downhill (gbd)
an early december snowboarding trip to colorado with your favorite boys is on the agenda. nothing can go wrong... right?
word count: 6.8k
warnings/tags: jealous!grayson, angst, mild injuries, arguing, angsty angst angst I did my best okay I hope it’s worth the wait :’)
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It was the kind of cold outside that you could feel through the car. Even the metal frame of the van seemed to be shivering as Grayson continued down the highway, hand warm in yours on the center console. The sun had dipped down under the horizon, and you shifted again, trying to get comfortable in the passenger seat.
“All good?” You felt him squeeze your hand, eyes flickering over to you. Nodding, you squeezed back, shifting so you could lean against him, resting on his shoulder.
“Yeah, just trying to keep my ass from going numb,” you admitted, grinning when he let out a dry laugh. He turned his head, pressing a kiss to your forehead, then resting his cheek against the top of your head.
“You wanna go sit in the back for a bit? It’s almost Ethan’s turn to drive anyway, then I can join.” His eyes flickered to his phone, maps pulled up. Four hours left until you got to Keystone Colorado.
“I don’t wanna miss the Christmas lights.” Half the reason you were going back to Keystone was because Grayson proclaimed it to be the cutest little christmasy town he’d ever seen.
“Baby we’re on the highway for another -” he checked quickly - “three hours. Go wake E up for me so he’s ready to drive, I’ll make sure you see the lights before we leave.”
Even though it was your first time traveling long term in the van, you’d become so comfortable in it. You easily unbuckled and climbed over the center console, letting out a squeak when Grayson’s hand came up to swat your ass while it was up in the air.
Ethan was sprawled out across the bed in the back of the van, head towards the back doors, arms crossed over his torso - the perfect position for pouncing. Grayson laughed as he watched you in the rearview mirror, heading around the seats before getting a three step run in, giving you just enough momentum to launch onto Ethan.
“BOO!” You yelled, landing directly on top of him. His groan was so loud that even Grayson jumped in the front seat. “Gotta wake up, almost your turn to drive.”
“That’s twice that you’ve jumped on me today. I’d rather Grayson wake me up than you,” he grumbled, eyes still closed.
“I’m offended.”
“Because I can hit him,” he finished, making you grin.
“I’d like to see you try!” Gray called from the front, shaking his head.
“Is it really already my turn to drive? Isn’t it your turn yet?”
“Bitch I drove the first 5 hours this morning, I don’t wanna hear it,” you scoffed, rolling to the side and flopping down on the cushions. Just laying down was enough to remind you that you had in fact been up since 4am, having been the designated alarm clock for the group. The coffee you’d downed was long gone now, and with the gentle bumps of the car on the road, you knew you’d be asleep soon if you stayed down.
With that, you sat up, reaching around to get into the ‘junk’ drawer, pulling out the old deck of cards that you’d tossed in. Ethan narrowed his eyes at you, hesitant. You didn’t blame him - it was common knowledge that you could kick his ass in cards.
“War. That’s all I’m playing.”
“Lame,” you muttered, but you dealt the cards out anyways. The game helped pass the time, both of you getting a little animated when you’d pull away with a lead. He threw a card at you when you got the last ace, knowing he’d effectively lost. You stuck your tongue out in response. Bad move.
That mischief that you’d seen so many times flickered in his eyes, and you made a dive for the front of the van towards Gray. It was futile; Ethan’s arms immediately trapped you and he drug you back onto the bed.
“No!” You squealed, knowing exactly what he was going to do. The two of you ended up in sore loser situations more often that you’d like to admit, and you crawled away, trying to avoid it. Unfortunately, the van wasn’t as long as you thought and when you turned around, he was right there, pinky finger up and devilish grin on his face. He put it in his mouth and you made one last dive, but he caught you, effectively giving you a wet willy that you cringed away from.
As soon as you could you scrambled off the bed, up the tiny hallway and past the curtain, crawling into the front seat and curling up in a ball. Gray moved on instinct, arm stretching over to your seat, blocking the gap between them so his brother couldn’t make it through.
You grinned, knowing you’d made it to safe territory as Ethan glowered at you over the seat.
“Don’t make me pull this van over,” Grayson cautioned, putting on his best dad voice. You just laughed as Ethan rolled his eyes.
“Traitor,” he accused with narrow eyes, sitting back into the second row of seats as Grayson pulled off the exit to find a gas station. Once he pulled in you hopped out of the van, stretching your legs and heading in to pee. You started walking as fast as you could, the air so cold it took your breath away.
“Hang on, I’m coming.” Gray jogged to catch up with you, leaving Ethan behind to pump the gas.
“I’m fine,” you reassured him, bumping him with your arm. Almost five months ago you had told him that one time at one gas station you’d gotten kinda spooked, and ever since then, he made sure you never went in one alone if he could help it.
“I know.” He kept walking anyways, following you in and over to the corner of the store where the bathrooms were, standing by the shelves and trying to look non-creepy while he waited for you.
By the time you got back, Ethan had finished up; you could see him in the driver’s seat, plugging in his phone. Gray opened the door for you and you gladly climbed back into the warmth. You beelined for the bed, grabbing the blanket and immediately climbing under it.
You heard him laugh first, and then you felt the cushions dip as he crawled over, laying down and resting his head on your side until you turned so he could cuddle up to you.
“Keep it PG back there, I can’t close the curtain,” Ethan called, prompting Gray to flip him off. You didn’t care if Ethan saw, you wiggled down until your face was even with Gray’s, pulling him in for a kiss. You could feel his smile as he brought an arm over and under you, rolling to pull you on top of him, your hair falling around him. He reached up to push it back, holding your head and guiding your lips back down to his, skin soft and warm against yours.
Something about being so close to him just relaxed you like nothing else - you didn’t care about anything, worry about anything when you were in his arms. It had become home to you in the best way.
The downside of that? The fact that you were so comfortable that you had to pull away and let out a huge yawn. As soon as you were done you looked down to see him watching you with a smile.
“Am I boring you?” He teased, leaning up to press a kiss to your neck.
“No, you’re just cozy,” you hummed, nuzzling down onto his chest. He had on his yellow Cudi hoodie from coachella, and you traced the letters on his chest absentmindedly, eyelids heavy.
Before you knew what was happening you were fast asleep, Grayson smiling when he felt your breathing even out above him. He shifted you over onto the bed, rubbing gently over your back to keep you lulled. Once he was sure you were out, he kissed your head and slid off the bed, moving up to the passenger seat to keep Ethan company. He turned the music down so it didn’t wake you up, and E filled the silence.
“What happens when I get a girl? All four of us won’t fit in here,” he mused.
“We’ll figure it out, we could always pitch a tent if we had to. Gotta find a girl whose gonna put up with you first.”
“Ha- ha. If you can find one, I shouldn’t have a problem.”
On instinct, Grayson craned his neck up to look in the rearview mirror, checking on you. You were still asleep, curled up on your side in the middle of the bed. You looked so small and cute back there, it took more willpower than he thought it would to keep himself in his seat.
“She still out?”
Grayson just nodded, still watching you. “She was exhausted bro, I don’t know how she even stayed up that long.” Ethan’s eyes flickered up to the mirror, and he smiled.
“You picked a good one. She’s gonna fit right in.”
Grayson was pretty sure it must be a twin thing that Ethan could sense his worries even when he hadn’t voiced them. It didn’t matter how much he loved Y/N, he was still a bit nervous to bring her home to meet his family for the holidays in just a few weeks.
“I’m not worried about Ma. She’s gonna love her, I already know that. I’m worried about Cam.”
“Why wouldn’t Cam like her?”
“Cause Cam doesn’t like anyone we date, ever, you know that. She’s too damn protective.” Just the thought of his sister and his girlfriend in the same room together made his palms a bit clammy. He wiped them on his sweatpants quickly, hoping Ethan didn’t notice.
“Neither of us have ever brought a girl home like Y/N before though. And let’s be honest... Cam’s never been wrong, has she? Even if she’s a little over the top, you gotta admit, she’s got a radar for crazy. She always knew before we did if things were gonna go to shit.” E raised an eyebrow, and Grayson couldn’t help but laugh. His sister really had called out every crazy ex before he had been able to see the red flags.
“Now I’m really scared, cause I gotta trust her. Her track record’s too good, what if she says Y/N is actually batshit crazy or some shit? Then what?!”
“Well, she is dating your ass, so she’s gotta be a little crazy,” Ethan grinned until Gray smacked the back of his head.
“It was her idea to invite you along, so yeah, I’ll give to yah, she’s a little crazy.”
“I helped build this van, I automatically get invited on all trips that it embarks on.”
“Ethan you put in two fuckin screws, you didn’t build shit.”
“Cause you wouldn’t let me do anything!”
They bickered for a few more minutes before they got over it, moving onto other conversations until they ran out of highway. When they got off the exit, they were immediately greeted by the most christmasy town they’d ever seen. Every store, every porch was covered in twinkling lights - Gray considered waking you up, but you looked so peaceful that he let you be, knowing he’d have another chance to show you.
Everything went to plan until Ethan pulled into the campground that was supposed to house them for the night. The woman was nice enough, but even her polite tone didn’t make the news that there were no open campsites any better.
“I’m sorry boys, we filled up the last spot about an hour ago. Lots of people trying to get their ski trips in before the holiday rush. There’s a rest stop about 5 minutes up the way, you could park there for the night.”
“It’s alright. Thank you for your help.” Ethan mustered up the best smile he could through his exhaustion and turned the van around, pulling back out and onto the road.
“We’re gonna freeze our asses off again. The whole point of the campground was so we could run the fucking heater.” Grayson checked his phone - it was 20 degrees.
“We’ll just have to make it work. We can wake up and drive around in shifts if we have to. I’m fuckin toast man, you are too. We gotta at least try to sleep,” Ethan muttered, eyes peeled for the rest stop. Grayson didn’t have an argument for that.
As soon as they pulled off at the rest stop they were climbing into the backseat, stretching their legs for a minute before they grabbed the extra blanket they had and headed to bed.
“Don’t wake her up, she doesn’t go back to sleep easy,” Grayson cautioned, careful to move the bed as little as possible while he climbed in. Ethan copied his movements on the other side of you, trying to settle in.
“Night bro,” Ethan muttered, rolling over to face the outside of the van before reaching up to turn off his light.
“Night,” Gray answered. You were still sleeping soundly, facing towards him, some of your hair falling into your face. He couldn’t help but smile - you looked so peaceful, so cute all curled up in your pullover. He leaned over and kissed your forehead before reaching up to turn off the light, his hand finding yours that was resting face up by your head. With your fingers intertwined, he fell asleep almost immediately.
It was peaceful - until it wasn’t.
When you woke up, there were too many things going on at once. For one, the light was on, practically blinding you, which didn’t help the mission you had of figuring out what the fuck was going on. Two, your face was freezing, but your back was warm. And three, you felt heavy, and it took you a minute to realize that there was an arm slung over top of your torso, wrapped around and under you.
Seeking the warmth and the comfort, you relaxed back against his chest, blinking to try and figure out what was going on.
And that’s when you saw Grayson, up on his knees on the bed, hovering tall and angry above the both of you. It clicked then, and you realized exactly what had happened.
“Ethan, what the fuck!” Gray was yelling, his voice bouncing off the metal all around you and making you wince.
Ethan only stirred, and did the worst possible thing he could have done in that moment - you felt his arm tighten around you, pulling you against him firmly, face hiding behind your head to get away from the noise.
“E, Ethan wake up,” you muttered, knowing it wasn’t going to end well. He didn’t have much of a chance to even disengage before Grayson was grabbing his wrist and yanking his arm off of you, much more force behind it than necessary.
“Bro, what the fuck?” Ethan groaned, starting to wake up. You did your best to move quickly, rolling away from him and ending up bumping into Grayson’s thighs. Damn tiny home. Grayson’s anger dissipated for just a second while he helped you sit up, and you climbed off the bed, half to find water and half to avoid what you knew was about to happen.
“What the fuck?” He mocked. “Are you fucking kidding me Ethan?”
“Dude, I don’t know what’s up your ass right now, but can you just wait until the morning to be a dick please?” He rolled over towards the outside wall of the van, trying to avoid the lights. It didn’t last long - Grayson was on him in a second, pulling him back over onto his back. Ethan put his arms up in defense, and it was a smart move, because right after that Grayson started shoving, pushing at his chest and his shoulders.
“Grayson, what the fuck is your problem right now?” He was fully awake now, his anger rising.
“My problem? My problem is that I woke up to you all over my fuckin’ girl, that’s my problem. The fuck is wrong with you?” He shoved him again, and you winced when you heard Ethan’s body hit the metal of the wall. You knew it didn’t hurt him, but it still made you upset.
“Guys-” you tried, but you knew it was futile - you knew better than to try to get into the middle of one of their piss matches. Your voice fell on deaf ears, and you sighed, climbing into the second row of seats. The leather was cold, so you tucked your hands down into your sleeves, curling up on your side while the argument continued.
“Bro, I was fucking asleep. I probably thought she was a blanket or something, it’s cold as fuck in here.” Ethan tried to defend himself. You hoped Grayson would be calmed by his words, but of course, he wasn’t.
“I don’t give a fuck if you’re fucking cold, Ethan. You can keep your hands to yourself.”
“Oh, shit, you’re so right! Let me just check in with my motivation real quick... oh wait, I was fucking unconscious.”
Your exhaustion only heightened your annoyance, and you moved your arm up over your ear, pleasantly surprised with how much noise the fluffy fabric blocked out.
You’d almost made it back to sleep, surprisingly comfortable in the seat when Grayson noticed you were gone.
“Y/N? Y/N! Where the fuck did she go?”
You only reacted when you felt his hand on your arm. You turned to look up at him, and even if you were annoyed your heart tightened at the little bit of panic left on his face.
“I thought you left the van, you scared me,” he breathed, still keeping a hand on you.
“Nope, just trying to get some sleep and avoid the testosterone overload,” you muttered, quirking an eyebrow.
“Come back to bed.” There was a twinge of guilt in his tone, and it softened you whether you wanted it to or not.
“I can sleep just fine right here. Might avoid me becoming a tug-of-war rope at 3am.”
“Baby. Please.” He was pleading now, tugging on your arm just barely. The stubborn part of you fought it, but you knew you were going to give in eventually. Might as well do it now.
Grayson relaxed a bit when you stood up, taking your hand just for the quick walk to the back of the van. Ethan was on his side, facing the wall again, but you could tell he was awake when he scooted over as Grayson climbed into the middle where you had been.
It was petty, but you figured it would solve the problem well enough, so you didn’t fight it. He turned the lights off, and as soon as you were laying down Grayson’s arm was around you, pulling you back against his chest as tight as he could, cold nose nuzzling into your neck.
“Mmmm, you’re warm,” he hummed quietly, just for you.
“You’re lucky you’re cute, you possessive fuck,” you mumbled, cuddling up to him despite your words.
“You love it.”
“I don’t love when you fight with Ethan.”
“I always fight with Ethan.”
“I know, that’s the whole point,” you sighed. He shifted behind you, and you felt his hand come up to brush some of the hair off your neck, fingers moving to the collar of your pullover so he could find some skin and press a kiss there.
“I’ll try to behave tomorrow. Promise. As long as Ethan keeps his hands to himself.”
You just rolled your eyes before closing them, soaking in the warmth of him there next to you as you drifted off.
----------
The first sip that hit your lips was still too hot, and you frowned down at your mug.
“Not good?” Ethan quirked an eyebrow, already downing his latte across from you.
“Still too hot,” you mumbled, blowing down onto the liquid, watching the ripples spread across the top of the foam.
“Before he gets back -” Ethan nodded at his brother, who was still waiting for his coffee by the counter - “I just wanted to say I’m really sorry if I made you uncomfortable last night. I mean, I was asleep, but I still feel really bad cause I know that was probably weird for you.”
“E, chill. It’s fine, really. We were all cold as fuck, I don’t blame you for grabbing the first warm thing you found. I’m sorry he’s so damn protective, I know you didn’t mean anything by it.” You did your best to reassure him quickly but sincerely. He just mouthed a quick “thank you” as Grayson sat back down at the table.
Even though they hadn’t outrightly bickered yet, the tension was obvious between the boys. Gray sat turned almost entirely towards you, his back to Ethan in the most subtle of standoffish ways.
You stayed out of their arguments as much as you could - you had no place interfering in the twins relationship with each other, that was for sure. But it didn’t mean you didn’t feel bad for Ethan sometimes when Grayson was being a dick. You frowned as you watched him quietly sip at his coffee, knowing that if he said something that could even be slightly misconstrued, his brother would take it and run with it.
“So what gear do I need to get exactly?” You opened up the conversation, hopeful that it wouldn’t devolve.
Grayson launched into it, explaining everything you would need to rent out for the day ahead of you, from your board and boots to your goggles and helmet. It got him talking, which kept him from giving Ethan dirty looks, which was your ultimate goal.
You kept the conversation going as best you could for the rest of the morning, just bringing up random things to keep the emotions light and friendly. You got your reprieve about an hour later, when the three of you arrived at the slopes and walked into the rental store at the bottom. Someone greeted you at the door, giving you a chance to take a breath.
“You make a good mediator,” Ethan muttered in your ear when Grayson followed the employee towards the snowboards. Maybe you hadn’t been as subtle as you originally thought.
“Might as well be my full time job living with you two,” you teased, bumping him with your shoulder.
“Hopefully he gets the stick out of his ass before we hit the slopes.”
You headed over to Grayson, Ethan in tow, and started to listen to the instructions from the employee. You got a bit lost in the jargon, but you understood that the boys got advanced boards and you got a beginner one.
“It’ll make it easier if you mess up, cause it’s more bendy,” Gray explained, offering you an encouraging smile. You weren’t the most coordinated, and you’d never tried to snowboard before, but you’d promised you’d try.
“Sounds good to me,” you shrugged, letting out a bit of a clueless laugh.
“First time out there huh?” The employee offered you a bright smile - he was a bit shorter than the boys, with a sweet face and a head full of blonde hair.
“Yeah, gonna give it a go.”
“Nervous?”
“A little,” you admitted.
“I’m sure you’ll do great, you seem like a smart girl. Just stick to the green slopes at the start, those are for beginners. If you need some tips, just let me know.”
Grayson’s arm was around your waist immediately, pulling you against him so hard you almost lost your footing.
“I can handle the tips. Just need the gear,” Gray said, tight smile on his lips. It took all your willpower to stop yourself from rolling your eyes.
“Right. Let me just go get the rest of it.”
“Thank you,” you said, elbowing Grayson in the ribs as soon as the boy turned around and disappeared to the back storage.
“So we’re being assholes to customer service workers today too, huh?” You accused. You saw Ethan’s eyebrows raise as he held back a laugh behind his brother.
“He was flirting with you.”
You didn’t get a chance to refute it because the boy came back with all the gear in his hands. Most of it was for you - the boys already had jackets, boots and goggles. You passed them their helmets while you scooped up all the puffy fabric and Grayson paid.
The whole interaction didn’t come up again until you were on the lift, all geared up and headed to the first green slope. Ethan had gotten onto the seat behind the two of you, and you knew he’d done it on purpose. You tried a softer approach - instead of bringing it up, you just leaned over and kissed him. Your goggles that were nestled on top of your head clinked together, and you giggled at it before you leaned back.
“What was that for?” He mused.
“Just a reminder that I’m yours and you don’t have to worry about a teenage ski resort employee. Or your brother. Especially not your brother.”
You expected him to laugh, or at least smile. You got neither.
“A reminder? Why would I need a reminder?”
“I don’t know, you’ve just been getting jealous really easy lately. Thought maybe it was something I did,” you muttered, already shrinking down. You got annoyed when he was pissy with other people, but when he was pissy with you? You felt like an ant, tiny and fragile.
“I’m fine.”
“Okay.”
The rest of the short ride was silent, and you were relieved he still helped you get off the lift despite his attitude. But that was about the only help he gave you - he went down the slope almost immediately, leaving you at the top with your board in your hands. You pulled your goggles down over your eyes, hoping that might keep you from tearing up more than you already were.
“Here. I’ll show you,” Ethan’s voice was as soft as ever when he came up beside you. “Put your board down, and strap your right foot in.”
You did as he instructed, glad that he had his foot in front of your board so it didn’t slide away from you.
“Okay, now you just gotta feel it. Kick using your back foot for a minute so you can move and get used to it and find your balance, and then bring your other foot up on top. To go faster, shift forward a bit, and to stop turn your board sideways. I’ll go with you in case you can’t get stopped.”
You followed his instructions, gliding just barely over the snow. You were crawling forward, but you started to get the hang of the feeling. All was good until you tried to stop, overcorrecting and immediately losing your balance.
“Woah, I gotcha, you’re fine.” Ethan caught you, somehow managing to stay up on his board as well. You’d never understand how both boys could be so athletic.
“Thanks. Was that right? I mean, besides the stop.”
“Not bad for your first, uh, 2ft run,” he grinned, teeth as white as the snow he was standing on.
“Thanks for helping. Sorry he’s being a dick, I know you all usually snowboard together.” It was kinda their thing. Maybe you coming along wasn’t such a good idea.
“This was your all’s trip, you were nice enough to invite me on it,” he reminded you. “So I’m sorry he’s being a dick. But that doesn’t mean we can’t have fun. Right?”
“Right,” you smiled.
“Okay then. Let’s keep practicing.”
Ethan’s patience was endless. He showed you the ropes, encouraging you as you got your control down, even cheering so loud that everyone looked when you made it all the way down the slope without stopping.
“We should go up to an intermediate slope. I think you can do it.” His confidence transferred over to you, and you just shrugged, laughing a bit at the sound your suit made when it rubbed against itself.
“If you say so.”
“Let me go find Mr. Grumps, I’ll meet you back at the lift.” And then he was off, looking for his twin. You undid your straps, picking up your board and heading for the lift.
Five minutes later, you saw the boys approaching, boards tucked under their arms. Just from their walks, you could tell that Grayson was still pissed, and you sighed at the sight. When he got in his head like that, there wasn’t much you could do to bring him out of it. But that didn’t mean you had to put up with it either.
So you only felt a little guilty when you climbed onto the lift seat next to Ethan, leaving Grayson to sulk by himself.
Ethan just quirked an eyebrow over his goggles, making you laugh.
“Nobody wants to ride with Mr. Grumps,” you teased.
“Understandable. We’ll just make this a best friend run instead of a couple-and-third-wheel-twin-brother-run.”
“Sounds like a plan.”
When you got off the lift, you didn’t hesitate. Knowing you’d lose your confidence if you waited, you started down immediately, exhilarated by the feeling of the freezing wind in your face. You felt in control, like you could conquer the world. Ethan was right behind you, whooping and yelling as you both tore down the slope, picking up speed.
All was well until someone cut a bit too close to you, almost running into you, turning at the last second and sending snow up into your face.
“Woah!” You squeaked, trying to turn to avoid them. It happened quickly after that, a blur of white snow, hard ground, yelling and a body colliding with your quite hard. A sharp pain erupted in your ankle as you jolted to a stop, only then realizing that your eyes had been squeezed shut. You opened them to see pine trees above you, slightly discolored by your goggles.
“Y/N! You okay? Are you alright?” Ethan’s voice was in your ear first, and then he was moving, shifting from underneath you. You pieced it together quickly - he’d grabbed you, kept you from slamming into the trees. Which meant he’d taken the brunt of the force.
“I’m fine, I’m okay. Are you okay? Holy shit.”
“I’m alright, just a little winded,” he said, trying to take a few deep breaths.
“Just breathe, you’re okay,” you encouraged, but you weren’t sure he heard you over the yelling that had erupted back on the slope. You looked up to see Grayson, running over as quickly as the snow trapping his feet would let him. When he got to you he sent snow flying when he dropped to his knees beside you.
“Baby! Are you alright? Are you hurt? You okay?”
“I’m fine, Ethan took the worst of it.”
“E, you good?”
“Yeah, I’m fine,” he reassured him, moving to stand up against the tree.
“I saw you all go off track, I thought you totally lost it, that was scary as fuck.” The panic was still evident in his voice, and you couldn’t help but reach a hand out to him. It grounded you more than you thought it would, and you shifted to him, asking for a hug. He pulled you to his chest, squeezing tightly.
“C’mon, let’s get you up.” Gray stood first after he let go, and you leaned forward to unstrap your board. As soon as you touched your left foot you winced, the breath you sucked in hissing through your teeth.
“What, what’s wrong?” It was Ethan’s voice, which surprised you.
“I must have hit my ankle on the tree. Hurts like a bitch.” Now that you had noticed it, there was no ignoring it. It throbbed like your heart was there instead of in your chest.
“Can you walk on it?” Grayson pushed his goggles off his face, concern strong in his eyes.
“I don’t think so.”
“I told you she wasn’t ready for an intermediate slope Ethan, I fuckin’ told you!” Grayson turned on his brother, and you spoke before you could think.
“Are you fucking kidding me right now?” Grayson turned back to you, eyes wide. “You should be thanking him right now, he just saved my ass. And where were you? Oh right, sulking. Like you have been this whole damn trip. I’m done dealing with it. So just get me off this damn mountain. Please.”
They both just stared at you for a minute, unsure of exactly what to say. It wasn’t often that you had an outburst like that, but your anger was still bubbling, only fueled by the pain in your foot.
“I’ll go flag somebody down. Do you think you can get her out of the trees?” Grayson’s voice was small, and you immediately felt a twinge of guilt that you tried to ignore.
“Yeah, yeah I got her,” E answered, already moving over to you. He reached down and picked you up bridal style, heading back out to the edge of the slope. Once he sat you down and went back for the boards, you watched Grayson, who was traversing down to the medical tent located halfway down the slope.
Five minutes later and you were in a small sled, which was tied to the back of an ATV of sorts. You already knew you looked dumb, but Ethan laughing at you didn’t help matters. You flipped him off and stuck your tongue out.
“I’m coming with you,” Gray offered.
“No. You two are gonna go down at least three more slopes, and you’re gonna come back to the van and be happy siblings again. Okay?”
“Y/N...”
“I’m not asking. Give me my board, and go,” you instructed. You were pissed enough that he didn’t question it, handing you your board in defeat.
The paramedic looked back at you for a signal. You gave him a thumbs up and he pulled away, sending you on your way down the mountain, the boys watching you leave.
The process was easy enough at the bottom of the mountain considering they put you in a wheelchair to get you to the small clinic they had on site. The nurse was nice, reassuring you that they saw stuff like this all the time and there was nothing to be sorry for.
An hour later, you had the diagnosis of a severe sprain and a crutch to use to help you get where you needed to go. They had been nice enough to take your gear back to the rental, which meant you could head straight for the van. It was a relief when you made it there, glad that you’d been trusted with the keys.
With no hesitation, you climbed back to the bed, glad to have a place to put your swollen ankle up. It was already starting to get dark, and you knew the boys would be headed back soon.
back at the van, just knock when you get here cause I might be asleep you text, moving your phone over and cuddling down under the blankets.
Sure enough, you awoke to the knock on the metal door about an hour later. The entire interior was pitch black, so you turned on a light before you headed to the door, hopping on one foot until you got to the seat, sitting down and reaching for the door.
It slid back to reveal only Ethan, standing there with a goofy smile.
“Did you kill him or something?”
“Thought about it,” he joked, climbing up and around you, immediately moving towards the console and maneuvering into the driver’s seat. You narrowed your eyes. Something was definitely up.
“He’s going to try to make this up to me isn’t he.”
“Yes.”
“Did he at least apologize to you?”
“Yes.”
“And you aren’t going to tell me anything else are you.”
“Absolutely not.”
“Cool.” You sat back into your seat as Ethan backed the van up, heading god knows where. There was no point in stressing about it - it was happening whether you liked it or not. You tried not to speculate as Ethan drove back through the town, but you couldn’t help but get curious when he turned into a neighborhood.
“Pretend I’m not here,” he mumbled, pulling over to the sidewalk and putting the van in park.
Before you could ask, the door was opening and there stood Grayson. But you only looked at him for a moment before you looked down, something catching your eye.
“You’re here to apologize. And you brought... an office chair?” Your eyes flickered between his face and the chair. He offered you a small smile, holding up a cup.
“And hot chocolate. Just... just get a blanket and come out here. Please.”
It wouldn’t have mattered if you didn’t want to, you were too intrigued to resist. Ethan passed you a blanket from the passenger seat, and Grayson came up to the side of the van, wrapping an arm around your waist to lift you down gently onto your good foot. It took a bit of hopping, but soon enough you were settled in the chair.
He handed you the cup before he wrapped the blanket around your shoulders. You felt him press a kiss to your head before he closed the van door, tapping it twice, signaling Ethan to drive away.
“You gonna fill me in?” You craned your neck back so you could look at him. Even with just the light of dusk, you could see the guilt written all over his face.
“I was a dick this whole trip. And I ruined it. For you, and for Ethan. I don’t know what got into me, I’ve just been in my head a lot, but I took it out on you all instead of just talking about it. Which is dumb as fuck. And shitty. And I’m sorry. I’m really sorry.” Sincerity dripped from every word he said, and you were surprised at the weight that it lifted off of you.
“You’re forgiven,” you grinned, glad that you didn’t feel like you had to be mad at him anymore.
“Really?”
“Yes really. Now are you gonna explain where you stole this chair from and why?” You accused.
“I didn’t steal it. I convinced the lady at the coffee shop to let me borrow it for an hour.”
“Convinced?”
“I gave her twenty bucks,” he grinned, shrugging one shoulder up to touch his ear. You couldn’t help but laugh at him. You sipped at your hot chocolate as he started to push you down the sidewalk.
“I promised you I’d show you the lights before we left. And somebody went and sprained their ankle, so I had to improvise the cute little walking date I had planned,” he explained, making your heart swell. Sure enough, as the sun continued to dip down, more and more houses intricate light displays were coming to life, mixtures of crisp white and colorful arrangements.
“Woah, look at that one!” You pointed at one with snowmen out in the yard, only realizing that he was filming on his phone when you turned around to look at him.
“You’re so cute,” he smiled, continuing to push you through the neighborhood. You weren’t sure how long it lasted - there were too many houses to count, and you both rated them out of 10 each time, picking out your favorite parts.
When you reached the end of the road he spun you around, leaning over you, hands on the armrests for support. The lights behind him turned into fuzzy circles as your eyes focused on his.
“I promise I’ll make this up to you. Take you on another snowboarding adventure and not be an asshole this time.”
You scrunched your nose at him. “Yah know, I think I might be more of tropical girl. Beaches. Fruity drinks. You shirtless instead of in five layers,” you grinned, tugging down on his hoodie so you could pull his lips to yours.
“You taste like chocolate,” he mused, kissing you again, tongue running over your lips. “I’ll take you wherever you want, you just say the word.”
“Right now? I have an idea of exactly where you can take me...” You let it hang in the air for a moment.
“Oh?”
“Mhmmm. Back to the van. So I can get my hands on... some fucking ibuprofen. This shit hurts,” you pointed down at your foot with a wicked grin.
He huffed out a breath that turned to fog in the cold air.
“I deserved that one.”
“Yep.” You pulled him back down for one more kiss, savoring the warmth of it on your cold lips. “I love you, even when you’re a dick.”
“I love you more. Thanks for dealing with my annoying ass,” he sighed, forehead against yours.
“It’s worth it. Now c’mon, apparently we have an office chair to return.”
