we won’t get the chance again. Dean could always arrange another weekend away, but Robin wasn’t sure his parents would buy another dance production.
Waking up in Dean’s arms had been… wonderful.
“What do you think?” Dean’s question interrupted his sensual recollection.
Robin gazed at The Death of Socrates. “If someone gave me the choice of giving up my ideas or drinking hemlock that was gonna kill me, I don’t think I’d have gone for the hemlock. I mean, look at him. He’s on his deathbed and he’s obviously still talking. He’s not ready to go yet.” He grinned. “And is it really bad that in my head he’s So-Crates? You know, like in the Bill and Ted movie?”
“Yes, it is,” Dean said firmly. He leaned in. “Having a good time?”
“No—having an awesome time.” Robin couldn’t decide what had been his favorite artwork of the visit. He’d loved the paintings, and had found artists he’d never heard of, whose work needed a closer inspection. Caravaggio was one of them. But the sculpture had blown him away. The Sphinx of Hatshepsut and the human-headed winged lions were at the top of the list, but that statue of Venus… She seemed so human. The skill it must have taken to get the marble to appear so lifelike… He smiled as he recalled his remark to Dean, that she looked like someone had walked into her bathroom after she’d gotten out of the shower, and she was clutching her towel to her, saying something like ‘Will you get the fuck out of here?’
Dean had laughed his ass off at that.
All too soon, the visit came to an end. Robin hated this feeling that time was against them. He wanted to hold onto every precious second, because who knew how long it would be before they’d get the chance again? But Dean wanted to visit the Rockefeller Center before the show that evening, and Robin knew what that meant—ice skating.
“How come you’ve never done this before?” Dean asked in the taxi on their way to Rockefeller Plaza. “Lake Placid has a couple of ice rinks in the Olympic Center. I’m surprised you haven’t gone there.”
“Look, I know I wouldn’t be any good at it, okay?”
Dean blinked. “How could you know that without trying?”
“If you’d seen me with my brand-new pair of rollerblades on my seventh birthday, you wouldn’t need to ask. Trust me, I was crap at it. That was enough for me. If I couldn’t manage those little wheels, I sure as shit couldn’t manage thin steel blades. Fuck that.”
Dean stared at him for a moment. “You were seven. That was quite a while ago.”
“So? It scarred me for life!” Robin protested. Dean looked away, staring out the window, but his shaking shoulders were a dead giveaway. “This is not funny, okay?”
Except now that he thought about it, it was funny as hell.
Dean laced his fingers through Robin’s, and the intimate gesture filled him with warmth. “At least give it a try? For me?”
Robin sighed. “Fine.”
Who was he kidding? He’d do anything for Dean, and he knew it. Dean had him, heart, body and soul.
Maybe this is the perfect time to tell him how I feel. After the skating, though. As long as I don’t break anything, and we have to visit the Emergency Room.
What he really wanted was the two of them, alone. Heartfelt revelations would have to wait.
“It looks easy enough,” Robin observed as he watched the people skate serenely by.
Dean was already stepping out onto the ice. “Come on, baby,” he said with a smile. “You’ve got this.”
Robin glared at him. “Not necessarily. And is that ‘baby’ meant as ‘you’re adorable’ or ‘you’re such a baby’?”
“You’re adorable, of course. Look, what’s the worst that could happen? You fall on your ass or your knees. And as you’re not going to be going that fast, it won’t hurt. Much.” His eyes twinkled.
“Not helping,” Robin growled.
“Just step out onto the ice. I’ll help you, okay?” His voice rang with confidence.
Fuck it. Dean’s right. I can do this. How hard can it be?
Robin gingerly stepped out onto the ice, and his skates skittered over it. He grabbed onto the ledge to stop himself from landing flat on his ass. His feet kept slipping, as if they were trying to escape the rest of his body. He pulled himself upright and clung to the wall.
“I’ve figured it out. It works if I don’t move.”
Dean laughed. “How about trying a couple of steps?”
“No!” Robin didn’t dare breathe, let