Category: Safe for Work

On the dance floor Hutch seemingly had no rhythm, but on the large, frozen lake, surrounded by heavy coatings of snow he glided as gracefully as a swan skimming the surface of water. His footwork wasn’t fancy and he didn’t attempt any tricks, but the ease in which he took the corners and pelted down the straights, it was hard to believe it had been nearly a decade since he’d skated.

It had been Starsky’s idea to spend Christmas in Minnesota. Hutch’s parents were more than happy to have them, as long as they didn’t talk about their relationship, and Starsky wanted to experience a white Christmas, something he hadn’t seen since he was a kid in New York.

It was the day after Christmas Day when Hutch suggested they go ice skating. There was a lake near his grandfather’s old farm that he had spent a lot of time skating on as a child and wanted to see if he still had the skills. Starsky confessed that he hadn’t skated since he was a kid, so Hutch offered to teach him.

And so here they were; Hutch out on the ice, getting a feel for it and Starsky standing knee deep in snow, skates on, reluctant to venture out onto the frozen lake.

“How thick is this ice?” Starsky shouted at Hutch as he passed by.

“Thick enough,” Hutch yelled back. “You could ride a Zamboni on it.”

“Can we test that first!”

Hutch made another loop of the ice before stopping in front of his partner.

“I’ve never known anyone to fall through the ice…at this time of year at least.”

“There’s always a first,” Starsky grumbled.

Hutch rolled his eyes and took Starsky’s hand. “You trust me right?”

“Silly question.”

“Then trust me when I say you’ll be fine.” He tugged a little to get Starsky moving out of the snow and on the ice. Reluctantly, Starsky got one skate on the ice and after a little more coaxing from Hutch got the other one on too. He wobbled a little and gripped Hutch’s hand tightly, but he remained standing.

“Right, now you want to push off with your right leg and glide your left leg forwards.”

“Like roller-skating.”

“Yeah, a bit like that. Just copy me and we’ll take it slow.”

At first it was less gliding and more shuffling for Starsky as the two slowly made their way across the ice. Hutch kept his hand on Starsky’s arm the whole time and even grabbed his shoulder when it looked like he was going to overbalance.

Starsky kept his eyes down on his feet the whole time, looking up only once to assure himself the ice wasn’t cracking in front of them.

They managed to do a whole circuit without falling over, but Starsky was still slow to pick up the rhythm. However, Hutch was patient and encouraging and by the third loop Starsky was finally getting the hang of it. Enough to ask Hutch to let him try unaided. That nearly led to Starsky unbalancing right away, but after some minor pin-wheeling with his arms he was able to stay standing. Satisfied Starsky wasn’t going to fall over, Hutch did a quick lap around the lake and by the time he came up behind Starsky he was just starting to get up some speed.

“How about a race around the lake?” Hutch called over his shoulder as he whizzed by. “I’ll give you a ten minute head start.”

“Go stick your head in the snow!” Starsky called back, though he couldn’t help smiling at his progress. He actually felt like he was properly skating now and though he wobbled a bit, he was able to stay upright. There was even a little bit of muscle memory coming back to him as he picked up speed.

Back in New York as a child, he only went ice skating once a year and only if his mother could afford it. While he enjoyed it fine and was a pretty good at it, it was his brother Nicky who fell in love with skating. He would spin, jump, and even skate on one leg. He was really good and talked about taking it up professionally. That was until he reached puberty and discovered girls. He quickly lost interest and they both stopped going. Starsky quit altogether when he moved to California. It had never occurred to him to take it up again. The ice skating rinks of Bay City usually looked derelict and uninviting.

However, there was something about the current environment that made skating on a lake, with acres of fresh unspoiled snow all around, kinda magical. And the best sight of all was seeing Hutch glide around as gracefully as a ballerina. He looked so content, so free and to Starsky’s eyes, so sexy. Blonde hair catching the wind, blue eyes sparking as they met across the lake. The man was happy.

Getting caught up in those eyes and wanting to be next to his partner, Starsky sped up. He kept his eyes on Hutch as he slid round to the left and tried to pick up more speed on the straight. Hutch had slowed down a little, the gap between them closing every second.

Then the inevitable happened. His inexperience, mixed with an unfortunately placed groove in the ice, caused Starsky to trip. He tried to prevent it by swinging his arms around wildly, but the speed coupled with uncoordinated gyrations sent Starsky crashing down onto the ice, his right shoulder slamming down first and causing him to flip over.

Hutch came to an immediate stop upon seeing his partner hit the ice. Panicked, he skated over to Starsky at full pelt, coming to a sudden stop by his side.

“Are you all right?” Hutch asked, as he knelt down on the ice.

It was clear by the way Starsky held his shoulder and how tightly his eyes were screwed shut in pain that he wasn’t all right.

“Peachy,” he gasped.

“Let me see.” Hutch unzipped his partner’s jacket, the simple motion making Starsky wince.

“Just help me up.” Starsky said through gritted teeth. “Probably just bruised.”

“I’ll be the judge of that.” Hutch took his glove off, stuck his hand under Starsky’s jacket and felt along the front of the shoulder. The probing made Starsky wince and then gasp with pain when Hutch hit on a certain spot. He could feel a distinct bulge at the joint.

“I’m afraid it’s more than a bruise.” Hutch said, removing his hand from the sore area and resting it lightly on Starsky’s chest. “You’ve dislocated your shoulder.”

“Oh terrific.” Starsky groaned. “Can you pop it back in?”

“I’d rather not.” Hutch took his scarf off. “It needs to be x-rayed first.” He took Starsky’s scarf off too.

“Great, just great.” Starsky moaned, letting his head fall back on the wet, cold ground. “Should be thankful I didn’t crack through the ice.”

“On your diet, you probably should have.” Hutch smiled, trying to lighten the mood. He folded his scarf in half a couple of times and took a gentle hold of Starsky’s right arm. “Can you move your right arm just a little bit away from your body?”

“Why?”

“I just need to slip this in-between your arm and your chest.”

Slowly and reluctantly, Starsky obliged, his eyes closed the whole time, his face now covered in a light sheen of sweat. “Good thing you…took those first aid classes seriously.”

“One of us had to.” Hutch teased as he slid the scarf into place. He then threaded the other scarf around the Starsky’s chest and the outside of his upper right arm, binding them together. Lastly, he guided Starsky’s left arm under his right.

“Keep that there.” Hutch ordered.

“Now what?” Starsky asked, panting heavily from the pain Hutch’s actions had caused.

“We need to get you off this ice and to a hospital.”

“Sounds good. How?” Starsky asked. “You gonna drag me?”

“If I have to.” Hutch looked over at the shore, to where his father’s truck was parked. There was nearly half a lake between them and the vehicle.

“Stay here, don’t move and I’ll be right back, ” Hutch instructed as he got to his feet and skated off across the lake.

“Be quick,” Starsky shouted. “My ass is starting to freeze.”

Reaching the shore, Hutch stepped off the ice and wobbled on the skates over to the truck. In the back were two pairs of walking boots. Hutch quickly took his skates off and changed into his pair, then grabbed the other to take back to Starsky. It wasn’t as easy or as fast for Hutch to traverse the ice in boots instead of skates, but he managed to make it back to Starsky’s side without falling over.

Hutch started undoing the laces on Starsky’s skates.

“Are you sure walking on ice is safer than skating on it?” Starsky asked as he let Hutch put his boots on.

“It’s slower and less fun, but trust me, it’s safer.” He finished lacing up Starsky’s boots. “And I don’t think I have the strength to drag your frozen ass across the lake.”

“You could use the exercise.” Starsky smiled a little.

Hutch snorted a quick laugh. “Let’s get you up. Get your legs under you and then let me get you on your feet.”

On normal ground, the maneuverer would have been a cinch, completed in seconds, but with the smooth ice making their boots slide in uncoordinated directions, Hutch had a hard time keeping his balance and Starsky struggled to get his feet under him without slipping on to his butt. Every movement jarred his shoulder, making it hurt all the more, but with a little grunting, heaving and patience, Hutch was able to drag Starsky to his feet and they were both able to stay upright. The next task was to get across the ice without falling. Hutch put his right arm around Starsky’s shoulders and his left on Starsky’s elbow to keep him still. Huddled together, they slowly shuffled their way across the ice. Each step was made with careful thought and whenever it looked like one of them was going to slip, they’d stop and wait for them both to regain their balance.

For Starsky it felt like hours before they reached the shore, however his watch told him it only took 15 minutes. Once on the half melted path that took them to the truck they were able to move faster and Hutch had Starsky bundled into the passenger seat within minutes and set off back to town within seconds.

The emergency room was so busy it took over an hour for Starsky to be seen. Then after the initial exam it was another hour before he was sent up to x-ray. Another half an hour for someone to come look at the x-rays and after learning there was no need for surgery, it was still another 20 minutes before they were ready to slot the joint back into place.

Hutch was allowed to stay with Starsky most of the time, and even offered to hold his hand while they performed the reduction. Thankfully, it was a simple procedure and was performed under local anesthetic. However, the sound of the joint slotting back into place made both men wince.

Afterwards, Hutch helped Starsky get dressed and then stayed out of the way while the doctor strapped on the sling. The doctor advised Starsky to keep his arm in the sling for the next two weeks and to get a physio therapist to look at it when they got back to LA. He was then pulled away to deal with an issue the nurse was having outside, but promised to return with a prescription for pain killers.

Alone in the exam room, Hutch sat on the edge of the bed Starsky was reclined on and looked at his moody partner. Starsky didn’t want to look up at Hutch. With his arm still numb he didn’t have the pain to distract him from the embarrassment he was feeling.

“Sorry for being such a klutz,” Starsky said, his eyes on his injured arm. “And for ruining everything.”

“It’s not ruined…though I was hoping it’d end with a hot toddy by the fire.”

“Me too. Instead I’ll probably just dope myself up and pass out in front of the fire.”

“Well, look on the bright side; at least it’s your right arm, Lefty.” Hutch smiled reassuringly, but Starsky didn’t look up to see it.

Hutch sighed. “Maybe I shouldn’t have pushed so hard for you to join me. You said you weren’t much of a skater and I know you hate the cold.”

Starsky shrugged his good shoulder. “It was important to you.”

“It was when I was a kid. I used to love skating. I’d spend a couple of weeks each winter up at my grandfather’s farm and me and my cousins would spend hours on the ice. I was always the first on and the last off. I would have skated all night if I was allowed. Afterwards we’d have hot chocolate by the fire and my grandfather would tell us stories before bed. Those winters were some of my fondest childhood memories.”

He snickered. “I managed to get Jack up there one year when we were in our last year of high school. He was excited at first, bought some fancy, expensive skates and everything. He gave up after landing on his butt while trying to impress my cousin Becky. That was the last year I skated up here.”

Starsky took Hutch’s hand and finally looked at him.

“I was having a good time before I crashed.” Starsky admitted. “And it’s a beautiful spot, but I think this proves once again I don’t play well with nature.”

“You were getting the hang of it,” Hutch argued. Then he sighed. “But I guess this is one experience we can’t share.”

“How about we share a nice meal instead?” Starsky suggested, feeling like it was his turn now to cheer Hutch up. “Your mother said she was cooking meatloaf tonight.”

“She does make good meatloaf.” Hutch smiled a little and leaned in to kiss Starsky on the lips.

The following day Starsky was advised to rest, so he happily spent most of the day in bed. Hutch decided to stay in bed with Starsky, figuring there wasn’t much else for him to do. Starsky suggested he go out skating again, since they were due to leave the day after tomorrow and he might not get another chance. Hutch declined, saying he wasn’t in the mood. While that was probably a half truth, Starsky still felt bad that he was keeping his lover from one last go on the ice. He remembered the look of pure joy on Hutch’s face and he wanted to see that one more time before they returned to boring normality.

That night he devised a plan and the next morning he talked Hutch into taking him for a drive up to the lake. While Hutch was reluctant at first, Starsky assured him that he was feeling up to it and had no plans of doing anything too physical. Much to his own disappointment.

The snow was still heavy by the lake; there had been a heavy flurry of it during the night, but as Hutch pulled the truck up to the edge the sky was clear blue and slightly colder than before.

“Why did you want to come up here?” Hutch asked. “It’s not like we can go skating.”

“We can’t, but you can.” Starsky opened the passenger door and got out.

“Sure, but what are you going to do?” Hutch asked, joining Starsky at the back of the truck.

“I’m going to watch you.”

“Yeah, I’m sure you’ll enjoy that.”

With his one good arm, Starsky took a folding chair out of the back of the truck. Hutch helped him unfold it and placed it by the edge of the lake, followed by another chair and a table.

“Hutch, do you know what caused me to fall the other day?”

“Clumsiness?”

That earned him an unamused look from Starsky. “I was too focused on watching you skate. You were amazing. You looked so happy, so content. I want to see you that happy again, but I want to see it from a safe position.”

Hutch smiled bashfully. “I looked that happy, huh?”

Starsky nodded. “It was beautiful.” He leaned closer and kissed Hutch on the lips. When he pulled away Hutch leaned in and kissed him back.

“Now, get your skates on,” Starsky said, smacking Hutch lightly on the butt.

Unable to contain his newly found enthusiasm, Hutch got his skates out of the truck and put them on. Starsky took a seat on one of the chairs and opened his bag, pulling out a thermos.

“I even brought hot chocolate for when you’re done.”

“Hot chocolate?” Hutch queried as he laced up the skates. “Think I’m a bit old for that.”

“Oh trust me, this stuff ain’t suitable for kids.” Starsky winked.

Before venturing back onto the ice Hutch gave Starsky one last long, deep kiss and his good arm a firm squeeze. For his part, Starsky smacked Hutch on the butt again to get him going.

Hutch stayed close at first, wanting to both keep an eye on Starsky and allow his partner to keep an eye on him. He did a couple of small loops, spun around and went for a quick little run down the middle of the lake with his hands behind his back. When he turned around to come back he was happy to see Starsky settled down in his chair, eyes on him, watching his every move. Normally, he’d be self-conscious, but with only Starsky watching he knew he could just relax and enjoy himself. He even tried doing a little dancing, but he was no figure skater and didn’t want to ruin the day by landing on his ass or worse. Instead, he just contented himself with just skating up and down the lake, enjoying the wind in his hair, the cold, crisp bite of the breeze and the pure look of love radiating from Starsky’s gaze.

Hutch smiled. While he couldn’t share the experience with Starsky, he could share the moment.

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Starsky flipped through the address book, locating H for Hutchinson. He chuckled because, sure, he knew where his favorite Hutchinson lived, but there were more than one.

Checking twice on the house number, he wrote the full address for Richard Hutchinson on the envelope. Slashing his John Hancock inside the card with the cheery picture of deer munching on a green, snow dusted tree decorated with holly berries, he pushed it into the done-for-now pile.

“What ‘cha doing, babe?” Hutch padded up behind him.

“You’re a detective.” Starsky turned his head enough to get a peck on the cheek and return the endearment. “What do you think?” Continue reading “December 23rd: When You Care Enough to Send the Very Best by Dawnwind”

Hutch has an addiction. Starsky, of course, is the most supportive of partners.

“Starsky…”

“Mm?”

“Starsky!”

“Huh? Wha…? Sorry, Hutch, I’m tryin’ to finish this damn report. Dobey’s gonna kill me if I don’t get it whipped into shape before the Commissioner gets here. If you can just wait for a…?”

“But Starsk…”

Sound of increased respiratory activity.

“Hey, babe, hey! You’re hyperventilatin’! Whassamatter? Gimme a second and I’ll be right with you.”

Sound of file being slapped down on the desk. Continue reading “December 23rd: An Idée Fixe by BethLange”

“What about cults?” Hutch asks, when Starsky first raises the possibility of a return to Dobey’s cabin. They already have Edith’s blessing, so Dobey won’t be saying no – it’s just Hutch who might throw a spanner in the works.

“No person in their right mind goes camping with a tent this late in the year,” Starsky argues. “Not even cult members.”

He’s not strictly sure that’s true, and it doesn’t entirely account for bears and cows and surprise snakes in fridges either, but a person has to take a little risk in life sometimes to get what they want. Maybe Hutch agrees, because he gives Starsky a sideways look and then shrugs like he didn’t. It’s good enough for Starsky, and Hutch doesn’t raise any further objections while they plan and pack and eventually drive the Torino through a forest that’s much more yellow-orange-red-brown than last time. Continue reading “December 22nd: Adding Adjectives by SquaresAreNotCircles”