Work Text:
Luke stares out the window of the taxi, peering up at the snow-covered mountains as the car twists and turns on its way to the lodge. He has the topography of the area memorized by now, the image of these mountains firmly ingrained in him from years of winter retreats. Even when he wasn't here, he used to spend a lot of time looking at pictures as a kid, waiting to come back.
Luke has grown up on these slopes. Pulling up to the familiar lodge feels more like coming home than entering his childhood bedroom does.
He pays the cabbie and takes his suitcase, looking up at the familiar resort lodge. It’s a huge, rustic hotel, golden light leaking out of the windows in a comforting glow that illuminates the decorative woodwork. In the distance behind it he can see a few skiers, tiny black dots moving down the mountain, and he takes a moment to breathe in the fresh mountain air. Tomorrow he'll be back on those slopes, and he can't wait.
His family greets him enthusiastically the moment he steps through the doors of the resort. All of them arrived earlier today, and Luke finds himself enveloped in a group hug and immediately shuttled up to the room he's sharing with Jack. It's spacious, with warm wood fixtures, fluffy down comforters, and a huge flat-screen TV, even though Luke won't be spending much time in the room using it. He and his family have been here on and off through the winter months ever since he was little, and he's seen the rooms change and shift to keep up with decorating trends and the rich tastes of the clientele.
The view from the window stays the same, though. Every morning, Luke will be greeted by the mountains.
"I can't wait to get back out there," he says, staring at the slopes. The sun is beginning to set, and soon skiers will head back to the hotel for safety, but for now the chair lift is still operating, taking people back up to the top.
"Of course you can't," Jack says, splayed out on his bed. "I still can't believe you didn't go to a school with a ski team and try to do this professionally. You could've made an actual try for the world championship."
Luke shrugs. He knows that he could've, and in another life he probably did become a professional skier, maybe even making a bid for the Olympics, but in a way skiing is even better now that it's a rare treat. If he was training for it every day, he might not feel the same thrill of anticipation that he gets now when he looks at the slopes.
Their parents knock on their door, coaxing them out of the room for dinner and their first time together as a full family in months. Luke recognizes some of the hotel staff and restaurant servers, and it fills him with as much warmth and nostalgia as the familiar hot chocolate does.
No one makes hot chocolate like the lodge does. It's a secret recipe, and Luke has never been able to figure out what it is that makes it taste so good.
His family spends longer than is probably appropriate at their table, laughing and chatting with each other and waving to a few other familiar lodge members as they pass by. There are other young adults who come here that he grew up skiing with, and he knows that Sierra will be here at some point tomorrow and Calum is coming a few days before Luke leaves. He can't wait to race them both down the most challenging slope.
On the way back to the room, he catches sight of an unfamiliar man talking to Michael, one of the ski instructors who got hired here right out of high school. Luke spent half of his last few vacations here hanging out with him during Michael's time off, and they follow each other on Instagram, but Luke knows that the other man hasn't been featured there. Luke would remember him. He has curly hair peeking out from under his beanie, broad shoulders, and soft cheeks that melt into a strong jaw. When he laughs at something Michael says, his face scrunches up in delight. He's not close enough to hear his laugh, but he would bet anything that it sounds amazing, joy radiating out of him so much that Luke can basically feel it, even from this distance.
"Who's that?" he asks. Jack follows his line of sight.
"Michael? Didn't you have a fling with him last time we were here?"
"That was two vacations ago," Luke says. "We decided we're better off as friends. I was talking about the guy with him."
"How should I know?"
Luke gives him a look, then glances back at the man.
If he's talking to Michael, he might be an employee here. There's a chance that Luke could see him around.
Luke really, really wants to see him around.
"That's the new ski instructor, dear," his mom says. "Michael only handles the little kids now. Ashton takes beginner adults."
Luke hums.
Beginner adults... he can work with that.
-/-
Luke wakes up bright and early the next day. He's almost always grumpy in the mornings, but today he has something to look forward to, and the first glimpse of the mountains gives him a boost of energy and puts a skip in his step. He eats a great breakfast, puts on his snow gear, gathers his boots and skis, and gets on the shuttle taking people from the resort to the actual ski lodge. The sun glints off the snow, a few clouds drifting through the sky like cotton, and it's not too windy or too cold out. It's a great day for skiing. Luke can't wait to hit the slopes, but first he needs to check which shift Ashton is on.
It turns out that he doesn't have to do any detective work, because Ashton is already set up at the bottom of the bunny hill when Luke gets there. His face is tipped up to the sun, eyes closed and leaning on his skis, and it makes a striking image. Luke wishes he could paint, because this moment should be immortalized in art.
Luke is earlier than most other skiers, which means when he makes himself clumsily clomp over to him, they're thankfully alone.
"Hi, are you the teacher?" he asks, sliding a little on purpose and windmilling his arms to make himself seem extra clumsy.
"That's me!" Ashton beams. "My name's Ashton. What's yours?"
"Luke," he offers, completely taken aback by the way Ashton's face transforms when he smiles. He's very handsome when he's in his natural state, but the smile brings out dimples that turn him adorable. Luke is devastated that teaching people how to ski doesn't usually include a lot of hands-on contact, because he wants to be closer immediately.
"Is this your first time skiing, Luke?" Ashton asks. Luke nods. "That's awesome! I'm glad you want to try it. Let's start with the basics."
Ashton walks Luke through putting on his skis, starting, stopping, and all of the basics Luke would need to successfully make it down the bunny hill. Luke peppers questions to Ashton throughout, discovering that he's been skiing since he was old enough to do so safely, he taught both his siblings how (Lauren and Harry, both younger and both absolutely loved by him if the way his tone softens when talking about them is any indication), he's an avid reader, and he loves going to see live music. He meets each one of Luke's personal questions with one of his own, seeming to be genuinely interested, and Luke hopes he's not the only one feeling the connection between them.
Ashton is also extremely supportive. He cheers enthusiastically when Luke makes it down the hill for the first time, and even though he doesn't actually need the encouragement, he knows that everyone else who comes into contact with Ashton will appreciate it.
"I think I've taught you everything I can," Ashton says eventually. "You're ready to go on the actual slopes, and there are other new skiers I need to teach."
"Are you sure?" Luke jokes. "Can't I keep skiing with you?"
Ashton gets close enough to put a hand on his shoulder. Luke loses his breath.
"You can do it, Luke," Ashton says sincerely. "You're one of the best beginners I've ever seen. Don't be scared of the slopes."
"What if I just want an excuse to keep talking to you?"
Ashton breaks into a grin.
"Then you just need to ask! I get off at 4:00, if you want to grab some hot chocolate."
"That sounds amazing," Luke says. "I'll meet you by the door."
"I’ll be there. Now, go conquer that mountain!"
Luke makes his way to the chairlift, only looking back over his shoulder once or twice. It's a beautiful day for skiing, and he has a date with a beautiful boy later. The only thing that could make this better is finally getting on a slope worth his skill level.
-/-
The sun is beginning to set by the time Luke finishes his last slope before the date. It's a bit after 4:00 because the line for the chair lift was a bit longer than Luke expected when he made his way up the mountain, but he sped down the course, wind stinging his cheeks and heartbeat singing in his ears. He's out of breath, but he can't wipe the smile off his face.
God, he loves skiing.
Ashton is waiting for him near the entrance to the small lodge where people take breaks and drink cocoa, leaning against the side of the building with his skis propped up beside him. He waves once he spots Luke coming, and Luke beams at him.
"Hey. How were the other newbies?" he asks.
"Not as good as you, but Michael told me there might be a reason for that."
Luke is going to strangle Michael. He's a horrible wingman who couldn't recognize flirting if it hit him in the face. He and Calum would be together by now if he had even an ounce of emotional awareness, but instead here he is, ruining Luke's chances of a nice date with a cute boy.
"Oh?" Luke asks, playing dumb for a few seconds more, buying himself time to come up with a good excuse.
"You Sharpayed me."
Luke blinks.
"Huh?"
"Sharpay from High School Musical. In the second movie, she pretends not to know anything about golf so that Troy has to teach her."
Luke stares at this wonderful, handsome, incredibly dorky man, then laughs.
"I can't believe that's the comparison you went with. I don't think that movie was the first one to use that trope."
"It's a good movie!" Ashton protests, but he's smiling, too. "I'm not mad, for the record. I think it's cute that you pretended to not know how to ski to spend the whole morning with me, even though you've won national competitions."
"I was going to tell you eventually," Luke assures him. "I needed an excuse to talk to you."
"I'm glad I know now," Ashton says. "I need to warm up, so we should get our hot chocolate, but tomorrow I have a shorter shift, if you want to hit some of the slopes together. I really want to see you ski the black diamond now that I know you can handle it."
"Deal," Luke says, offering his hand and getting a firm shake in response.
They both enter the lodge and order their hot chocolate. Ashton almost makes Luke spit his out at multiple points because he's laughing so hard, and by the time they leave to head back to the resort Luke's cheeks hurt from more than just windburn.
The forecast for tomorrow isn't quite as favorable as today's was, but Luke doesn't care. It's going to be a wonderful day for skiing with Ashton.