Fake News: The Lake

[ptahrrific]

Title: The Lake
Series: TDS/TCR
Characters/Pairings: Jon/"Stephen"
Rating: PG
Disclaimer: See the index.

For hiddenxplaces, who wanted "Jon & Stephen ice-skating, bonus point if it's Stephen who saves Jon."



The Lake


A crescent moon hung in the clear night sky, casting the whole forest in silver. Frost glittered on the pine needles and encased the tiny red berries of the holly bushes like precious jewels; a mantle of snow lay over the ground like a thick white blanket, almost glowing in the moonlight. All the animals were curled up snugly in their dens and burrows; it was as if the tableau had been created just as it was, new and pristine, never touched by any living hand.

"Best of all," added Stephen as he tramped through the snow, "all the bears are hibernating!"

"The bears are smart," muttered Jon from behind him. "You sure you don't want to emulate them? Get back to the nice warm cabin, make some hot chocolate, snuggle up under the covers?"

It was definitely tempting. Especially when Stephen started to think of all the other ways they could generate heat while they were at it. (Of course, they had done several of them last night, and a few more this morning, but when you were as virile and manly as Stephen was, that was an awfully long time to wait.)

Shake it off, Col-bert! he chastised himself. "Not a chance, Jon. We'll be turning the corner in a few minutes. Stay the course."

"Haven't heard that one before," grumbled Jon.

A minute later, the trees parted, and Jon gasped.

They were standing on a bank which sloped down maybe twenty feet before giving way to a vast lake. The icy surface, smooth as glass, lay unmoving and unbroken except by a small island towards the far side, topped by a lone tuft of firs.

"You will note," said Stephen proudly, after letting Jon stare openmouthed for a minute or two, "that I have yet to say 'I told you so'."

"Kudos," breathed Jon. His voice was barely above a whisper, as if he were afraid that speaking too loudly would shatter the picture. "Is it really safe for us to skate here?"

"Of course. I do it all the time." Stephen slung his ice skates over his other shoulder, so that he could take Jon's arm as they began to make their way down the cliff. Having a hypochondriac liberal boyfriend had its perks sometimes. "Don't worry. I won't let you fall."

Comments

[holly-cullen.livejournal.com]

A crescent moon hung in the clear night sky, casting the whole forest in silver. Frost glittered on the pine needles and encased the tiny red berries of the holly bushes like precious jewels; a mantle of snow lay over the ground like a thick white blanket, almost glowing in the moonlight. All the animals were curled up snugly in their dens and burrows; it was as if the tableau had been created just as it was, new and pristine, never touched by any living hand.

This paragraph is beautiful and makes me miss winter. *scurries off to turn down the thermostat and simulate colder climates*

[jmie.livejournal.com]

Words cannot express how much I am loving the sweet, plausible fluff. Thank you so much. ♥ Bonus points for Stephen being calm enough with the bears asleep to be lovey-dovey. ;)

[anais-rhys.livejournal.com]

Having skated on a moonlit frozen pond in New England before, I love this even more for striking just the right tone to inspire nostalgia.... a cross between a Norman Rockwell painting, a Robert Frost poem, and an Enzyte commercial :-p Lovely and quirkily adorable as all things Jon/"Stephen" should be!

[pr-scatterbrain.livejournal.com]

Beautiful work.

[kiteling.livejournal.com]

That was so absolutely beautiful and cute. I went walking at an arboretum today and there were loads of young lovers walking and cuddling and just being happy. I felt incredibly lonely but it was beautiful at the same time. Reading this fic had the same kind of feeling.

...and plus, "all the bears are hibernating!" that made me lol. :]