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It’s pretty well known that Wally West is not a graceful person by nature in any way shape or form. He’s clumsy and he runs into things, often tripping over his own two feet. All of this happening when on solid land. Yeah he could run on water on a good day, but even then, that was after he got up enough momentum to go non stop. But when walking around, you could bet that the ginger speedster would trip, run into something or someone, or fall over while standing still at least once.
So taking in all of that information and then factoring in the situation at hand. It wasn’t very difficult to see why the speedster was having so many problems staying on his feet.
It was clear that Wally West was not meant to be put on ice.
It was the first week of winter break for both Dick and Wally and only four days until Christmas so the pair had decided to continue their tradition and spend it together. Ever since they had first met over four years previous the boys had decided to spend the first half of their breaks at the Wayne Manor, splitting Christmas day between both houses, and the second with the Allens which was where Wally stayed while his parents went away every year for New Years.
Wally had woken up that morning when he had turned on his side and attempted to cuddle into his boyfriend's smaller frame and noticed that he was gone, a realization that came to the ginger as strange considering he was normally the first one to wake up of the two of them. With the late patrols and constant missions the Boy Wonder endured he tended to sleep in as much as was possible and wouldn’t get up until noon if you let him.
The speedster opened his eyes and sat up, looking around the room only to find Dick walking out of his bathroom completely dressed in warm layers and ready to go out into the harsh cold that was Gotham in December. He had on a heavy black jacket with the Slytherin scarf Wally had gotten him for their birthday, the Hufflepuff one he had gotten the ginger in his hand. The younger teen also had on a large smile that made the ginger’s heart melt.
“Morning Walls. You gotta get up so we can get going. I have the day planned out and it’s gonna be totally asterous. I already have your clothes out and everything.” The brunette said excitedly as he placed the scarf on the vacant side of the bed along with the rest of the clothes he had set out for the ginger.
Wally stretched and yawned as he sat up in bed, leaning forward and meeting Dick halfway for a quick kiss.
“Morning.” The speedster rubbed his eyes and yawned again, “What’s got you so excited that you willingly got out of bed before nine on a vacation day?” The younger teen laughed.
“You’ll see, we’re going someplace cool, but it’s a surprise. So just get dressed and meet me downstairs, I’m gonna go finish breakfast.” And with that the brunette left the room, leaving Wally to analyze the clothes he had picked out for him. It was no secret that his boyfriend definitely had the better taste in clothes so the freckled teen simply began dressing himself without too much thought, noting that they were warm and layered, perfect for the cold winter weather that was Gotham in late December.
When the redhead finished getting ready he followed the wafting smell of fresh waffles downstairs into the large kitchen, his stomach growling and mouth watering in anticipation of Dick’s cooking. A lot of people didn’t know this, but the younger teen was a surprisingly good cook, having been taught by Alfred since he was tall enough to reach the counter. But the times when Wally got to enjoy the acrobat’s cooking were rarer than he’d like and he was somewhat happy that Alfred would be on his annual vacation for another day, giving the ginger more time to enjoy his mate’s cooking.
The speedster made his way to the kitchen just in time to see Dick placing two plates of hot waffles on the island, the redhead’s plate being filled with three-times the amount of food as the other, along with a glass of orange juice for Wally and a cup of coffee for himself.
The ginger sat down at his place with a wide smile.
“Wow babe, chocolate chip and banana waffles? You really know the way to a speedster’s heart.” Dick laughed as his best friend and boyfriend promptly dug into his breakfast.
“Yup, I learned a long time ago that food was the key. And I choose to exploit it whenever possible.” Wally laughed around a mouthful of waffles and the brunette joined in before beginning his own breakfast.
They finished their food and washed their dishes before the older teen finally turned to his mate and asked where they were going. His question was answered with a smile that lit up blue eyes.
“You’ll see, now come on, let’s go!” Dick grabbed hold of the speedster’s hand and pulled him through the manor and to the front door where they grabbed their coats and Dick grabbed a bag he had sitting next to the door and made their way outside into the crisp winter air.
Dick led Wally through Gotham, chatting aimlessly as they walked, holding hands and watching their breaths appear in front of them as they traveled until they reached a large building about ten minutes outside of the hustle and bustle that was down town.
Wally looked up at the sign in front of the building and glanced back at his friend.
“You brought me to an ice rink? Are you sure this is a good idea?I’ve never skated before and I’m clumsy enough without the ice.” The brunette laughed and led the ginger inside.
“You’ll be fine. I’ll teach you, try to stay whelmed.” The speedster gave his mate a smile and followed him inside, watching as Dick payed and rented one pair of hockey skates for Wally.
“You’re not getting any?” Dick shook his head and motioned to the bag that had been slung over his shoulder.
“Nah, I brought my own. Besides, they only have hockey skates in the male sizes.” Wally glanced at him,
“Your own? I didn’t know you knew how to skate dude. How come we’ve never done this before?” Dick shrugged as he lead Wally over to some benches to change into their skates.
“Yeah, my parents used to take me skating every year. We’d find a skate rink in whatever city we happened to be in at the time and skate for hours. I haven’t really done it since so it’s been about five years, but it’s like riding a bike, you don’t forget how .And these,” Dick pulled out the sleek but slightly worn black skates that looked like a pair of almost normal boots with a blade on the bottom that was shaped differently than the ones on Wally’s,
“These were my dad’s, he had gotten them a year before the incident. One of the guys who had seen our show owned a shop and liked our performance so he gave us all a pair of some refurbished skates. They’re one of the few thing Bruce was able to get back from my parents trailer after he adopted me. I’ve kept them until I could fit into them.” Dick finished with an almost sad smile as he remembered his old family traditions. Wally wrapped a comforting arm around narrow shoulders and pulled him close.
“Well, now we’re continuing the tradition, though I’m not guaranteeing that I will be as graceful as I’m sure you and your parents were. In fact, I will probably fall on my ass at least seven times before we leave.” The acrobat’s face lit up again as he laughed.
“Well then we’d better practice, you’ll be as graceful as a snowflake in no time.” This time it was Wally’s turn to laugh as he was pulled from the benches and towards the doorway onto the ice where only a handful of others were skating. A few couples, some kids with their parent and other assortments of people ranging from expert levels of skating to being complete wall huggers who were constantly losing their balance and clinging to the walls to prevent themselves from falling.
Dick stepped onto the ice first, taking a few experimental steps to make sure he still remembered how before turning back to Wally and motioning him forward.
The speedster took a deep breath before cautiously and slowly taking a step onto the frozen surface. Almost immediately having his feet slip from underneath him and landing square on his butt.
To give him credit, Dick only let out one small chuckle before leaning over and helping his boyfriend get back on his feet, letting Wally put some weight on the smaller teen to help him balance.
“Well, that’s one down and six to go. Let’s do this.”
To be fair, Dick was a good teacher, he gave simple explanations and showed examples of how to move on the ice without falling that anyone could understand, but Wally was still Wally. He fell a few more times before they had even made one lap around the rink. But Dick was patient, far more patient than the speedster would have been if their positions were reversed and he only offered light laughs when the ginger landed on his now very cold and soaked through butt. Wally laughed too. He was having fun, genuine fun, maybe not so much at the constant falling and slow moving process (he was getting better!), but at seeing the completely infectious smile that had been plastered on Dick’s face since he had stepped on the ice.
Eventually the boys made it to the point where Wally was able to walk mostly on his own but he still decided to have Dick pull him around the rink, for both of their safety. The acrobat was graceful as he made quick and natural movements with his feet as he skated backwards, facing Wally and gripping his freckled hands, pulling him along wherever he went.
After a while Dick even skated around the rink a few times by himself, leaving the ginger teen to walk slowly along the wall and watch in awe as the natural moves he had learned so many years ago came back to him. Dick skated with the same grace in which he did everything else and Wally was mesmerized by it. It made his heart melt despite the cold temperature to see his best friend and soul mate so obviously happy. He could feel the brunette’s joy spread throughout his own chest like a crackling fireplace through the bond they shared and Wally swore that it was the best feeling in the world.
After hours of skating, well, Dick was skating, Wally was just being dragged around for the ride, the boys stepped off of the ice and made their way back to the benches where they had left their shoes earlier. They put their shoes back on and returned Wally’s skates and left the rink, still laughing at the wet mark Wally had on the back of his jeans from having fallen so many times.
Since it was cold and both boys wanted to make it back to the manor as quickly as possible to enjoy some hot chocolate, they made their way to the nearest zeta tube and zeta’s quickly into the bat cave before making their way to the kitchen for their hot chocolate. Dick made himself a white hot chocolate with cinnamon and made wally his typical hot chocolate with milk and extra marshmallows.
The two teens brought their warm drinks to the living room where they turned on the fireplace and gathered the mass of warm and fuzzy blankets from the basket by the tv. Dick wrapped himself up in the peter pan throw blanket and laid in between the ginger’s legs propping himself up against the redhead’s chest, which was covered in the flash themed blanket that Dick had bought him for occasions such as this.
The young heroes finished their drinks in a comfortable silence, simply enjoying the warmth and each other’s company before Wally spoke.
“You know, I really like this. We should do this every year. It’s perfect. Not only do we get to continue the tradition your parents started, but we can add to it the joys of watching me fall on my butt continuously for a few hours.” Dick laughed quietly and snuggled into his boyfriend’s warm embrace.
“Yeah, I like the sound of that. We can add it to our list of traditions, right along with kissing under the mistletoe.” Wally was confused for a moment by the grin that had spread across the brunette’s face before he glanced up and saw the sprig of mistletoe that had been hung above the couch.
“Did you seriously plan out this whole day, right down to us sitting here?” Dick gave a coy smile.
“Maybe.” Wally laughed and pulled the Boy Wonder closer to him.
“I love you Dick.” The freckled teen said fondly.
“I love you too Wally.”
Blue eyes met green and both teens felt the warmth of their soul bond spread through their chest as they saw and felt the love they had for each other.
“Merry Christmas Dick.”
“Merry Christmas Wally.” And they closed the gap that had been growing smaller with each passing second, pressing their lips together in a soft and loving kiss, and while it was clear that this was going to be a Christmas tradition that lasted for a lifetime, the best tradition they had was loving each other.