edges. He didn’t falter at all on his circuit, making it back to Aiden within a minute and a half.
“Here,” he offered a hand. “A few spots that are a little cut up, but nothing too bad. A little more practice and it’ll be like eight years was nothing.”
Aiden reluctantly took the offered hand, surprisingly warm in the chilly air, and let Carter pull him along. Just that little bit of stability did wonders, and he was able to get his feet mostly moving the way he wanted them to.
“You’re really good,” Aiden offered, a little hesitantly. “Sorry to keep you back with me.”
“I don’t mind. I almost never skate anymore, since no one ever wants to go with me. I’d rather go slow with someone than do it by myself.”
Aiden just about choked at what sounded like a double entendre, but responded smoothly, “That’s nice of you.”
“I’m generous in all things,” Carter said, winking at him.
Is he flirting? Aiden wondered, but there was no good way to ask that without risking making this not date awkward.
They were just about to the three-quarter mark around, when a buzzer sounded, and one of the attendants with a bullhorn announced “Clear the ice! We’re going to resurface. The rink will reopen shortly.”
“Hey, perfect!” Carter said. “You’ll probably have a way easier time when you aren’t battling the cuts in the ice.”
Aiden managed to make it back to the exit without making a fool of himself again, and by some unspoken agreement they both headed toward the cider stand, which was doing suddenly brisk business. At least they were equally awkward off the ice, the heavy skates making everyone balance precariously.
Carter bought both their ciders, despite Aiden’s protest. “Generous in all things, remember? Gotta live up to my promise,” Carter said.
The girl who served the ciders smiled at them, with a cheery, “You two have fun, okay?”
I bet even she thinks it’s a date, Aiden thought. At least she seemed happy rather than judgey.
The two of them found an unoccupied bench and sat down, facing the rink, where a small crew was resurfacing the ice.
Aiden took a cautious sip, trying not to lose a layer of skin from his tongue, and said, “I really am sorry if I gave you the wrong impression.”
Carter glanced toward him, almost sharply, and looked suddenly flustered.
Crap. “About my skating abilities, I mean!” he hurried to finish. “I mean, I think I made it sound like I was out of practice but basically competent,” he laughed. “Rather than… basically a total beginner.”
Carter seemed to relax, and took a sip out of his own steaming Styrofoam cup. “I’ll try not to feel intentionally misled.” Carter winked at him again. “Even though I’m sure you were just trying to get a free skating lesson out of it.”
Aiden wasn’t sure how to answer, so he took another large gulp of cider.
The attendants finished pushing their little zamboni around the rink, and it reopened. It was significantly less crowded; apparently a lot of people hadn’t wanted to wait.
And Carter had been completely right—it was far easier to skate on the newly resurfaced ice. He hadn’t realized how often his own skates had been getting trapped in the trails left by previous skaters.
“See, you’re doing great!” Carter encouraged, skating backwards so he could face Aiden as he made his way around the rink.
“You’re making me feel worse,” Aiden complained. “I finally manage to go forward, and you reveal that you can go backward just as easily. Show off.”
“Well, I can’t let the beginner show me up,” he said. “You might start to think you don’t need me anymore.”
Aiden laughed and concentrated on building up a little more speed. Carter spun away and then fell in next to Aiden, keeping pace easily, but no longer seeming so dramatically held back.
The silence was companionable for a bit, and Aiden found himself wanting to reach out and take Carter’s hand again, despite no longer needing the support. He almost wished he’d continued to have trouble, just so he’d have an excuse. Dammit, he snapped at himself. Not. A. Date. Remember?
They made a few more circuits, Aiden managing to build up speed and confidence with every go-round. He slipped a couple times, going around the more narrow corners, but only actually hit the ice once, and Carter helped him back to his feet.
Finally, the sun sank behind the surrounding buildings, and the air grew uncomfortably chill. They were actually some of the last ones to give in, even though the rink would remain open for several more hours. The after-dark crowd would arrive soon, more equipped to deal with the cold.
As they were turning in their skates, white-gold Christmas lights came on around the rink, and on the skeletal trees planted around the courtyard. Aiden gave a small sigh. The lights were probably his favorite part of the season.
“Hey, I had a lot of fun,” Aiden said, cheating a quick glance up at Carter. “Thank you, for hanging out.”
“I had a good time, too,” Carter said. “Would you maybe want to do it again sometime?”
Aiden bit his lip, and finally went for it. “You mean like a date?”
Carter was quiet for a minute.
Aiden was almost afraid to look, but finally did, a brush-off already on his tongue. Oh, I was just joking. Kidding, haha, of course it’s not a date. I mean, I didn’t think you were queer or anything.
Carter didn’t look offended. “Would you want it to be?” he asked.
Aiden tried to parse the inflection, but couldn’t manage. “Um… if you wanted it to be. I’d, uh, like that. But if not, don’t worry about it, like, I’m not going to just hit on you or something if you aren’t into it. You can just… forget I said it.” His words tumbled out, getting tangled and running over each other.
“Then it’s a date,” Carter said, smiling. “Next weekend?”
Aiden blinked. “Really? I mean, um, yeah, next weekend would be great.”
“Want me to give you a ride tonight? And pick you up next Saturday?”
“Sure,” Aiden said, hoping that if his face had flushed it could be blamed on the cold air. Then he said, “My best friend is going to give me so much shit after this. She kept telling me this was a date, and I kept telling her no…”
“Well, you still win that argument. We never said that this was a date. Next week is our first date, right?”
“Winning on a technicality. I like it.”
[This got a minor SPAG and word choice edit in 2023 when it was posted.]
The prompt was: "Two of your characters are going ice skating. It’s not a date – they swear it – but everyone, including their friends, thinks it is."
Summary: Aiden definitely doesn't want to call this a date with Carter. After all, Carter didn't call it one. If he did call it a date, then he might have to face the disappointment of finding out it's not.
Fluffy, slice-of-life.
“It’s not a date,” Aiden protested again, trying to make his last glance in the mirror as subtle as possible. No need to give her any more ammo. And he was not going to assume anything was a date until it had been explicitly outlined as such. This had not been; therefore, it was not a date. The only thing he did know about Carter’s dating history was that he had had a girlfriend, though they’d broken up some time ago. His interest in men in general—and Aiden specifically—remained unknown.
“Uh… it’s a date,” Elsie insisted, in that frustrating I know better than you do tone. “He asked you to go ice skating with him.” Like ice skating was somehow equivalent to a marriage proposal.
“Only because it came up that I liked it, but I told him that I hadn’t done it in years.”
“And yet he wanted to go with you! How many people are going?”
Reluctantly he had to admit, “Just us.”
She nodded. “Just you. And how long have you spent getting ready? You do look wonderful, by the way.”
“Thanks. I don’t see what that has to do with anything.”
“Well, you never put that much effort in when we’re going to hang out, do you?” she asked.
“Considering that we’ve been hanging out since we were both six, I think I lost any chance to make a good impression on you a long time ago.”
“So I’m not even worth the effort?” She faked a swoon backward onto his bed.
He just sighed and stared down at her, waiting her out.
Elsie abandoned her dramatic pose and looked back up at him, lips quirked up in a barely contained smile. “All right, let’s get going and I’ll give you a ride before you’re late to your totally-not-a-date.”
“I’m heading out!” Carter called over his shoulder, hand already on the doorknob.
“Ooh, heading out on a date?” His younger brother’s voice was louder than it should have been. Carter must have misjudged where in the house he was.
Carter sighed, letting his hand drop. “No, Danny, it’s not a date. I’m just going out for a while.”
“You never go out,” Daniel said. “And you only ever said it like that when you were planning on seeing Lisa. Since I know you’re not going to see her, you must be seeing someone else.”
Carter resisted the impulse to grind his teeth. Daniel was a sweet kid, and usually Carter loved that he was so smart, but unfortunately the thirteen year old was utter crap at keeping his mouth shut. And worse, this wasn’t even a date. Carter hadn’t called it a date when he made the offer, and neither of them had called it a date since, so it wasn’t a date. It was a… casual friend thing.
“Look buddy, I’m just going to go spend some time with a friend, okay?”
“What’s the friend’s name?”
Carter took a deep breath. None of your business was what he wanted to snap, but that could easily prompt Daniel to tell everyone that he suspected Carter was sneaking out. “Aiden,” he answered, opting for honesty.
Unfortunately, his parents were just paranoid (or perceptive) enough not to assume Carter was automatically platonically hanging out with a friend just because of the typically-male name. And boy was that not a conversation he wanted to have with them right now.
“It’s just for a few hours,” he pushed on. “It’s not a big deal, okay?”
Daniel fixed him with a stare that somehow conveyed every bit of skepticism a thirteen year old could muster. “The gentleman doth protesteth too much.”
Carter resisted the urge to correct the mangled saying. “Can you please be cool?” he asked.
“For the next week you vote with me every time mom asks what we want for dinner, even if I say nachos, and if we get asked to pick a movie, you let me pick.”
Carter stifled a smile, and pretended to consider. Finally he held his hand out for a fistbump. “You drive a hard bargain, but I’ll do it.”
Daniel was crap at keeping secrets… but not if he had incentive. Securing Carter’s agreement on dinner options and movie choices was enough to buy a lot.
Daniel returned the fistbump with great solemnity, before saying, “Have fun not-dating Aiden.”
The outdoor skating rink had opened just a few weeks before in the central courtyard of an outdoor shopping center. Aiden had been thinking about going, just hadn’t gotten up the guts to go alone. Elsie had no interest in it. He’d even half-heartedly suggested that she could come along when she agreed to give him a ride. She’d declined, citing both her total disinterest in flinging herself around a patch of ice while already barely balanced on skates, and her lack of desire to be a third wheel.
He rented his skates, and surrendered his shoes as collateral. Then he stood awkwardly outside the rink, waiting, watching the skaters. He was glad he’d at least found the scarf he was wearing; it wasn’t windy, but he was certainly chilly. He considered buying a cup of cider, but figured it’d be better to wait. With his luck, Carter would show up right when he got it, and then he’d have to chug it, and then he’d burn his tongue…
“Hey, stranger.”
He managed not to jump, and turned toward Carter. “Hey! How’s it going?”
“Pretty good,” Carter answered. “You didn’t have to wait for me. Let me go rent some skates, and we’ll go, okay?”
Once they were on the ice, Aiden felt like an idiot. He probably should have gone out onto the ice before Carter arrived, just to get the most embarrassing awkward-deer-legs moments out of the way.
First step onto the ice and he nearly fell. He was only saved by Carter grabbing his elbow until he got his feet back under him. Then when he was ready to start moving, he couldn’t build up any momentum, and just sort of shuffled in place.
Carter laughed good-naturedly, and pulled him forward several feet. He was mostly all right for a bit, until a rough patch in the ice sent him toppling back into the rail with the little kids who were pulling themselves along.
“I… uh, maybe overstated my abilities with this,” Aiden confessed. “I mean, it really has been years.”
Carter laughed again. “But you said you liked skating, right?”
“Well, yeah, I did, but by ‘a few years ago’ I think I really meant more like ‘maybe eight years ago when I was eleven.’”
“Don’t worry!” Carter said. “You’ll pick it up again. Let me do a quick lap, and I’ll see if there are any more rough patches, okay?”
Aiden nodded, and Carter took off. Unlike Aiden, Carter really did look like a natural on the ice. Maybe not an Olympic skater or anything, but he was confident, and deftly avoided the less-experienced skaters around the edges. He didn’t falter at all on his circuit, making it back to Aiden within a minute and a half.
“Here,” he offered a hand. “A few spots that are a little cut up, but nothing too bad. A little more practice and it’ll be like eight years was nothing.”
Aiden reluctantly took the offered hand, surprisingly warm in the chilly air, and let Carter pull him along. Just that little bit of stability did wonders, and he was able to get his feet mostly moving the way he wanted them to.
“You’re really good,” Aiden offered, a little hesitantly. “Sorry to keep you back with me.”
“I don’t mind. I almost never skate anymore, since no one ever wants to go with me. I’d rather go slow with someone than do it by myself.”
Aiden just about choked at what sounded like a double entendre, but responded smoothly, “That’s nice of you.”
“I’m generous in all things,” Carter said, winking at him.
Is he flirting? Aiden wondered, but there was no good way to ask that without risking making this not date awkward.
They were just about to the three-quarter mark around, when a buzzer sounded, and one of the attendants with a bullhorn announced “Clear the ice! We’re going to resurface. The rink will reopen shortly.”
“Hey, perfect!” Carter said. “You’ll probably have a way easier time when you aren’t battling the cuts in the ice.”
Aiden managed to make it back to the exit without making a fool of himself again, and by some unspoken agreement they both headed toward the cider stand, which was doing suddenly brisk business. At least they were equally awkward off the ice, the heavy skates making everyone balance precariously.
Carter bought both their ciders, despite Aiden’s protest. “Generous in all things, remember? Gotta live up to my promise,” Carter said.
The girl who served the ciders smiled at them, with a cheery, “You two have fun, okay?”
I bet even she thinks it’s a date, Aiden thought. At least she seemed happy rather than judgey.
The two of them found an unoccupied bench and sat down, facing the rink, where a small crew was resurfacing the ice.
Aiden took a cautious sip, trying not to lose a layer of skin from his tongue, and said, “I really am sorry if I gave you the wrong impression.”
Carter glanced toward him, almost sharply, and looked suddenly flustered.
Crap. “About my skating abilities, I mean!” he hurried to finish. “I mean, I think I made it sound like I was out of practice but basically competent,” he laughed. “Rather than… basically a total beginner.”
Carter seemed to relax, and took a sip out of his own steaming Styrofoam cup. “I’ll try not to feel intentionally misled.” Carter winked at him again. “Even though I’m sure you were just trying to get a free skating lesson out of it.”
Aiden wasn’t sure how to answer, so he took another large gulp of cider.
The attendants finished pushing their little zamboni around the rink, and it reopened. It was significantly less crowded; apparently a lot of people hadn’t wanted to wait.
And Carter had been completely right—it was far easier to skate on the newly resurfaced ice. He hadn’t realized how often his own skates had been getting trapped in the trails left by previous skaters.
“See, you’re doing great!” Carter encouraged, skating backwards so he could face Aiden as he made his way around the rink.
“You’re making me feel worse,” Aiden complained. “I finally manage to go forward, and you reveal that you can go backward just as easily. Show off.”
“Well, I can’t let the beginner show me up,” he said. “You might start to think you don’t need me anymore.”
Aiden laughed and concentrated on building up a little more speed. Carter spun away and then fell in next to Aiden, keeping pace easily, but no longer seeming so dramatically held back.
The silence was companionable for a bit, and Aiden found himself wanting to reach out and take Carter’s hand again, despite no longer needing the support. He almost wished he’d continued to have trouble, just so he’d have an excuse. Dammit, he snapped at himself. Not. A. Date. Remember?
They made a few more circuits, Aiden managing to build up speed and confidence with every go-round. He slipped a couple times, going around the more narrow corners, but only actually hit the ice once, and Carter helped him back to his feet.
Finally, the sun sank behind the surrounding buildings, and the air grew uncomfortably chill. They were actually some of the last ones to give in, even though the rink would remain open for several more hours. The after-dark crowd would arrive soon, more equipped to deal with the cold.
As they were turning in their skates, white-gold Christmas lights came on around the rink, and on the skeletal trees planted around the courtyard. Aiden gave a small sigh. The lights were probably his favorite part of the season.
“Hey, I had a lot of fun,” Aiden said, cheating a quick glance up at Carter. “Thank you, for hanging out.”
“I had a good time, too,” Carter said. “Would you maybe want to do it again sometime?”
Aiden bit his lip, and finally went for it. “You mean like a date?”
Carter was quiet for a minute.
Aiden was almost afraid to look, but finally did, a brush-off already on his tongue. Oh, I was just joking. Kidding, haha, of course it’s not a date. I mean, I didn’t think you were queer or anything.
Carter didn’t look offended. “Would you want it to be?” he asked.
Aiden tried to parse the inflection, but couldn’t manage. “Um… if you wanted it to be. I’d, uh, like that. But if not, don’t worry about it, like, I’m not going to just hit on you or something if you aren’t into it. You can just… forget I said it.” His words tumbled out, getting tangled and running over each other.
“Then it’s a date,” Carter said, smiling. “Next weekend?”
Aiden blinked. “Really? I mean, um, yeah, next weekend would be great.”
“Want me to give you a ride tonight? And pick you up next Saturday?”
“Sure,” Aiden said, hoping that if his face had flushed it could be blamed on the cold air. Then he said, “My best friend is going to give me so much shit after this. She kept telling me this was a date, and I kept telling her no…”
“Well, you still win that argument. We never said that this was a date. Next week is our first date, right?”
“Winning on a technicality. I like it.”
[This got a minor SPAG and word choice edit in 2023 when it was posted.]
