Work Text:
“I’m not doing it.”
You sigh again. “Sam, trust me it’s fine. The ice is hard as a rock right now, it’s not gonna crack.” You hopelessly try to persuade your husband, but he just continues glaring at the frozen lake, willing it to just disappear. As you finish putting on your skates, you huff “We’ve come all this way. Especially this early in the morning too. Don’t let it go to waste.” You give him your best puppy dog eyes but he just stares back at you with an eyebrow raised. God damn your stubborn husband!
Now that it’s December and Christmas is near, you’ve been trying to persuade Sam to do some more activities to celebrate the season. Never one for the jolly period, this year you wanted him to at least feel a little festive after the stress of the gang war earlier in the year.
Most of them he’d agreed to as they’ve involved only you and no one else. Your husband only had so much patience for people and when it ran out, he was grouchier than the grinch. When you suggested some romantic, early mourning ice skating together, he’d immediately said no, denouncing it as dangerous and silly straightaway. Whether he actually believed that or just didn’t want to humiliate himself by slipping on the ice you didn’t know. But what you did know however was that with a little persuasion and a few kisses, you were able to change his mind.
And technically, you did- at least until he saw the ice and said no again. Leading to where you are now.
“Sam, honey, there’s been people skating here for the past few weeks, ever since it froze. It’s perfectly safe, people do this every year.”
Still, he doesn’t budge. “It’s too risky doll. ”
You sigh, rising from your knees and facing him, reaching your hands up to hold his face. “Nothing is going to happen to me Sam, not when you're here with me. Trust me, nothing is going to happen.” He breathes deeply, pursing his lips and you gaze up at him, leaning up to pepper some kisses on slightly stubbled jaw. He throws his head back, groaning in defeat as his hand leans up to pinch the bridge of his nose between his fingertips.
“Fine. But I’m goin’ first, just to make sure it’s safe.”
You jump away from his arms in victory, giggling excitedly. He huffs in annoyance as he begrudgingly slips on his skates and edges towards the ice, but you catch the warm look in his eyes and the small smile he’s trying to hide. He’s hesitant as he places one foot forward and you wonder if he’s ever even done this before.
“You do know what you’re doin’, don’t ya honey?”
“Yeah, of course. It’s just a bit slip-”
He doesn’t get to finish his sentence as he gets both his feet on the ice, immediately starting to slip. He actually lets out a yelp as he loses balance, falling backwards onto his ass. You can’t help the laughter that bursts out your chest, crying harder when he glares at you over his shoulder. He rolls his eyes, lying back on the ice fully with a thud.
You’ve never seen him look this silly before and it has you wheezing, the sight of him like this so foreign. You hear him grumble “Fuckin’ ice.” as you bend over, clutching your stomach.
“Can you please come and help me?”
Wiping a tear away, you nod and make your way over to him, skating elegantly to where he lies. You reach your hands down and he grabs them, heaving himself up from the cold ice. Quickly however, he begins to slip again but before he can fall once more, you wrap your arms around his chest, keeping him upright.
“You don’t know how to skate, do you honey?” Sam avoids your eyes as you look up at him, a long breath coming out his nose. His face suddenly fills with sadness, an emotion you swiftly want to rid him off. You curl your hand around his cheek, pulling his face back round to yours. You nuzzle his nose with your own, before kissing him gently. He sinks into you, his arms wrapping around you tightly. When you separate, you whisper to him “Is this why you didn’t want to come?”
He sighs, his warm breathing brushing against your face “I’m sorry doll. I ain’t… I’ve never… Skatin’ wasn’t really somethin’ I got to do as a kid.”
You give him another sweet kiss before replying “It’s okay. You can still learn, I’ll teach you. Ya just gotta trust me.” He nods, looking down at you with a warmth, one that makes your heart flutter in your chest. All these years with him and one look can still have you weak at the knees.
You feel like sighing in pleasure when he whispers with that raspy voice of his “Lead the way.”
At first, you just try teaching him the basics, holding his hand as you try walking gently across the ice. Of course he falls down a few more times, pulling you down with him. He’s embarrassed about it first, but when he sees you so happy he suddenly doesn’t care about looking stupid anymore. When he keeps falling and pulling you with him, eventually he starts laughing too, pulling you close and sneaking in kisses as you smile against one another.
It turns out, your husband is a quick learner. As time passes, he actually starts to get the knack of it. Quickly enough, you’re both slowly gliding across the frozen lake, still staying close to each other with your hands connected. You can see just by looking at the small smile on Sam’s face that he is enjoying it now. It makes him relax for a moment, allowing him to forget about all his worries and the work he has to do. It’s just him and you, alone, the sounds of nature and the slice of your blades through the ice, the accompanying soundtrack to your time together.
Sam sits at the edge of the lake a little while later, taking a much needed smoking break. He watches you as you twirl and jump amidst the falling snow. While it was fun for him to be near you skating, he can’t help but admit to himself that he’s enjoying it more just looking at you. He can see the joy and excitement in your face as you complete a turn, the sound of your laughter like music to his ears. You haven’t stopped smiling since you stepped onto the ice. Though he was persistent about not doing it in the first place, he’s glad he changed his mind now just because he gets to see you happy.
Sam missed you this year. He did see you everyday during the war, but never for long. The most time you got together was when you both collapsed into bed at the end of the day, immediately falling asleep. Thanks to Sam’s job as a Capo and your commitments to helping the Don with the account books, it’d been a miserable time for the both of you. It was especially hard for Sam.
After having your sweet kisses and caresses everyday since you officially became a couple, he utterly missed the feeling of you in his arms. He missed your laugh, the sound of your voice when you were excited or happy. As cheesy as it sounds, you were like an angel to him, keeping his demons at bay. With you, he was able to leave all his stress about work at the door of your home, giving him the break he needed from such a strenuous job. When the war was finally over, he vowed that he’d make up all the lost time between you. It’s why he agreed to all these Christmas activities with you, wanting to see you happy while he spent time with you after so long apart.
When you come skating over to him, jumping into his arms to press a thankful kiss against his lips, he forgets about everything around him. All the matters is you in his arms, happy and full of his love for you. It was worth all the activities he had to do - even if his ass was sore from falling so many times.
---