Work Text:
“I saw that you’re also working on Christmas.”
Samira turned from where she was charting to see Trinity standing behind her. It had become a regular occurrence for Trinity to seek her out during their shifts together when there were quiet moments just to chat. At first it had surprised Samira, who’d gotten used to being something of an outcast in the department, but once she’d gotten used to the interruptions in her day she had to admit that she liked having someone who enjoyed talking to her.
“I am,” Samira said. “I wasn’t raised Christian, so I’ve never celebrated. I don’t mind working on the holiday to cover for the people who do. How about you?”
“I don’t really care about Christmas for kind of the opposite reason,” Trinity said with a shrug. “I grew up in a very Catholic midnight mass type family, so there aren’t exactly a ton of happy memories there. Plus working the holiday seems like it bought me some much-needed brownie points.
Samira couldn’t help a small laugh at that. “That’s also a benefit.”
“It really is,” Trinity said with a small smirk. “But I do like getting into the whole vibe of the season, y’know? It just doesn’t have to be on the actual day.”
“The vibe?” Samira asked, unsure what Trinity meant.
“Yeah, like the lights and the coziness. Hot chocolate and cookies and ice skating and building snowman. The fun, non-religious shit,” her eyes lit up a bit as she talked about it. “The magic,” she added with air quotes that didn’t read as sarcastic as she probably thought they did.
Samira nodded slowly, “I suppose I can see the appeal of that.”
“You suppose so?” Trinity’s tone was teasing now.
“Well, I don’t think I have any direct experience with what you’re describing. I’ve never even been ice skating,” Samira said with a shrug.
“Never?” Trinity gaped at her and Samira crossed her arms, feeling mildly defensive.
“I’ve never had the chance to,” Samira said, which was true. She was always too busy with school and then work, she never really got out much.
“We should go,” Trinity said and Samira felt a warm flare of surprise in her chest.
“Seriously?” Talking at work was one thing, but being invited to hang out on their time off? That was a step they hadn’t taken before.
“Yeah,” Trinity grinned at her. “I’m assuming you also got this weekend off since you’re working over the holiday?”
“Yes, but…”
“No buts. Saturday night, you and me, ice skating,” Trinity said before Samira could argue. “I should get back to work, but I’ll text you the details.”
Samira just watched as she walked away. But she realized that she didn’t want to come up with an excuse not to go. She actually wanted to hang out with Trinity outside of work, to have the chance to get to know her better.
So when Trinity texted her an hour after their shift ended with a time and place on Saturday, Samira confirmed that she’d be there.
On Saturday afternoon, Samira felt far too long picking out an outfit before she realized how futile the whole process was since she’d have to bundle up anyhow. It was ridiculous that she felt like she needed the perfect outfit to hang out with Trinity anyhow.
She pulled on a basic sweater and jeans and then immediately covered them with her coat, a scarf, her warmest boots, a knit hat, and gloves.
At least the hat was cute, a nice light blue with a pompom on top. Not that it mattered if she looked cute, of course, but still.
Taking one last glance in the mirror, she shook her head at herself before leaving.
Traffic was terrible, which she probably should’ve expected, and finding parking was even worse, but she was still right on time to meet Trinity at the entrance to the ice rink.
Trinity looked almost annoyingly good in her winter wear, somehow making a heavy black coat and beanie look cool in the golden glow of the setting sun as she leaned against a wall glaring down at her phone.
As she caught sight of Samira her expression morphed into a pleased smile and she shoved her phone into her pocket and waved.
“Hi,” Samira said, waving back.
“Hey,” Trinity was still smiling, looking much looser than Samira was used to seeing her. “I wasn’t sure you owned any clothes that weren’t scrubs.”
“Very funny," Samira scoffed, but she couldn’t help smiling too. “I could say the same for you, you know.”
“And isn’t it nice to have proof otherwise?” Trinity asked and Samira laughed.
“Yeah, it is,” she said. It felt almost surreal having Trinity in front of her in casual clothes on a Saturday evening. “Should we head in?”
“Let’s do it,” Trinity nodded. “Are you excited? She asked as they walked toward the line for skate rentals, which was as long as Samira would’ve expected considering that it was the Saturday before Christmas. Everyone was trying to squeeze in seasonal activities, apparently.
“Excited and a little nervous, if I’m being honest,” Samira replied. “I’ve never been a natural at anything that involves being coordinated.”
“No worries, I can help you,” Trinity said. “It’s been a while, but I’ve always been a pretty decent skater.”
“Thanks,” Samira said as she looked around at the massive ice rink with a huge lit up tree at the center. “This is like something out of a movie.”
“Right? I’ve been wanting to get out here for ages,” Trinity said. “Thanks again for agreeing to come with me.”
“I’ve been looking forward to it,” Samira said honestly. “I’ve been trying to get out more lately.”
“Oh yeah? What else have you been up to?” Trinity asked.
“Well… just this so far,” Samira admitted, tugging at her scarf. “You know, it’s hard to find the energy with work and everything.”
Trinity nodded understandingly, “I get it. I feel like I spend half of my free time becoming one with my couch lately. I knew that residency would be exhausting, but damn.”
“I’d like to say it gets better,” Samira said with a grimace. “But you at least get more used to it?”
“Comforting,” Trinity let out a snort and Samira felt a mild sense of embarrassed.
Fortunately, it was finally their turn at the counter and Samira was spared from further ruining the conversation.
Once they had their skates, Trinity helped walk her through how to properly lace them, keeping them tight enough to support her ankles without being tight enough to cut off her circulation.
And then they were wobbling their way over to the ice.
Or Samira was wobbling while Trinity balanced on the skates on the soft foam flooring that bordered the rink like she’d been born to do it while Samira followed her, wondering what she was getting herself into.
It turned out that Samira was terrible at skating, just as she’d expected.
The moment she stepped on the ice, she felt like a baby deer taking its first steps as her feet nearly flew out from under her and she clutched at the wall of the rink, waiting for Trinity to make fun of her.
But instead of teasing, Trinity skated up easily beside her and reached her hand out to grasp Samira’s shoulder, steadying her.
“Careful,” Trinity said gently. “You can’t try to walk on the ice or you’ll eat shit.”
“Right,” Samira said, “so how am I supposed to move?”
“You have to glide, shifting your weight from one foot to the other,” Trinity said and when Samira just stared skeptically back at her, she held out her hand. “Here, you can hold on to me until you’re comfortable.”
“Alright,” Samira reached out and threaded her fingers through Trinity’s.
Trinity’s hand was warm and solid around hers, even through their gloves, and she didn’t complain about how hard Samira was gripping.
As soon as they started moving, Samira’s other hand moved to hold Trinity’s arm, the single handhold didn’t feel like enough to keep her steady.
Under her grip, Trinity’s bicep was surprisingly solid. Samira had never noticed how strong she was, but she easily kept Samira upright as they skated.
“You’re doing great,” Trinity said in a low encouraging tone that made Samira’s stomach flip. And oh, that was dangerous. She couldn’t remember the last time someone had made her feel that nervous, fluttering sensation in her gut and she really didn’t need it to be happening now with her coworker who was just trying to be friendly.
Samira just let out a skeptical hum instead of agreeing and she was pretty sure she saw Trinity smile out of the corner of her eye.
Everything went well until Trinity let go of her so that she could try to skate by herself.
Her first few steps were fine, she was able to maintain the rhythm that she’d achieved with Trinity. But then she started going a little too fast. And she couldn’t remember how to stop.
“How do I stop?” Her voice was high, urgent as her arms began to pinwheel and it felt like her feet were flying out from under her.
“Shit,” Trinity swore, reaching for her.
She was a second too late and as she tried to stop Samira from falling, Samira just took her down too.
“Oh my god,” Samira panted after they hit the ice.
“Are you alright?” Trinity looked down at her, concern painted across her face.
“I think my ass and my ego are both a bit bruised, but I’ll survive,” Samira replied, staring back at Trinity. She hadn’t immediately processed just how close Trinity was, hovering over her, hand cupped around the back of Samira’s head to stop her from hitting the ice.
She was pretty sure she wasn’t imagining the way that Trinity’s gaze dropped to her lips as they remained frozen in place.
But then Trinity seemed to shake herself out of it, letting go of Samira before pushing herself back to her feet.
“I think maybe we’ve had enough skating,” Trinity said, reaching back down to pull Samira to her feet. Samira accepted the help gladly, keeping a firm grasp on Trinity again. “How about we go get some hot chocolate?”
“That sounds great,” Samira said, trying to ignore how flustered she still felt.
“It’s my treat after torturing you,” Trinity said as they left the ice and Samira didn’t have it in her to argue.
They picked up hot chocolates in to-go cups at a nearby cafe because Trinity had the idea to walk around a bit to look at all of the lights.
Samira was starting to understand the whole vibe thing that Trinity had been talking about. There was something electric in the chilly night air as they clutched their warm drinks and took in all of the decorations around them.
Her hands both stayed firmly around her cup so that she wouldn’t unthinkingly reach for Trinity’s again because something about this night was messing with the boundaries in her brain.
Even after their drinks were finished and thrown away, Samira kept her hands tucked carefully in her pockets while they walked back the way they came, acting as if she didn’t feel an almost magnetic pull toward Trinity.
And it just got worse as they paused under a tree at the end of a road, lingering to watch a group of actual carolers who were strolling by, and Samira looked up to see a small, familiar plant hanging above them.
“Is that… mistletoe?” Samira stared up at the plant that had been tied to the branch of the tree they were standing under.
“Huh, I guess so,” Trinity said as she followed Samira’s gaze. “It was probably some teenagers trying to play a prank or something. It doesn’t have to mean anything.”
Samira knew she could leave it, could stroll through the arch and let it mean nothing. But she couldn’t stop thinking about Trinity above her on the ice, looking at her lips, how her hand had felt in Samira’s.
“I thought that the whole point of this was to lean into the vibe,” she tried to keep her tone teasing, but her voice shook slightly with nerves. “Wouldn’t this count?”
A small, shy smile appeared on Trinity’s face, “I suppose it would.”
And Samira couldn’t help but grin as she took a step closer, hands wrapping around Trinity’s race as Trinity’s head tilted toward hers.
The tip of Trinity’s nose was cold against Samira’s cheek when their lips met and one of Trinity’s hands cupped her chin, holding her there and it was everything that Samira had hoped it would be.
“I’ve been wanting to do that all night,” Samira admitted in a whisper as she pulled back slightly.
“God, me too. I felt like I was going crazy,” Trinity’s voice was slightly rough and as she looked at Samira with wide, glittering eyes, Samira had to lean in and kiss her again.
This time, Trinity’s lips fell open beneath hers, deepening the kiss and Samira sighed into the feeling. It would be easy to lose herself in this, in Trinity’s embrace. But they were still outdoors and in public and she was really starting to feel the cold even through her layers of clothes.
Samira broke the kiss, letting her forehead rest against Trinity’s.
“You were right,” she said softly.
“About what?” Trinity sounded dazed.
“The vibe. It really is kind of magical,” Samira stepped back just enough to take in the flush of Trinity’s cheeks, the way her lips looked glossy, the lights reflecting in her eyes as she laughed.
“I love being right,” Trinity said, sliding her hand back into Samira’s as they began to walk again.
While they made their way back toward where their cars were parked, it began to snow small flakes that seemed to sparkle under the streetlights as they floated past and despite the cold Samira couldn’t keep a grin off of her face.