Something About Christmas Time
Fic Title: Something About Christmas Time
Rating: PG. You can read it as a bromance but I suggest reading slash into it (because slash makes everything more awesome).
Fandom: The Social Network
Summary: Mark and Eduardo go skating to work out some differences before the Christmas dinner that Chris and Dustin have decided they are having, two years post-lawsuit.
Author's Note: There will definitely be more Christmas fic. There was no stopping that train.
Mark, of all people, knew how to skate.
Eduardo guessed that he had known that Mark had grown up in a place where it could potentially get icy in the winter, but he was sure that he had never pictured this: Mark turning slow backwards crossovers in a big, lazy circle around him, hands tucked into the pockets of his hoodie like this was easy and falling was not a concern. Mark was not preternaturally graceful or anything like that - it was still Mark, after all, and skates aren’t miracle-workers - but he had an air of surety about him, like he was on autopilot.
This was not the Mark who spent hours at his computer in another world. This was a task that didn’t require innovation, and his body moved without him having to think about it much. That was probably why his eyes were dark and glued to Eduardo, who was simply standing still.
“You wanted to do something that normal people do at Christmas,” Mark pointed out.
“I did say that,” Eduardo admitted. He felt uneasy, like his feet were going to betray him at any second.
“And then Chris suggested skating, and you said yes,” Mark continued.
“I kind of thought that neither of us would know how,” Eduardo muttered, watching a kid with an ice-walker go by and wishing they made those for grown people.
“So you’re upset because I’m good at something,” Mark stated, like he had forgotten that it was supposed to be a question.
“I’m not upset,” Eduardo said. “I’m just - would you stop?” Mark’s circles around him were getting tighter and tighter.
Mark pulled up short in front of him and waited, watching. Eduardo reached out mittened hands and grabbed Mark’s, ignoring the surprise and conflict that crossed Mark’s face.
“Teach me,” he demanded.
Mark raised an eyebrow. “Don’t you have six hundred million dollars? Hire Kurt Browning or something.”
Eduardo didn’t even blink. “You owe me.”
“Oh, did I forget the tip on that bill?” Mark asked sarcastically.
“You forgot the asshole tax,” Eduardo said flatly. “Teach me how to skate.”
Mark let a beat pass before he pushed off into backwards motion, pulling Eduardo, who made what could most charitably be described as a squawk of surprise.
“We don’t have to do this,” Eduardo pointed out, as he caught his balance and got used to the feeling of moving at that speed.
“I thought you wanted me to teach you how to skate,” Mark said, deliberately missing the point.
“You know what I meant,” Eduardo said, a little waspishly.
“It’s been two years.” Mark’s face was shuttered. He let go of one of Eduardo’s hands and swung around so that they were facing in the same direction. “Push off sideways with one foot, then the other. And we have to be at the same meetings and parties. We might as well be civil.”
“You actually wore a tie to the last shareholder meeting,” Eduardo recalled, pushing off on one side and lurching forward. “Although, it didn’t match.”
“You know I’m colour blind,” Mark replied, tightening his grip on Eduardo’s hand as his jerky strides started costing them both their balance.
“Does colour blindness prevent you from knowing that you don’t wear a plaid tie with a striped shirt?” Eduardo asked, watching his own feet.
Mark gave him a snarky look. “Remind me why I liked you.”
“I don’t need you to like me,” Eduardo said patiently, trying not to be hurt because weighed against everything else, it was just the smallest instance of Mark forgetting that he could wound people. “We just need to be able to act like grown-ups when we’re in a business environment.”
“Plus, your mother says it’s bad karma to harbour feelings of rage and antipathy toward someone and she wants you to get to a healthier place emotionally,” Mark added, picking up their pace.
Eduardo put out a hand for balance as he turned to give Mark an irritated look. “Would you stop reading my e-mails?”
“Did you know that it took me the better part of a week to track down your new e-mail address? And then I find out that you didn’t even get a new password.” Mark sounded mildly disappointed.
“Yeah, because you know I’d have to write it down, and I’d leave it somewhere - and oh my God, I’m justifying my actions to the guy who electronically stalks me,” Eduardo said in disbelief. “For no good reason other than that you don’t like not winning and this makes you feel like you still own me. Don’t think I don’t see that, Mark. I don’t have to read your e-mails to know you.”
“It’s not stalking, it’s keeping tabs,” Mark corrected, his face blank. “At first I just liked reading e-mails from you again, even if they weren’t to me. It made me hate you less.”
Eduardo stared at him. Mark stared back. Eduardo thought, Oh.
“Also you’re skating by yourself.”
As soon as Eduardo realized that Mark wasn’t holding onto his hand, he gave a nasty wobble. He practically lurched into Mark, who was grinning but not unkindly.
“Holy hell,” Eduardo said breathlessly, hands wrapped in Mark’s sweater. “I feel like I almost died but that it was awesome.”
“Oh ye of little faith,” Mark told him. “Do you think I’d let you die right before Chris’ Christmas dinner?”
“No, you’re right,” Eduardo mused. “He’d kill you and Dustin would help hide the body.”
Mark snorted a little. “No, Dustin’s on my side.”
Eduardo laughed. “You only think that because you haven’t worked for you. Trust me, he’s biding his time.”
As Eduardo straightened and stood on his own feet, unconsciously smoothing his hair, Mark looked past him at the trees lining the edge of the park and the city beyond. “Do you think we’ll get back?” He asked.
“To Chris’? Oh, yeah, it’s only - ” Eduardo looked at his watch but realized even as he was doing it that perhaps he had misinterpreted. “Did you mean...” You and me, he thought, but it was suddenly hard to make the words.
“I meant to Chris’,” Mark said, his expression enigmatic. “What did you think I meant?”He took a few easy strokes backward to put fifteen feet between him and Eduardo. “You can do this by yourself now,” he said, nodding his head in the direction of Eduardo’s skates.
Eduardo studied him for a second. Then, almost hesitantly, he took his first few awkward strides forward. “Merry Christmas to you, too,” he said under his breath.
But some of the bitterness was gone.
Rating: PG. You can read it as a bromance but I suggest reading slash into it (because slash makes everything more awesome).
Fandom: The Social Network
Summary: Mark and Eduardo go skating to work out some differences before the Christmas dinner that Chris and Dustin have decided they are having, two years post-lawsuit.
Author's Note: There will definitely be more Christmas fic. There was no stopping that train.
Mark, of all people, knew how to skate.
Eduardo guessed that he had known that Mark had grown up in a place where it could potentially get icy in the winter, but he was sure that he had never pictured this: Mark turning slow backwards crossovers in a big, lazy circle around him, hands tucked into the pockets of his hoodie like this was easy and falling was not a concern. Mark was not preternaturally graceful or anything like that - it was still Mark, after all, and skates aren’t miracle-workers - but he had an air of surety about him, like he was on autopilot.
This was not the Mark who spent hours at his computer in another world. This was a task that didn’t require innovation, and his body moved without him having to think about it much. That was probably why his eyes were dark and glued to Eduardo, who was simply standing still.
“You wanted to do something that normal people do at Christmas,” Mark pointed out.
“I did say that,” Eduardo admitted. He felt uneasy, like his feet were going to betray him at any second.
“And then Chris suggested skating, and you said yes,” Mark continued.
“I kind of thought that neither of us would know how,” Eduardo muttered, watching a kid with an ice-walker go by and wishing they made those for grown people.
“So you’re upset because I’m good at something,” Mark stated, like he had forgotten that it was supposed to be a question.
“I’m not upset,” Eduardo said. “I’m just - would you stop?” Mark’s circles around him were getting tighter and tighter.
Mark pulled up short in front of him and waited, watching. Eduardo reached out mittened hands and grabbed Mark’s, ignoring the surprise and conflict that crossed Mark’s face.
“Teach me,” he demanded.
Mark raised an eyebrow. “Don’t you have six hundred million dollars? Hire Kurt Browning or something.”
Eduardo didn’t even blink. “You owe me.”
“Oh, did I forget the tip on that bill?” Mark asked sarcastically.
“You forgot the asshole tax,” Eduardo said flatly. “Teach me how to skate.”
Mark let a beat pass before he pushed off into backwards motion, pulling Eduardo, who made what could most charitably be described as a squawk of surprise.
“We don’t have to do this,” Eduardo pointed out, as he caught his balance and got used to the feeling of moving at that speed.
“I thought you wanted me to teach you how to skate,” Mark said, deliberately missing the point.
“You know what I meant,” Eduardo said, a little waspishly.
“It’s been two years.” Mark’s face was shuttered. He let go of one of Eduardo’s hands and swung around so that they were facing in the same direction. “Push off sideways with one foot, then the other. And we have to be at the same meetings and parties. We might as well be civil.”
“You actually wore a tie to the last shareholder meeting,” Eduardo recalled, pushing off on one side and lurching forward. “Although, it didn’t match.”
“You know I’m colour blind,” Mark replied, tightening his grip on Eduardo’s hand as his jerky strides started costing them both their balance.
“Does colour blindness prevent you from knowing that you don’t wear a plaid tie with a striped shirt?” Eduardo asked, watching his own feet.
Mark gave him a snarky look. “Remind me why I liked you.”
“I don’t need you to like me,” Eduardo said patiently, trying not to be hurt because weighed against everything else, it was just the smallest instance of Mark forgetting that he could wound people. “We just need to be able to act like grown-ups when we’re in a business environment.”
“Plus, your mother says it’s bad karma to harbour feelings of rage and antipathy toward someone and she wants you to get to a healthier place emotionally,” Mark added, picking up their pace.
Eduardo put out a hand for balance as he turned to give Mark an irritated look. “Would you stop reading my e-mails?”
“Did you know that it took me the better part of a week to track down your new e-mail address? And then I find out that you didn’t even get a new password.” Mark sounded mildly disappointed.
“Yeah, because you know I’d have to write it down, and I’d leave it somewhere - and oh my God, I’m justifying my actions to the guy who electronically stalks me,” Eduardo said in disbelief. “For no good reason other than that you don’t like not winning and this makes you feel like you still own me. Don’t think I don’t see that, Mark. I don’t have to read your e-mails to know you.”
“It’s not stalking, it’s keeping tabs,” Mark corrected, his face blank. “At first I just liked reading e-mails from you again, even if they weren’t to me. It made me hate you less.”
Eduardo stared at him. Mark stared back. Eduardo thought, Oh.
“Also you’re skating by yourself.”
As soon as Eduardo realized that Mark wasn’t holding onto his hand, he gave a nasty wobble. He practically lurched into Mark, who was grinning but not unkindly.
“Holy hell,” Eduardo said breathlessly, hands wrapped in Mark’s sweater. “I feel like I almost died but that it was awesome.”
“Oh ye of little faith,” Mark told him. “Do you think I’d let you die right before Chris’ Christmas dinner?”
“No, you’re right,” Eduardo mused. “He’d kill you and Dustin would help hide the body.”
Mark snorted a little. “No, Dustin’s on my side.”
Eduardo laughed. “You only think that because you haven’t worked for you. Trust me, he’s biding his time.”
As Eduardo straightened and stood on his own feet, unconsciously smoothing his hair, Mark looked past him at the trees lining the edge of the park and the city beyond. “Do you think we’ll get back?” He asked.
“To Chris’? Oh, yeah, it’s only - ” Eduardo looked at his watch but realized even as he was doing it that perhaps he had misinterpreted. “Did you mean...” You and me, he thought, but it was suddenly hard to make the words.
“I meant to Chris’,” Mark said, his expression enigmatic. “What did you think I meant?”He took a few easy strokes backward to put fifteen feet between him and Eduardo. “You can do this by yourself now,” he said, nodding his head in the direction of Eduardo’s skates.
Eduardo studied him for a second. Then, almost hesitantly, he took his first few awkward strides forward. “Merry Christmas to you, too,” he said under his breath.
But some of the bitterness was gone.