Chapter Text
“Ugh, I take it back, I don’t need a vacation, let’s go home.”
Kid grimaced at his familiar surroundings and immediately regretted his decision to bring Law here for the first time. Because snow. There was snow fucking everywhere. Crunching under his feet as he stepped out of the car, slipping up his pant legs and lodging around the tops of his shoes like icy anklets, and covering him with thick white clumps of cold, wet flakes within moments of exiting his vehicle. Lovely. Just fucking great. He tilted his head back to glare up at the puffy clouds, only to have a particularly large blob of snow land directly on his nose.
The snort of laughter from his boyfriend did nothing to soothe his irritation, and he shot the other man a look. “It’s not funny, this shit is the worst.”
Law tried to school his expression into some semblance of seriousness, but his eyes still sparkled with amusement. “Be reasonable, Eustass. There’s snow at home too, and I really don’t understand your surprise. You said your family has been coming to this cabin for years.”
“Well yeah, but …” Kid trailed off as he examined his long time home-away-from-home. It had been in the family for almost as long as he could remember, purchased by his grandma after she won the lottery when he was five or six years old. It had always been a dream of hers to have a place where the whole family could come and be together, and this cabin on the lake had become just that. And with how hectic things had been for both him and Law lately with work and moving and everything, a home away from home was just what the doctor ordered. Literally, in this case, considering that Law had been demanding to see the place since Kid nonchalantly told him about it.
He'd spent the past month and a half talking it up to his boyfriend, reminiscing about his childhood spent on the lake; roasting marshmallows around a campfire, fishing off the far shore, and the soft sound of waves drifting in through the open windows lulling him to sleep. And that was just the summer. He'd told stories of Christmas Eves spent huddled around the fireplace wrapped in blankets, of snowball fights with Bonney and a whole slew of cousins that would without fail end in someone crying, and drawing patterns in the frost that gathered on the window pane as the snow floated lazily down from the midnight sky. Law had definitely seemed more interested in his winter stories, so Kid figured now was the perfect time to finally bring the doctor up for a visit. Looking it over, he was confident it would live up to his descriptions of it. The dusky blue siding was splashed with patches of white where snow had been tossed up by whoever plowed the walkway, and huge icicles hung from the gutters and window sills. As always, the place looked like it came straight out of some damn cliche landscape artwork you’d find over your parents’ mantel.It was almost disgustingly picturesque, but at this point enjoying the view definitely wasn’t worth the chill settling into his bones, so he stomped up the path and jammed his key into the well-worn lock.
He opened the door with a smack to the wood next to the deadbolt and an expert jiggle of the key. “Goddamn, it’s freezing in here too!” he griped, dropping his bag in the hallway and storming over to the thermostat. “I bet mom was here last. Don’t know how many time I gotta tell her to pay the tiny bit extra so the fuckin’ pipes don’t freeze.”
Law chose not to reply as he kicked off his shoes in the cramped mud/storage room by the entrance and slowly made his way into the house, noticing all the things that Kid simply took for granted by now.
Dark wood paneling gave the place a rustic feel, softened by light blue curtains and upholstery on the plush armchairs and sofa in the cozy living room. There was no TV, but the furniture surrounded a large stone fireplace, which Law looked forward to using later. According to Kid there were three bedrooms, one with a queen-size bed, one with a double bed, and one with twin beds. It was a very open space, with a table and chairs set up under a picture window to the left, just in front of the basic but serviceable kitchen. Law was more interested, however, in the spacious sunroom toward the back of the cabin. Floor to ceiling windows revealed a backyard blanketed in pristine white, leading down to a frozen, man-made lake. It was the kind of lake that warmed up quick in the summer but froze solid enough for skating in the winter, and Law itched to test it out. How long had it been since he’d been ice skating? Two, three years?
Strong arms enveloped him from behind and Kid’s chin rested not unpleasantly on his shoulder. “Pretty, huh?”
Law hummed and leaned back into his boyfriend. “This whole place of yours could be on a postcard.”
Kid huffed a laugh and moved away, taking Law’s bag and grabbing his own before opening the door to one of the bedrooms and tossing them in. “Listen, I gotta do some stuff to get the place all opened up. You good to hang out for a bit?”
Law nodded absently. Unsurprisingly, he was already busy examining the overstuffed bookshelf in the corner of the living room.
Half an hour and enough cursing to turn the air blue later, Kid trudged back into the now much-warmer cabin and found Law curled into the corner of the couch reading “The Legend of Mackinac Island.”*
“Alright, done,” he announced proudly, rubbing his hands together to warm them up. “Whaddaya wanna do?”
Law placed one long finger on the page to hold his place and glanced up, surprising Kid. Usually interrupting the doc when he was reading earned Kid an irate middle finger; maybe a shooing motion if Law was in a good mood.
“I was thinking we could skate.”
Kid blinked and silently prayed Law didn’t mean what he thought he meant. “Skate?”
“Yes, skate. On the lake. It’s frozen solidly enough to do so, no?”
Damnit. “I, uh, didn’t pack my skates.”
Law’s smile held a hint of mischief as he placed a scrap of paper in his book and stood up. “Oh, don’t worry, I saw you forgot yours so I packed them with mine. Honestly, Eustass, what would you do without me?”
I’d not make an idiot of myself falling on my ass in the middle of the goddamn lake, that’s what I’d do without you, Kid thought as he followed Law into the bedroom to fetch the death boots he’d soon be attempting to balance on while gliding along the ice. The slippery, hard as shit to fall on, fucking cold ice. The shit he did for love.
“They probably aren’t sharp anymore. I haven’t used them in years,” he argued, sourly taking them when Law all but shoved them into his chest.
“I took them in to be sharpened when I got mine done,” Law replied, still smirking like a goddamn asshole.
“How considerate,” Kid grumbled.
“Yes, I thought so. Shall we?”
It appeared resistance was futile. Out of excuses not to, Kid grudgingly caved and put his still chilly snow gear back on before following Law out the back door toward the small, private dock. In summer a mid-sized pontoon was anchored there, but during the winter months it was stored in the garage, leaving the space empty. The surface was clear of most accumulated snow, and judging by the footprints, Kid had his neighbors to thank for that (or in this case curse, as not having clean ice could have been a great excuse to forgo this embarrassment). Great.
“Look, Doc, fair warning. I ain’t good at this skating shit,” Kid grumbled, plopping down next to Law on the dock and beginning the process of getting his skates on. He’d always hated this part; just didn’t have the patience for it. The way he had to stretch the boot to fit his foot, then tighten it again so it fit snug and didn’t give him blisters, then keep the laces tight as he pulled them through all the eyelets and … ugh. It was a lot of work to do just so that he could fall and bruise his ass a million times in front of his snarky and sure to comment boyfriend.
“I’m sure you’re better than you think.”
I’m really not . “Yeah, maybe.”
And then Law was off and goddamn it was just not fair at all how at ease he looked gliding across the frozen lake. Law had always been graceful, but as his skates moved fluidly across the lake, with not a hitch or moment of awkwardness, he took that grace to another level. He made it look so natural, like he was born to be on the ice, and Kid wondered how long he could get away with just watching him. Peace seemed to settle over Law as he spread his arms out and did a slow, open spin; a rare, contented smile lighting up his upturned face. There was a certain weightlessness to the man as he glided with long strokes around the ice, and Kid was reminded of how hard the doctor had been working himself recently, how burdened he had become. This vacation was definitely something long overdue for both of them, but Kid couldn't help thinking that maybe Law needed it more. This winter wonderland stuff was right up his alley after all, even if it wasn't exactly Kid's favorite. Watching Law balance on one foot, his left leg lifted behind him and his arms held out to the sides, Kid mentally resolved to make sure they came up here more often, and to complain a little less (at least out loud) about the snow.
It took a solid five minutes for Law to realize Kid was still sitting on the dock, staring at him with what appeared to be no intention of joining him.
“Eustass,” he called, skating closer to the spellbound redhead. “If you really don’t want to skate that’s fine, I suppose. But you should know that if I’m doing this alone now , there are a few things that you will be doing alone later . So you may want to reconsider your decision.”
“What? Shit, no, I’m comin’, I just … you’re good at this shit.” With stiffened limbs and a furrowed brow, Kid slowly lowered first one foot, then the other onto the ice, still clenching the edge of the dock in a white-knuckled grip. Out of the corner of his eye he saw Law open his mouth and immediately bristled. “If you make fun of me I’m gonna toss you in a snow drift.”
“I wouldn’t,” Law replied seriously. “Truly, Eustass. Take your time. Although perhaps you could loosen up a bit, and try not to worry so much about falling. You will likely fall, but it’s not as bad as you think.”
“Who said shit about fallin’?” Kid demanded.
“Your face did.” Law extended his hand and gave Kid a lopsided grin. “Come on, I’ll help you.”
Nothing on Law’s face betrayed any judgement or even amusement at his predicament, so Kid took his hand and tentatively let go of the dock. “Okay, I, uh … I think I’m steady.”
Law was still smiling gently, and it was simultaneously unnerving and comforting.“Then let’s skate.”
With a nod and a shaky smile of his own, Kid slid one foot in front of the other and let the lack of friction propel him forward, taking comfort in the way Law’s long fingers wrapped around his own.
Okay, yeah, he thought. Maybe this isn’t so bad.