Life With Ice (An Ice Bear x Reader Story)

Chapter 14: Morning After

"UuuuUUuUgGghhHhHh" you groaned out loud as the almost-noon day sun hit your face, pierced through your closed eyelids, and stabbed you in your hung over brain. You try to cover your face with a pillow, wondering why you were so hung over before you remembered the previous night. Almost immediately your eyes shot open, causing you to grimace and hiss in pain as you looked around the room at the remnants of last night's party.

   "Drink." you heard your most favorite voice in the world order , a glass of fizzing Sprite was shoved in your groggy face, and you eagerly took the beverage. Taking a swig of the sprite, you glanced up at the giant white bear who looked over you and smiled slightly. Your mind went back to the kiss you and Ice shared last night and you found yourself blushing profusely.

"Does Y/N have a fever?" Ice asked, reaching a concerned paw out to check your forehead's temperature. You quickly shook your head 'no', and immediately regretted moving as a jolt of pain surged through your head. "Nope... Just a little... Hungover... Is all" you managed to get out as you took another sip of sprite. Ice Bear nodded silently and went back into the kitchen to get started on cooking something. You slowly stood up and began moving around the cave in search of Soren, but all you'd found from him was a note.

"Dear Y/N,
I'm glad that I got to see you again after so long, and I'm even happier that you're in such a good place in your life, right now. You deserve it. Ice and I seem to be on better footing, as well, which I'm sure you'll be happy to hear. By the time you wake up (you've never been too good with holding your liquor) I will be on my flight to Indonesia, so... If you're ever in Sarubaya, hit me up maybe? Only as a friend, you pervert.

Your bestie forever,
Soren"

You folded the paper back up and put it in your back pocket, quickly brushing back unexplained tears from your face. You smiled to yourself before going into your makeshift room and placing Soren's goodbye letter tenderly into your scrapbook. Afterwards you stumbled into the bathroom and took a hot shower. As the beads of steaming water hit your body and washed away all of the grime from yesterday, you found yourself thinking about one thing; were you and Ice a couple, now?

   After you finished cleaning up and changing into your favorite outfit, you walked out of the bathroom and bumped into Grizz. The both of you sucked in air sharply and grabbed your heads in pain. "Sorry" you whispered to Grizz. Grizz kindly waved off your apology with one paw while the other still gripped his head. "It's ok, Y/N. I should've been watching where I was going. Hangovers suuuckkk." Grizz replied. You wince in agreement and help Grizz stand straight.

   "Ice takes his hangovers pretty well, though." you say, noting how early he'd gotten up before everyone else and how productive he seemed to be. "Oh, Ice doesn't get hung over." Grizz informed you. You were only surprised for a few seconds before chuckling. "Why am I hardly even surprised?" You asked, shaking your head. You walk into the kitchen and sit down at the table as you watch Ice prepare what seemed to be some kind of soup.

  After several minutes of watching Ice cook, he finally ladles a generous amount of the fragrant hot broth into a bowl and sets it in front of you. "Ice Bear made menudo. For Y/N's headache." he explained, quickly turning back around. You smile in gratitude. "Thanks, Ice!" you say, picking up the spoon and shoveling a mouthful of the delicious soup into your mouth. Perhaps it was a placebo effect, or maybe the warm and fuzzy feeling of someone you loved making you a bowl of warm soup, but your head immediately started to feel better.

   Things were pleasantly quiet between the two of you as you sipped and chewed spoonfuls of the menudo and Ice cleaned his cooking mess. It was the good type of quiet that you had grown accustomed to when being a the Ice. Having that quiet felt much better than the awkward, angry quiet that the two of you held towards each other before Soren's arrival, and now you were beginning to feel sentimental. You sniffled a bit and looked down at your reflection in the oily red liquid of the menudo.

   "I love you, Ice Bear." you said out loud, your voice firm but soft. You dropped your head lower after the simple confession, preparing for the possibility of rejection- but there wasn't one. Ice stood where he was, his ears pricked up slightly, still drying a dish with his back turned towards you. After several seconds for the both of you to think about what you'd just said, the polar bear turned towards you, his entire face a flustered shade of deep pink.

   " Y/n should go on a date with Ice Bear." Ice answered shyly. Almost as if he was just remembering to look friendly and inviting, a small, crooked smile turned at the corner of Ice's mouth. Now it was your turn to blush. Never in a million years did you expect Ice Bear to essentially ask you out!

   You jumped up from your chair  and ran across the kitchen, hugging Ice as tightly as you could. "Of course I'll go out with you, Ice!" you accidentally yell, as you hop up and down. You grab Ice by the paws as the small smile on his face grows more comfortable and the two of you hop and dance around the kitchen, only stopping when you hear a rustling from the corner of the kitchen.

   Turning around to see what the sound was, you saw Panda standing at the opposite side of the room, awkwardly holding a box of cereal. " Ohhh, ummm, uhhh... Don't mind me, guys, I was just getting some breakfast. I'll be out in a second. " Panda explains as he fumbles with getting a bowl, spoon, and Ice hands him the carton of milk from the fridge. "Umm... Congrats, guys!'' Panda says, rushing out of the kitchen, embarrassed.

   After Panda leaves, you laugh and resume hopping and dancing around the kitchen in excitement. "So, where are we going for our first date, Ice?" you ask, your eyes sparkling in anticipation. Ice's face returns to it's normal, mysteriously deadpan expression before answering. "Ice Bear is going to surprise y/n. Wear y/n's favorite outfit" he informs you, not saying anything else about the date. You pout, wanting to know where he was taking you NOW, but Ice wouldn't budge, no matter how much you pestered him.

   After a few minutes of trying to get Ice to reveal where the two of you were going for a date, you finally left the kitchen to figure out what to wear. Your favorite outfit had been left behind when Barry burned your apartment, so there wasn't anything date-worthy, per se. You were deep in your own thoughts when you bumped into Petra.

   "OHMIGOD, Y/N, ICE FINALLY ASKED YOU OUT!!! I WAS WONDERING WHEN THAT IDIOT WOULD POP THE QUESTION!!!PAN-PAN TOLD KE EVERYTHING, JUST NOW, AND IF ICE IS ANYTHING LIKE HIS BROTHER, WE HAVE *GOT* TO BUY YOU SOME MORE ROMANTIC CLOTHES FOR YOUR DATE TOGETHER!!!" She was trying to whisper, but quietness was never Petra's forte, so it was coming out as more of a stifled scream. You were taken aback at how quickly news seemed to travel around the cave. Before you could get a word in edgewise to Petra, she had already gone back to talking excitedly "I WON'T TAKE 'NO' TO SHOPPING FOR AN ANSWER, Y/N, SO GET YOUR SHOES ON AND FIND YOUR PURSE. WE'RE HAVING A GIRL'S DAY OUT!!!"