Work Text:
At 11:30PM on a Friday, Regulus isn’t expecting any guests, so to hear an insistent knock at his door at that time of night is, well, strange. He abandons his comfortable spot in bed to answer it, finding Barty on the other side.
Barty, who is smiling like he’s about to ask something very stupid.
“No—” Regulus starts.
“You don’t even know what I’m going to say!” Barty rants, cutting him off. Out of quite literally nowhere, he lifts up two pairs of white ice skates, his smile turning swiftly into a grin. “Yeah?”
“Ice skates,” Regulus acknowledges, unimpressed.
“Yes,” Barty says, shoving one pair into Regulus’ arms. “You, me—ice skating under the moonlight.”
Regulus lifts up the ice skates to stare at them, expression blank. “Sounds like a date.”
“Well, if you’re so eager…” Barty teases, laughing when Regulus shoots him a look that says shut it . “Come on, it’ll be fun. And romantic .”
“I didn’t take you as the romantic type,” Regulus quips, then sighs, retreating into his flat. “Let me get dressed.”
“You’re gonna love it, Reggie!” Barty shouts after him.
Through his closed bedroom door, whilst pulling on a sweater, Regulus asks, “Do you even know how to ice skate?”
“Obviously I do,” Barty answers, though he doesn’t sound confident in it at all.
“B, if you don’t know how to skate, I am not dragging you around the ice,” Regulus says, following it by opening his bedroom door; he’s now dressed in the sweater and black jeans, as well as converse to swap out for the ice skates when they arrive. His pyjamas were comfier.
“I can skate,” Barty rolls his eyes. “You gonna be warm enough in that?”
Regulus glares at him, then reaches back into his bedroom and snatches his beanie from the dresser. “Well. Let’s go.”
“So demanding,” Barty gasps, nudging him with a grin.
Barty is parked directly outside of Regulus’ flat, and he’s left it running like he was confident it wouldn’t have taken long to convince Regulus of this escapade.
The idea of it makes him roll his eyes. Whilst Barty starts the car, Regulus stares at the ice skates, struck with a thought.
“How do you know these will fit me?”
“Maybe because I know your shoe size?” Barty answers like it’s obvious, pulling onto a main road.
Regulus narrows his eyes at him. “Why do you know my shoe size?”
“Is it so weird to know the shoe size of my favourite person?” Barty asks, glancing at him. His expression is neutral, not joking about this at all.
“Barty, I don’t know your shoe size.”
“Are you insinuating that I’m your favourite person, Reg?” Barty’s grin is instantaneous, tongue caught between his teeth as he once again glances at Regulus.
“Keep your eyes on the road,” Regulus says, exasperated. “And no. That’s not what I’m insinuating.”
“It definitely sounds like you were—”
“Will you just shut up?”
Barty’s following laugh is triumphant, like being Regulus’ favourite person is something to be giddy about. Regulus purses his lips in order to stop a smile from spreading on his own face.
“So,” Barty hums, once his laughter has quietened. “How good are you at ice skating?”
“Oh, I am quite good,” Regulus says, deciding to brag a little—Barty always finds it amusing when he does. “Almost as if I were born to be on the ice.”
“Is that so?” Barty is still smiling. “You’ll definitely have to teach me a thing or two, then.”
“Sure, if you want to fall on your ass.”
“Such little faith in me, Reggie. I could be brilliant.”
Regulus rests his head on the carseat, staring as subtly as he can at Barty. “I’ll believe that when I see it.”
“Well, prepare to be pleasantly surprised,” Barty says, an air of confidence surrounding him.
“Uh huh. Okay, B.”
When they arrive, it’s closer to midnight and the ice rink is completely deserted. Regulus isn’t even sure that it’s open.
“Barty—are we allowed to be here?” he asks hesitantly, ice skates in his hands as they exit the car.
“Yes, love. I’ve booked it for the night. I believe the ice has just been resurfaced, too, so it should be perfect to skate on.” When Barty smiles at him, it’s lopsided. Regulus tries to stop himself from looking impressed, but he can’t help it.
He approaches the rink, eyes lit with wonder. It’s huge, and just for them, lit up by only the stars in the sky and fairy lights strung on the nearby streetlights.
Barty really was right about it being romantic, even if he was kidding.
“Come on, then, Reg. Put your skates on,” Barty calls out from a bench close by, having already nearly tied his first ice skate.
Regulus sits beside him, tugging his beanie on at the same time. “It’s fucking freezing. What a great idea—to skate when we could literally turn into icicles,” Regulus rambles, because he’s nothing if not a complainer.
“Shut up, skating at midnight is cute,” Barty quips back to him. Regulus chews on his lip, because yes, it is cute, but says nothing.
They finish tying their skates at the same time, and when finished, Barty grins at Regulus and tugs on a hair that’s curling out of his beanie. “You look adorable.”
“Piss off,” Regulus says, because it’s all he can muster whilst his face flushes a furious red. Thankful it can be blamed on the cold, he stands up, heading for the rink.
“How are you walking so easily?” Barty asks, not too far behind him. “These are shit.”
“They’re not shit, you are,” Regulus says, flashing him a smile as he steps onto the ice. It’s completely smoothed over, and his skates glide easily. “Now’s the time for me to be pleasantly surprised, I presume?”
Barty looks unsure, staring at Regulus’ steady feet on the ice.
Regulus sighs, unable to help the grin that falls upon his face. He pushes backwards, letting his skates take him smoothly across the ice. It isn’t hard to find balance.
“This was your idea,” Regulus reminds him, closing his eyes and holding his arms out. He hasn’t felt this at peace in a long time. “Skating under the moonlight, remember?”
“Yeah, yeah, I’ve got it,” Barty calls out, as Regulus has gotten further from him.
When Regulus opens his eyes again, it’s to see Barty flailing about as he tries to find his balance, then lunging to the railing to hold himself up.
“Idiot,” Regulus mutters fondly, skating over. “Need some help, B?”
“Can’t you see I’ve got this?” Barty asks, sarcasm in his tone as he grins and lifts his arm from the rail.
Before Barty does something like fall, Regulus moves forward and intertwines their arms, moving slowly with him across the rink. Though something like this should be simple, being so close in contact with Barty is making Regulus— feel . A lot.
Barty seems unbothered, staring at his feet in concentration. His brow is furrowed and Regulus’ lips curl into a smile at the sight.
Until, Barty glances up at him and his eyes go immediately to Regulus’ lips. “Are you smiling at me?” he asks, looking incredibly pleased with himself. Regulus resorts to frowning and pulling away from him, now separated.
“No.”
“You are—”
“— I’m not .”
“You have no idea how cute you look right now,” Barty comments, eyes now flickering all over Regulus’ face—studying him, almost.
Regulus gapes. Then, his own eyes flicker over Barty, and he gapes some more.
“You’re skating,” he points out.
Barty looks down at himself, then Regulus again. “Suppose I am. You make a good teacher—a pretty one, too.”
“No—” Regulus furrows his brows. “You’ve known how to skate this entire time, haven’t you?”
“Perhaps I just wanted an excuse to get closer to you,” Barty says with a wink, not at all ashamed as he pushes himself forward, gliding along like he’s known how to skate his whole life. “After all, Reggie, why would I bring you on an ice skating date if I’d no clue how?”
“Maybe because you’re—stupid,” Regulus says, flustered now. He can’t help it around Barty.
“Psh,” Barty waves him off. “Stupid about you, maybe.”
Regulus rolls his eyes, adjusting his beanie as an excuse to hide his face behind his hands. “Stop flirting.”
“There’s no fun in that,” Barty replies, voice growing quieter as Regulus skates away from him. He begins a lap of the rink, not surprised when Barty soon appears beside him again.
At first, Barty is quiet. It really is nice, actually. Regulus looks to the sky, mesmerised by the smatter of stars, by the moon.
He’s never thought of going ice skating at night before. There’s something intimate about it.
While he’s distracted, Barty’s hand slips into his own. Regulus’ first thought is that they should really be wearing gloves, before he fully processes what is happening. Barty’s hand—in his. Their fingers twist together. Fit together.
He chooses not to say anything, instead pressing his lips firmly together and looking out at the rink.
“Your hands are cold,” Barty blurts out, his thumb gliding over the back of Regulus’ hand. At the same time he pulls Regulus to the left, then glides to the right, moving them across the ice somehow so gracefully.
“Well—your hands are warm,” Regulus counters. He always seems to lose his ability to make coherent conversation around Barty.
Barty just smirks at him and spins them around without warning. It grows dizzying quickly, and Regulus snatches up Barty’s other hand to make them slow to a stop.
“Oi, don’t get greedy with me,” Barty laughs, Regulus lightly shoving at his shoulder in response.
“I hate you,” he mutters.
“Sure you do, darling.”
Regulus lets go of his hands, flustered, and skates backwards, a little unsteady at first, then gaining confidence and moving faster. He ends up doing a loop before arriving at Barty’s side again.
“How’d you do that?” Barty asks, face scrunched.
“Do what?” Regulus asks, a little out of breath. He slows his skates to a stop, Barty stopping with him.
“Skate—backwards.”
Regulus lifts a brow. “It’s not that difficult.”
“It bloody looks difficult,” Barty says, mirroring Regulus by also lifting a brow. “Show me.”
“You kind of just like—I don’t know. I’m not your teacher,” Regulus grumbles. “Just watch,” he says, then proceeds to slowly glide backwards, using exaggerated movements to show Barty how to do it.
“As graceful as a figure skater, Reggie,” Barty comments, smiling. “You know, I think you need to hold my hand while I do it so I really know.”
“We were just holding hands,” Regulus says blankly, although heat creeps up his neck.
Barty is usually affectionate with him, he always has been, but tonight he’s just so—heavy with it. Not that Regulus is complaining, just… he doesn’t know what to do with it all. He doesn’t know how he’s supposed to react.
“I didn’t realise there was a limit on holding hands,” Barty says with a laugh. Regulus feels his whole face go hot.
He snatches Barty’s hand in his, making sure he’s steady before making the first movement backward. Barty keeps squeezing Regulus’ hand harder whenever he feels unsteady, and it almost makes Regulus, himself, dizzy on his feet.
It takes a lot of concentration for Barty to really get it, nearly tipping them over three times in the process.
After, when Regulus lets go of his hand again, Barty pouts.
“I need a break,” he says, making his way over to the railing so that he can lean against it. Barty follows.
“That’s your star, yeah?” Barty points.
Regulus looks up at the sky, following his finger. Sure enough, it is his star. He doesn’t see the star often, and the idea that Barty knows exactly which it is, is sort of flattering. It’s sweet.
“Yeah,” Regulus breathes, their arms pressed against one another. He always manages to find calm when he’s with Barty.
“Regulus?”
“Mhm?” Regulus turns to find Barty looking directly at him, a lot closer than he had initially thought.
“Can I kiss you?”
The question is startling—Regulus’ eyes widening as they flicker all over Barty’s face. He’s looking at Regulus with such a sincere expression that it’s hard not to just melt away into the ice. Before he can even process it, Regulus finds himself nodding.
Barty’s hand comes up to cradle the side of Regulus’ jaw, just as his lips meet Regulus’, soft.
His other hand sneaks its way around Regulus’ waist, and despite being on ice, Regulus has never felt so steady in his life with Barty pulling him closer.
Regulus feels warmth bloom in his chest, his fingers curling around the bottom of Barty’s shirt.
The only way he can think to describe the experience is—angelic. He’s never felt heaven like this before, never realised he was missing Barty’s lips against his until now.
Barty moves to kiss his jaw and his cheek and his temple before letting their foreheads rest together, smiling softly at him.
“You make for a good kisser, Black,” he says, and Regulus huffs out an incredulous breath of laughter, letting a smile of his own bloom on his face. A smile just for Barty.
“Piss off,” he murmurs, then leans forward to press one more kiss to Barty’s lips. “You’re not so bad yourself.”
“I’d hope not,” Barty begins, looking to have cheeks that are flushed pink. “Because I’d like to do that a lot more with you.”
“Is that so?” Regulus tilts his head, now moving away from Barty. “I’m sure we can do that. In the meantime, I’d like to ice skate. That is what we came here to do.”
And they do exactly that. For an hour.
By the end of it, Regulus is so cold that his fingers are numb, and Barty is complaining every three seconds that his legs hurt.
“Stop being such a baby,” Regulus says, shivering into the collar of his sweater as he sits on the bench.
“I literally feel like my legs are going to fall off,” Barty groans, dropping beside Regulus. He takes off his shoes easily, replacing them for his vans. Meanwhile, Regulus’ hands are so shaky that he can’t untie the first lace.
“Need some help there, love?” Barty asks, eyebrows raised.
“No, I’m perfectly fine,” Regulus replies through his chattering teeth. And yet, Barty bats his hand away and kneels to the ground, beginning to untie the first ice skate. “A bit early to be proposing, isn’t it?”
“Oh, shush,” Barty says, glancing up to grin at him.
Whilst he’s tying Regulus’ converse on, he pokes at the embroidered stars on the side.
“Did you do these?”
“Yes,” Regulus mumbles, watching Barty’s face as he ties Regulus’ shoes. His tongue pokes out in concentration, and Regulus smiles at how endearing it is. “I got bored.”
“They look nice,” Barty smiles, standing. He kicks at Regulus’ shoe. “Come on. Let’s go.”
When Regulus stands, he falls directly into Barty’s arms, unsteady on his feet. He goes red with embarrassment.
“Sorry—“
Barty kisses him again. Now, he melts in Barty’s arms. He could get used to this feeling.
When he pulls away, Barty shrugs off his jacket to wrap around Regulus. “You know, we could cuddle when we get back to yours. Perfect solution to warming you up.”
Regulus rolls his eyes at him, smiling. “Whatever you say.”