The sky was turning orange as the sun began its slide towards the horizon. The day itself had been bright and clear, but as was the drawback to winter, the daylight hours were brief, and Olivia had been reluctant to finish skating.

In truth, they could've been skating for a few more hours, as the frozen pond in Burgess Park was lit by both flood and multicolored Christmas lights, but Jack had made a promise to his mother that they'd both be back by dinner time, and his sister's protestations were a price he had to pay.

"Just another hour! Then I'll be good to go!"

"Don't use that tone on me, I invented that tone." He smiled. "Look, there's nothing I'd rather do more than just carry on skating until they close tonight... But I promised Mom, and I'm not getting on her bad side this close to Christmas."

"You're only playing 'being responsible' because you know she's letting you have her old car."

"That's a vicious lie..." Jack responded without bite or conviction. "...Which just happens to be true. Either way kiddo, I'm sorry but Mom's got me in a corner."

Olivia huffed, but accepted her fate. The statue of Thaddeus Burgess loomed into view as they approached the corner of the park where it met Main Street, and as they walked a group of children rushed towards the snow-covered grass.

"Jamie!" Olive shouted, catching Jack's attention. The boy leading the group, around Olivia's age, jogged over. As he neared them he flashed them with a wide grin. Jack still remembered the winter when that grin had been missing a tooth following a misadventure with his sled.

"You're heading home already?" His disappointment was visible as he asked. Olivia made an unhappy face.

"'Fraid so. Our mom wants us back before it's too late." The young man explained. "Does you Mom you've got that with you?" He indicated the sledge Jamie was carrying. "I thought you were banned for life from using it after the accident."

Jamie made an exaggerate shrug, and shifted his sled from under one arm to the other. "What're the chances of it happening twice?"

"Knowing you, anything can happen." Jack smirked. "Have fun, but be careful, okay?"

"Jack Overland telling me to be careful? Now I've seen everything."

"Hey, you're lucky I like sarcasm, most other adults don't." He chuckled. "See you guys later... Merry Christmas!"

"Merry Christmas!" Jamie's group cheered in disjointed chorus.

"Later Jack, Olivia!" Jamie smiled with a wave, and he took off into the park with Pippa, Caleb, Claude, Monty and the intimidating 'Cupcake'.

As the Overlands stepped out onto the sidewalk, Jack gave his sister a friendly nudge. "I think Jamie likes you."

Olivia's response was a scowl and a harsh thump to her brother's arm.

A muted rendition of Peppermint Winter by Owl City was playing somewhere in the hardware store, a modern bit of music that seemed to contrast with the long-ingrained scent of sawdust and window cleaning fluid that made up the scene of Trader Johann's, an independently-operated hardware store which had managed to persevere in the era of the big box mart.

"Be sure to give my regards to your father when you see him." The owner of the store requested of his younger customer.

"I will." Hamish Haddock nodded towards Johann Goldstrom, as he checked the supplies he'd purchased. Satisfied that they were safely stowed, he made his way out of the store into the gathering December gloom.

Despite the approaching night and the winter chill, the streets surrounding the park were alive with townspeople, light, and sound. Christmas celebrations in the Pennsylvanian town of Burgess were in full swing, and those out on the frigid streets were taking advantage of the nightlife and extended opening hours, before settling down to spend Christmas day with their families or friends.

Hamish, like the prior seven-or-so years before, had bought his Christmas presents months ago, his trip to the hardware store was purely for pleasure: to restock his art and modeling supplies.

He stopped at the corner of Main Street and Hawthorne, opposite the south-eastern corner of Burgess Park, and waited for the crosswalk sign to change. A blue thermal jacket topped with a shock of white hair drew his attention, and he spotted Jackson Overland crossing the street with his sister ahead of him.

Jackson Overland, the town's infamous prankster with a heart of gold: always happy to babysit or give his time to the children of Burgess. He'd earned equal measures of gratitude and annoyance - if he wasn't embroiling the children he interacted with in his practical jokes, they were roping him into theirs.

That being said though, with the man now reaching his early twenties, he had been scaling his jokes back... And although his youthful personality would prevent people from saying he was acting his age, he at least was making less of a nuisance of himself these days.

He also happened to be person Hamish had been hopelessly hung up on since High School, and the boy-slash-man who for better or worse, he could consider one of his close friends (although his father, Stoick Haddock, had been very reluctant to embrace his son's friendship with the eldest Overland sibling).

"Jack! Double-O!" Hamish called out, referring to Olivia by her nickname. They turned towards his voice as the light changed to 'WALK', and he stepped out to cross Hawthorne Street to greet them.

The previous night had been a harsh one, and the following day had barely risen above freezing. There were still plentiful patches of ice scattered throughout the town, and in a true-to-form example of Hamish's often poor luck, his prosthetic left leg found a treacherous patch of ice... Where it quickly slipped out from underneath him.

The world tilted violently around him, and Hamish was vaguely aware of the startled yelp he made as his center of gravity shifted and he landed gracelessly and painfully on the asphalt.

"Owww." He groaned.

It was fortunate that the icy conditions on the roads had led to an upswing in foot traffic, and a drop in vehicles. It was less fortunate however that Jackson Overland and his sister witnessed Hiccup's amateur gymnastics. The two of them rapidly entered his field of vision as he gently sat up.

"Are you okay?!" Olivia's voice was saturated with worry.

"I should've used my phone to record that, you were spectacular!" Jack interjected. Olivia glared for a brief moment before she thumped her brother again.

"He's hurt, Jack."

"Only my pride." Hamish responded warily, the pain had subsided to a dull thud.

"You feel okay to move?" Jack asked.

"Yeah." Hamish stated as he gave himself a moment to test his body for injury. Reasonably satisfied he wasn't bleeding or had broken anything, he accepted the hand Jack outstretched.
As her older brother helped the stricken man up, Olivia set to gathering the few items that had escaped from the bag during the fall.

Safe in the knowledge that he was stood on an ice-free patch of roadway, he glared at the spot where he'd slipped - a frosty sparkle highlighted the black ice he'd strayed into. "Stupid ice, stupid foot." He stated as he turned his glare to the offending appendage.

Jack shrugged beside him. "You probably would've still gone down even if you still had your left foot."

Hamish huffed. "Maybe." Olivia held out the re-packed bag to its owner, and he accepted it with a smile. "Thanks, Double-O. Thanks, Jack."

She nodded helpfully as her brother flashed a smile. "No problem. You on your way home?"

The green-eyed man nodded, shifting the bag of supplies so that it was more comfortable. "Yeah, that's all the ice-skating I was planning to do today."

"That's where we were!" Olivia piped up excitedly.

"Where else would you be?" Hamish grinned. "Skating on the pond is practically an Overland Christmas tradition."

"That's what I keep saying." Jack interjected as they began to walk towards their respective neighbourhoods. "Yet every year like clockwork, I have to battle with Mom to let us go."

Hamish made an exaggerated performance of mulling the comment over. "Yeah, but in her defense, not all of your 'traditions' have been as... Family friendly? Remember the Calvin and Hobbes snowmen?"

"I only did those for three years; people have been talking about them for longer than I actually made them!"

"And your infamy was well-earned." Hamish smiled smugly.

Hamish lived two streets away from the Overlands' house, but he walked with them until Jack and his sister had reached their front door. Jack and Olivia's house was decorated in a generous helping of white and blue LED lights, the result of Christmas being on of Jack Overland's favorite holidays.

"Ask him in for a drink." Olivia discreetly whispered towards her older brother, and Jack visibly flashed panic.

"What?!"

"Ask him in, tell him it wouldn't hurt to have some juice or water after the fall he's had."

"That literally makes no sense, and why are you giving me dating advice?"

"Because he's cute, you like him, and you can owe me if it works out." She smiled brightly.

"You are the worst little sister. Ever." After a beat he added: "I'm almost proud."

"Ask him, or I will." She added with a playful edge, and he knew he'd been defeated.

"Fine."

As she slipped into the house, Jack turned back towards Hamish who waited patiently at the edge of the porch. "Would you like to come in for a drink or something...? Or to sit down for a bit and rest after your spill?"

The other young man frowned. "Uh... Well, I'm a little sore, but otherwise I'm fine."

"Oh, Okay."

"But a drink does sound good." Hamish admitted, and the surprising bite of disappointment that had sunk its teeth into Jack's heart a beat before vanished. An uncontrollable grin lifted his lips in response.

"Come on in, mi casa es su casa." Jack led the way into the hall of the house. Before Hamish had had a chance to take his shoes off, Jack had disappeared towards the entryway to the living room.

Emily Overland had been reclined and reading on the couch as she'd waited for her children to return home. At the sound and movement of Jack's presence, she glanced up from her Kindle.

"I know it's lasagna tonight, but I didn't think you liked my lasagna that much." She chuckled.

"Huh?" Jack blinked for a moment. "Um, Hamish slipped on some ice near the park, is it okay if he stays for a bit, just so we know he's okay?"

The matriarch of the Overland house checked the time at the top of e-reader, it was a little after five in the afternoon. "That should be fine." She smiled. She rose from the couch and approached the entrance hall, just as Hamish stowed his green converses to one side. "How are you feeling? Do you want me to give you father a call?"

Hamish gave her a grateful smile. "I think I'll be okay."

It was clear she wasn't fully satisfied, but she let the topic settle for the time being. "Make yourself at home, and feel free to grab a drink if you want. Would you like to stay for dinner?"

Jack looked enquiringly at Hamish. "Thanks Mrs. Overland, but I'll be okay. I'm supposed to be having dinner with Dad once he gets back from the station."

Emily nodded. "I'll just be in here. If you need anything, or feel funny, give me a shout."

"Sure thing, Mrs. Overland. The house decorations look really nice."

"I appreciate the compliment, but like every year, it's Jack who does most of the leg work."

She watched as the two young men made their way up the stairs to Jack's room.

Inside, Jack flopped onto the bed whilst his friend settled down on the floor, resting against the blue-eyed man's desk.

"Wooo... What a day." Jack remarked breezily. "I must've been skating for hours."

"I can believe that." Hamish interjected.

"What did you end up doing today?"

"Not much, went to the store to get some stuff for my models, popped by Astrid's to drop off her Christmas present, hung out with Fiske for a bit. The usual."

"'The usual'." His companion echoed. "Speaking of your usual, the same thing to drink?"

"Sure." Hamish nodded, and Jack made his way out of his room and down toward the kitchen.

Olivia was sat quietly at the kitchen counter, flipping through her Twitter feed as her older brother stuck his head into the fridge. He dug out a Fanta for Hamish and a Pepsi Max for himself. He retracted his head and shoulders long enough to glance at his sister.

"Hey, you want anything while I'm grabbing?"

"Some of the Ocean Spray Cranberry, thanks." He nodded and he grabbed the liter carton from the door shelf. He set the carton and cans down so he could grab a glass tumbler.
As he poured, Olivia set her phone down. "So what's your next step?"

His expression briefly soured. "I asked him in, we're hanging out and I'm getting him a drink. What else do you want me to do?"

She rolled her eyes and made an exaggerated sound of frustration. "Why are you being so stubborn about this? It's twenty-seventeen, not nineteen-ninety-two! It's not unusual for guys to ask guys out! You're out of High School, it's perfectly normal."

"Maybe if he wasn't my friend this would be easier."

"You're ridiculous!"

He shot her his most dazzling smile in response.

"Alright, fine. Seeing as you're so utterly helpless, consider this my Christmas present to you this year."

He put on a pout. "What about the Christmas present you've bought for me?"

Olivia considered the point. "Fiiiiine. Consider that something extra, and this the main present. Give me the Post-Its."

Jack grabbed the pad that was wedged against the notice board, and flung it over to her along with a marker pen. She scribbled something down on a single note, folded it, and stuck it to Hamish's can of Fanta.

"Give this to him, and wait for him to respond. Don't read it before he does, or I'll tell him you had to get your little sister to do this for you."

"I swear I won't look." He responded as he gathered up the drinks.

As he headed towards the door with the cans, she called out from the counter. "Thanks for the drink."

He paused in the doorway. "Thanks... For giving me the push."

Hamish glanced up as Jack slipped back into the room. His expression shifted to a frown when he saw the hesitant look on the other man's face.

"You okay?"

"What?" Jack blinked in uncertainty for a moment, before he realized what Hamish was asking. "Uh, nothing, just thinking about something from yesterday." He answered. He brightened a little, but not to his usual brilliant as he held a can out to the man sitting on the floor. "Here."

Hamish's attention remained on his oddly-acting friend for a spell, before he let it shift to the can of Fanta. Stuck loosely to the surface was a folded Post-It note, which he peeled off and unfolded.

Jack had been trying to watch Hamish without being obvious that he was watching, the green-eyed man had gone still and silent as he read the note. Hamish glanced towards Jack, his face looking a little bewildered.

What the hell did Olivia write?

"Uh, you okay buddy?"

His companion swallowed. "Yes."

"You sure? You don't look like it."

"I'm fine." Hamish responded. "And my answer to this..." He held up the note. "Is 'yes'."

Jack's awareness zeroed-in on the yellow square of sticky paper.

"Great... Good, cool." He immediately regretted letting his sister put him in this position, he wished she'd written something that would result in more than just a 'yes' or 'no' answer, at least that way he'd have some idea what she'd written.

"So... What are your thoughts on that?" He remarked and gestured vaguely at the Post-It, licking his lips in unconscious indication of how anxious he felt.

Hamish shrugged. "I'm not sure, what do you feel about it?"

Son of a bitch. Fuck. He was going to have to admit he didn't have the first clue what Hamish had said 'yes' to. "I... have no idea what's written on that. Olivia wrote something down for me because I'm too chicken to just go ahead and ask you out."

The room fell into a semi-awkward silence, and redness filtered onto both Jack and Hamish's faces. Jack slipped off of his bed and knelt in front of his friend, grasping him by the shoulder.

"I'm really sorry if I've suddenly made things awkward... But... But... I'm not sorry you finally know."

A nervous smile, followed by an equally-shaken laugh broke the silence. "You want to go out with me?"

"Yeah..." The world sounded breathless as it spilt from Jack's lips, heavy with the weight of being kept a secret for so long. The white-haired man frowned. "Why are you surprised? Olivia already spilled the beans."

Hamish looked equally confused. He then picked up the Post-It from his forgotten drink, and handed it to Jack.

The note was short, but to the point.

Act surprised, and then say 'yes'. If I know Jack, he'll do the rest. - OO

"Holy shit." Jack breathed, letting the whole thing sink in. "How the Hell did she know that would work?"

"Maybe she didn't, but she figured it was worth a shot?" Hamish proposed, he sounded a bit more grounded now. "Maybe she just knows you better than you think she does."

"Maybe." Jack admitted. They were still knelt close to each other, but he didn't want to move away. "Oh man, I've got to get her a better Christmas present... She played me real good."

Hamish chuckled beside him. "She learned from the best." The smile in his voice reflected in the smile on his face.

"You think I'm the best?" The blue-eyed man asked with his trademark cocky smirk.

"Well, you're alright." His companion responded with a flippant shrug. "We'll see how it goes... Maybe over dinner sometime?"

Jack began to heartily laugh, and the sound proved infectious enough to pull Hamish into it. "Yeah... It's a date."

They were both stood on the Overland's porch, cast in the glow of the porch lamps and fairy lights. Several of the neighbouring houses added to the atmosphere with their own assorted decorations.

Inside, dinner was drawing near, but outside Jack's attention was focused solely on the man he'd called 'friend' for years, who may now be starting the journey to becoming something more significant in the years to come.

"Call me once you get in, just so I know you haven't keeled over from that fall you took, or slipped on some more ice on the way home."

Hamish gave Jack's shoulder a playful shove. "I'm not that useless, you ass."

"Says the guy trying to be the next Brian Boitano."

"I'll take that as a compliment." Hamish chuckled. He lightly grasped Jack's arm as the conversation lulled into silence. He wanted to stay, but he knew he had to head home.

"I'll call you tomorrow and we can talk about this... Some more."

Jack nodded. "Yeah."

"And I will send you a text when I get home, so stop worrying."

"Great." Jack smiled.

"But..." Hamish could feel some of the heat from earlier return to his face. "Would it be too soon to maybe...? Ask for a goodbye kiss?"

The question had stunned Jack. The spell was soon broken, and he slipped into a fond smile. "Sure, seeing as it's Christmas."

It was a simple kiss on the cheek, but in that moment it felt amazing. It was a kiss that held all of the potential of the universe.

They shared a brief wave as Hamish walked away. In his heart he carried the hope that they were both taking the first step on the road towards a great, new adventure. In his bag of supplies he carried an empty can of Fanta, with a Post-It note sellotaped to it for safe-keeping.

The End