The cabin creaked in the howling winds. The main living space had been reconfigured since they had arrived earlier this weekend. Bobby had insisted that the big armchairs would be better suited facing the bay windows overlooking the lake instead of bracketing the huge stone fireplace and its currently roaring flame. Akihiro was curling in on himself, pressing all of himself into the back of the chair and tucking the edges of his blankets further around him. It was easy to pretend he wasn’t cold an hour ago when the last of the sun was bouncing off the ice and refracting through the window. Now looking out at the mirrored reflection of the waning crescent in the lake, he was chilled.
Bobby on the other hand, lounged in sweatpants and a t-shirt as he held a perpetually chilled bottle of the craft beer Kurt had gifted them for their vacation.
Earlier, when they had gotten back from ice skating, Akihiro sat down, exhausted, sore and with a wounded pride after watching Bobby glide around effortlessly for the hour he had spent falling on his ass. Akihiro had collapsed in the massive wing chair closest to the door. Bobby had tumbled after him, bridging his body over the arms of the chair and stretching like a cat.
“That was fun, wasn’t it?”
Akihiro stood up to get the fire going, throwing Bobby off. He let the small drop of satisfaction he got from hearing the definite thud of a body hitting the ground accompanied with a dramatic groan begin to warm him.
They were staying in the Drake family cottage. It was a relatively secluded lakeside property that never spent a night empty when the weather was warmer but in the dead of winter was as still as the iced over lake. Bobby’s mom appreciated its year-round use and didn’t care when he came, left, or who he brought with him, as long as it was clean and didn’t draw the attention of the full time residents who lived on the other side of the frozen lake.
Now, they both looked out onto black mirrored surface of the lake, their books and booze abandoned in favor of getting lost in their thoughts.
“Are you cold?” Bobby asked.
“No. Never.”
“Is this the part of the sleepover where we braid each other's hair and paint nails?” Akihiro said.
“I don’t know, is it?” Bobby grinned and patted a spot in between his legs expectantly.
Akihiro pulled the blanket around his shoulders and shuffled to sit on the floor in front of Bobby with his knees bracketing his ears. Bobby carded his hands through his hair smiling idly to himself as he got to work on a messy French braid.
Akihiro leaned back into Bobby and relaxed into his form.
“Now.” Bobby said, “ask me about my darkest secrets.”
“When did you realize you liked men?”
Bobby laughed so hard he leaned back and tugged on Daken’s head, pulling him closer.
“Now that,” Bobby gasped out, “is not my deepest darkest secret.”
“You’re yanking on my head!” Akihiro hissed, “you don’t have to answer.”
“No no that’s not it. The answer isn’t as simple as that. It didn’t seem like an important childhood memory to hang on to.” Bobby hummed, resuming his braid.
“Really?” Akihiro asked, disbelieving.
“I turned into ice and was chased through the streets of my hometown right around puberty so my sexuality wasn’t a hot button issue.” Robert droned.
Akihiro hummed, “You know what, I forgot about that.”
“Lucky you.”
The walls ached as the wind picked up outside again. Bobby grabbed Akihiro's hands and brought them up to the back of Aki’s head and wordlessly instructed him to firmly hold his elaborate plait. Bobby got up and silently padded across the cabin to drag extra duvets out of the guest bedroom and tucked them purposefully and gently around Akihiro’s tense shoulders. Pushing them down a bit, forcing him to relax.
You’re okay.
The silence was contemplative, not awkward.
“I am sorry.”
Bobby hummed.
“Don’t worry. It’s still probably better than whatever your epic origin story is.”
“I guess I just had more time.”
“You always do.”
Daken hissed and jerked away when Bobby pulled apart a bad knot causing Bobby to in turn, to pull him closer and curve over him.
“Stop that” Bobby said, looking upside down at Daken. Eyes serious and intense, Akihiro tried to look away, and found himself unsure of where to look.
“Should I kiss you?” Bobby asked.
“I don’t think our first kiss should be spiderman style.”
Bobby unwound his body and returned to his braid, laughing.
“I’m glad to see that my amazing humor is finally starting to transfer. You’re finally returning my jokes,” Bobby smiled and put a bright pink elastic at the end of his masterpiece.
“Joke?” Akihiro asked as he shot around to face Bobby who was already on his way to the kitchen.
“Oh?” Bobby’s face dropped.
“Oh.” Akihiro sighed.
“Oh no! Not like that, wait hold on!” Bobby gasped.
“Don’t think about it” Aki said, looking out the bay window blankly and running his hand down the hairstyle.
Bobby picked up his beer and checked the label for whatever fucked up European psychedelics were fucking him up.
“Aki…”
“I said don’t think about it.”
Bobby crossed the cabin before Daken realized, his footsteps deafened by the roaring weather.
“Too fucking late,” Bobby drawled, sounding sharp in the way his father did.
Bobby stood in front of Aki now, doing his best to obscure the bay window with his frame, forcing Aki’s undivided attention.
They stood breathless in front of each other.
“I love you and have since I met you and you were literally evil,”
Akihiro stopped breathing.
“And I really think you should kiss me.”
“Wait, let me say something first.”
“So this is the time you chose to be talkative? Because I can think of at least 4 better things we could do with that-”
“Shhhh.”
“Fine.”
“Robert Drake-”
“Louis.”
“Louis?”
“I guess that's the deep dark secret, my middle name is Louis.”
“Can you shut up for five fucking seconds?”
“Shut me up then.”
“Robert Louis Drake, I love you so much. There. Was that so hard?”
“Awesome. Kiss me then.”
Aki stared, took him in,
“Akihiro.”
“Yes Robert Louis?”
“This is an instance where you are running out of time.”
“Then there’s no time to waste.”