Falling- Jinyoung (Day 4/100)
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Prompt: Falling
Member: Jinyoung x Reader
AU: FigureSkating!AU
“Come on, jagi, it’s not that hard,” Jinyoung said, teasing you as he glided backwards on the ice. You pouted and stood up from the bench, hobbling on the skates as you walked over to the side of the rink.
“Yes it is! You just make it look really easy,” you whined, glancing at the others who were slowly getting the hang of the ice. “I’m gonna fall and you know it!” you exclaimed. Jinyoung skated over to you and stopped gracefully, opening the door and putting out his hand to you.
“Come on,” he said. “I’ll let you hold my hand for the first few rounds,” he added, smiling down at you. You crossed your arms and stared out at the ice.
You and Jinyoung had been dating for almost 3 years now, and it had not been easy. Since he was a competitive skater, almost all of his free time was spent on the ice. Of course, the majority of your time was spent in school and when you weren’t there, you were sitting on the bleachers, studying while watching him skate. You could barely stand up on the ice, let alone do the spins and jumps that he could do, so you much preferred the solid ground.
That being said, you absolutely loved to watch him skate. In your mind, there was nothing that could compare to the beauty and grace that Jinyoung possessed when he was in his element. The way he was able to complete the most complex jumps left you utterly transfixed. Every time he would practice his triples or quads, you would let out a sigh of relief when he landed them and a squeal of horror when he didn’t. You had spins and jumps that were your favorite, but there was nothing he could do on the ice that didn’t strike you as beautiful.
Throughout the years, you had stuck by his side, trying your best to support him in whatever way you could. There were times where you would help cheer him on when it was just you and him at midnight and he refused to leave the complex until he got his routine just right. There were times where he could finally have cheat day and the two of you would go to an Italian restaurant and stuff your faces with bread and pasta. And, of course, there were also times when you were left alone, staring at the television when he would compete in other places.
But the best times were when he came home to you. Pulling him into your arms as he showed you his gold medal. Congratulating him on his most recent wins. Listening to him when he felt that he wasn’t good enough. Ensuring him that he was good enough to do anything he set his mind to.
That was your relationship.
It was strong because you had made it strong. And although a lot of it consisted of you supporting him, there was no doubt in your mind that he supported you as well. He would always ask about your day and listen to your stories. He constantly wanted to know what you were learning in school and how your family was doing. He was just invested in you as you were in him.
And that brought you to the present moment. After spending months away in Japan with his trainer, he was finally home and had a few weeks of vacation before heading to England for another competition. Within a few days of being back, he had somehow managed to drag you back to the rink.
It perplexed you to say the least.
How could someone that spent every waking moment training on the ice want to spend his supposed ‘time off’ back on the ice? But you supposed that’s why he was so good at skating in the first place. It was his passion, not just his job.
“I’m really bad, Jin, you know that,” you said, taking his hand regardless and stepping onto the ice. The feeling of being unbalanced overcame you as you stiffened up and tried to stand upright. Jinyoung laughed lightly as he turned around so that he was skating backwards but facing you.
“Loosen up,” he said, chuckling lightly as he grabbed your other hand as well. “Don’t be so stiff, that’s how you’re going to end up falling.”
You stared down at the ice as you tried to glide forward, just like how you had seen your boyfriend do a million times, but it didn’t seem to work. You couldn’t seem to push yourself forward, so you just ended up moving your legs back and forth in place. Jinyoung broke out into laughter and you shot your head up, your eyes widening in disbelief.
“Okay, that’s it, I’m out,” you said, taking your hands out of Jinyoung’s and trying to turn back to the wall. He quickly held out his hand again and tried to talk through his laughter.
“I’m sorry, jagi, I’m sorry,” he said, letting out a few laughs before composing himself. “I won’t let you fall, I promise,” he said. You looked at him again with narrowed eyes, but this time he had a genuine look on his face.
“Fine,” you said, grabbing his hand again and squealing as he pulled you over to him. “But if I fall, I’m – ”
“I won’t let you fall,” Jinyoung stated bluntly, cutting you off. You slowly nodded and then began to slide on the ice as Jinyoung pulled you along gently. You held onto his hand hard, but he didn’t seem to mind, and gladly let you hold onto him.
Of course, this wasn’t your first time skating. It wasn’t even your tenth time. You’d been skating more times than you could count, but for some reason, you just couldn’t seem to get the hang of it.
“You’re getting better!” Jinyoung exclaimed. “Here, try doing this,” he said as he showed you the movements to make and tried to explain where to put the pressure on your feet. You followed his movements and you were slowly able to push yourself forward a little bit without him having to pull you around the ice. You spent a while like this, him holding your hands and gliding with ease as you slid forward awkwardly.
“Is it working?” you asked, trying to push yourself forward and not knowing if you were moving on your own accord, or because Jinyoung was skating alongside you.
“Let go of my hand and we’ll see,” Jinyoung said, gently. You pouted as Jinyoung pulled you to a stop and slowly tried to take your hand off of his own. You didn’t want to let go – it was the only thing that had made you feel secure on the ice. But you also wanted to make him proud so you begrudgingly decided to let go of his hand.
Even though he only skated a few inches away from you, the fact that you weren’t supported by anything suddenly made you very nervous. You held out both of your arms as you stood still on the ice, managing to keep your balance and not fall.
“There you go!” Jinyoung exclaimed, grinning. “Now try to skate forwards,” he said, pointing a gloved hand in front of you. You nodded and gulped hard as you tried to apply the pressure to the right part of your feet.
As soon as you began moving, you knew you had no chance. One of your skates moved forward while the other moved backwards, and you were immediately caught off guard. You tried to keep your balance, but now your arms were flailing and you didn’t know what to do.
You were about to let out a scream and admit defeat, when Jinyoung reached over and grabbed one of your hands. He wrapped his arm around your waist and pulled you into his chest with ease. You stopped moving all together and quickly regained your balance since you had something to lean on once more. You looked up at Jinyoung and he was looking at you with a gentle smile. You felt your cheeks heat up at the close proximity to your boyfriend. How he managed to still give you butterflies after 3 years was beyond you.
“See?” he said, grinning happily. “I told you I wouldn’t let you fall!” You rolled your eyes playfully as you let him pull you across the ice once more, still holding your hand in his own. You scoffed lightly before smiling at him.