It's Us Crew Oneshots

ice

"Where are we going?"

"You'll see."

Don huffed. He and Dick had been walking for what felt like hours when realistically it was probably fifteen minutes. Either way, Don's patience was dwindling with every time Dick replied with that response. "You'll see." What does that even mean?

A gust of wind blew through the trees, and Don grumbled and hugged himself, regretting not bringing a jacket. He was going to, but when Dick ended up suggesting it, he decided he'd go without one. Now, he wished he wasn't so stubborn.

"We're here."

Don looked up. They had stopped a good distance away from what appeared to be a lake. The jester furrowed his eyebrows. "Why are we here?" he asked, and Richard shrugged.

"Why not? Hey, I'll race you."

"Race me?" Don scowled at the lake. "But that water's probably freezing!"

Without a response, Richard hit the back of Don's head with a laugh and ran off. Determined not to lose, Don had no choice but to run after him. The air was cold and nipped at his nose, and the snow was causing him to slip a little. However, he wouldn't let that slow him down. Richard may have longer legs, but Don has power and endurance. He was created to be an assassin, after all. One hell of an assassin you are now, huh, a voice snipped at him in his head. Don pushed it down like he did everything inside him, and he focused on overpowering Richard.

Dick's stupid poncho was what slowed him down. Don stuck his tongue out at him as he passed before focusing on the path of trajectory in front of him. He was running towards some low bushes that lined the lake. He could save time by going around them, but Richard may catch up by then. The last thing Don wanted was to get all soaking wet from cold water, but if it meant winning the race, he'd launch himself over those bushes and dive into the water at any chance he got.

Reaching the edge of the lake, Don spared a glance behind him at Dick. The cowboy was scowling at Don and holding onto his hat, trying not to let it fall off. Dick may have been good at looking good, but he was lacking in the practicality department. Don flashed a teasing smile before turning to prepare for the jump.

A few feet from the bushes, Don pushed off from the ground, launching himself over the bushes. He squeezed his eyes shut, ready for the unpleasant feeling of the cold water.

However, instead of liquid, Don's foot hit solid ice, and he slipped back, banging his head on the surface of the lake. He lay there as he heard Richard approaching, laughing his ass off. Of course. Dick had been messing with him the entire time. Sometimes, he forgot the stupid cowboy wasn't stupid sometimes.

Don sat up and realized he'd slid across the ice, landing him farther away from the shore than he realized. Dick carefully made his way over, face red from laughing so hard. The jester turned away and crossed his arms, staring down at the frozen fish layers down in the frozen ice. He tried to quell the embarrassment burning at his face, but he ultimately failed.

Dick stopped beside Don and sat down, struggling to stifle his laughter. The young man reached forward to lean his arm against Don for support, but Don scowled and dropped down face-first onto the ice. It was cold and stung his face, but he much preferred that than letting Richard lay his grubby hands on him after that feat.

"I didn't think that would work!" the cowboy laughed, gasping for air. "I thought you'd notice, but you didn't!"

After a few seconds, Dick got his laughter under control and he sighed, hitting Don's leg. The jester pulled away, practically pouting. Don heard him lay down beside him.

"Come on, it was funny." When Don didn't reply, Richard shifted and moved his head over to where Don was forced to see his stupid, smiling face. "Aw, are you embarrassed?"

Don groaned and shoved him away. "Shut up, asshole." But Dick only laughed harder. He got up and stepped over Don, laying down so Don had to look at him. It was quiet for a bit as Richard seemed to be trying not to smile and failing miserably. "What do you want?"

"Come on," Dick said in that stupid low voice that made butterflies flutter in Don's stomach. "That was funny, you gotta admit."

Don got up without a word and began walking towards the shore.

He heard Richard get up behind him. "Don! Come on! I'm so-"

The jester turned, startled as he heard something heavy thud against the ice. In front of him, Richard was closer, but not close enough. Plus, his face was smushed against the ice. He looked as though he'd tried to follow Don but wasn't as graceful as he could be, and he ended up slipping face-first into the lake's surface.

Don was so taken aback by what just happened, he couldn't help but snicker. He tried covering it up as it grew into a laugh, but all he could muster was an attempt to turn away and cover his face as he laughed at Richard. He didn't laugh very often, so his face began to hurt from smiling and his stomach ached from the motion as he doubled over and howled with laughter.

Eventually, he calmed down enough to turn back to Richard, who was staring at him from his place on the ice. The young man's face was red from the contact with the cold, but it only got redder when Don met his eyes. Don snickered while Richard scoffed and looked away, carefully getting to his feet and reluctantly walking over to the jester.

"I can't believe that just happened," Don managed, sliding a hand over his mouth to cover his smile. He rarely ever laughed or smiled simply because nothing was able to make him do that, but he also hated his smile because he looked dumb when doing it. He preferred a smirk instead, which was difficult to do now after what he just witnessed.

Richard rolled his eyes at Don. "Shut up, loser. Don't think I forgot what happened literally five minutes ago."

Don smiled wider. Dammit. "Oh I know, but I think you topped that. I'm good."

Dick scowled. "I'll have you know-"

The cowboy gasped as his feet slipped and he fell forward. Not wanting to have Dick smash his head against Don's, Don quickly caught him and steadied the man. Once he was certain Richard was stable, Don looked up at him. "You good?"

Dick was staring at Don, unmoving and face somehow even more red than before. He practically matched his clothes. Don cleared his throat awkwardly, feeling heat rise to his face. "Uh... maybe we should get off this ice. You can't seem to even stand without slipping." Richard managed an award laugh before quickly retracting his hands from Don's arms and looking away.

The two made it to the shore and sat on a fallen tree without a word. Don's face still stung from the ice, and his head was pounding slightly from when he hit his head against the lake's glossy surface. Richard fixed his hat and he rubbed his eyes. "Well," he finally said after a moment of silence. "That was embarrassing."

Don nodded, resting his hands beside him on the log as he let out a sigh. "At least we're even now, huh?"

"Yeah..." Don felt something rest on his hands before quickly retracting. He looked over at Richard to see him scooting away a little. "Sorry."

Don cleared his throat and nodded awkwardly. "It's fine."

A silence passed between them. Don wasn't quite sure what to say. He leaned forward against his knees and stared out across the lake. "It's actually quite pretty here," he finally said. "How'd you find this place?"

Richard was quiet for a second before he answered, "I was taking a walk late last night. I was surprised the ice was so thick."

Don turned to him, glancing him up and down. "What were you doing out so late?"

He shrugged. "Just needed to do some thinking. It gets really quiet at night."

"That's because snow absorbs a lot of the sounds."

Don watched as Richard stared down at his own hands. They were calloused and red from the cold. In the silence, Richard seemed like he wanted to say something, but he didn't know how to put it. So they sat in the stillness of the woods,