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A single snowflake fell from the sky, cascading down towards its friends on the ground, but not before stopping to dance in the wind. The flake plummeted to the ground, collecting itself in a heap of snow that would later melt back into the soil and blossom into a flower come spring.
The season change was beautifully ominous, only the arcane winter foxes knew the true ways of nature. And Elyan liked it that way. He wasn’t a fan of the cold months. He’d rather spend his time outside, basking in the sun with a glass of lemonade and talking to his friends. He’d rather have that instead of being holed up in his dank apartment all day, pining to wake up one morning to find that the empty space on his wall had been replaced by a cosy fireplace… How nice it would be to lay in his boyfriend’s arms in front of the flickering flames as they waited for the snow to melt away.
But Percival had other plans, plans that included Elyan and ice. He didn’t like it one bit. He knew that the moment he’d take a step with those godforsaken, spiky shoes, his arse would meet the ice. Or worse, someone would trip over him and chop his hand off with their razor-sharp ice skates. Maybe that last one was a bit far-fetched but the point still stood; Elyan could not, for the life of him, ice skate, and he certainly didn’t want to.
Elyan approached the ice skating lodge, looking around for his giant of a boyfriend. The glare from the sun reflecting off the snow hit him in the eye, causing him to shield himself.
“Elyan!” He heard a familiar shout. Elyan removed his arm from his face and saw Percival standing right in front of him with a cocky smile. “Ready to fall?”
He scoffed at this. “If I know I’m going to fall, and you know I’m going to fall, then why the hell are we still going ice skating?” He asked, crossing his arms.
“Because it’s fun, you’ll see. And I was joking, you’re not going to fall. Besides, I’ll be there the whole time and you can fall onto me at any moment. We both know I won’t even budge,” Percival gave him a smirk, then reached a hand out to pull him closer.
Elyan fell into his chest and his lips curled into a smile at the touch. He wrapped his arms around the taller man, looking up at him. “Fine, but if I die, I’m suing you from my grave.”
Percival chuckled at this and took Elyan’s hand in his. He pulled them into the lodge and up to a kiosk to rent a pair of skates. He’d never skated before but he figured the shoe would be his regular size. The woman behind the counter smiled at their hands that were still intertwined together, then handed him the pair of skates.
After he changed into the skates, the pair left out the back door and headed down the small ramp. Elyan clutched the rail for dear life as he took small baby steps down the steep ramp of death, Percival sending him looks the whole way. “Hey! It’s scarier than you think… You’ve been skating for literally your whole life, so you can’t even talk,” Elyan huffed as he finally made it to the bottom.
“Touché, touché,” Percival said, giving in.
The man stepped down onto the ice himself and did a little spin to show off. Elyan just rolled his eyes. But Percy strode over moments later, extending a helping hand. He gladly took it as he braced himself for the fall. He took a deep inhale like his life depended on it-- it probably did, then he lifted a foot off the ground and placed it on the ice. Elyan repeated the same with the other foot until he was completely planted on the ice.
“Oh,” he mumbled. “This isn’t so bad.”
Elyan gave his boyfriend a small smile before striding forward a bit. Ice skating really wasn’t bad at all! He took another stride, then another, and another. When he was a short distance away from the ramp, Elyan let go of Percival’s hand, surprising them both. He took a few more glides, gaining a bit more speed and confidence with each movement. He could feel the ice moving with him beneath his feet. It felt slippery yet oddly stable, almost like his skates were part of the ice rink, or rather, his body. He was really getting the hang of this!
He took another exhale before making his biggest stride yet. He ended up in the middle of the rink, far away from the ramp and Percival. Elyan smiled proudly and turned around on his skates, holding two thumbs up to his boyfriend.
“You’re a natural, babe! I knew you could do it.”
Elyan chuckled at this. “I’m more than a natural… I’m practically a pro! I bet if we race, I could beat you. Wanna bet?”
He couldn’t see Percival’s expression but he could practically see the smirk on his face. “Oh, getting cocky, are we? You’re so on, Elyan!”
·:·───✰───·:·
The cold winter air pressed against Elyan’s face as he flew across the ice like a rocket. Each foot pushed across the rink, propelling him forward with every stride. The cracks and bumps on the ice were no match for his speed and resilience. Percival was still in the lead by far. He had years of experience on him but Elyan wasn’t going to let this get in the way, so he pushed on.
The rink was a lot bigger than he’d originally thought, and it was beginning to wear on him. They’d been skating for what felt like minutes but was probably only seconds. His body was warming up with all the energy he was expelling, and he was thankful for it on the harsh winter day. But with all the energy he was using, he began to grow tired. His strides started to tighten, getting more closed off with each passing second. His sore feet seemed to bring him no closer to the finish line, and Percival gained a great lead on him.
Elyan suddenly wanted nothing more than to be bundled up at home with a mug of hot cocoa and a dozen blankets. He wanted to sleep. So Elyan slowed his strides until he was stopped. Unfortunately, he lost track of his feet and managed to trip himself over, sending his body to the floor. Thump.
“Ohhhh,” Elyan groaned in pain from the floor, but made no effort to get up. It only hurt for a second and besides, he was far too tired to stand on his feet. Maybe he could just fall asleep on the ice.
“Elyan!” Percival shouted frantically. He could practically hear the man spin around, striding over like a child whose grandma had just taken cookies out of the oven— or like an angry ogre…. yeah, that was more like it.
Elyan put his head into the ice, letting out a giant sigh.
“Are you okay?!” Percival dropped down next to him, immediately cradling a hand under his neck. Elyan snorted at this.
“I’m fine, you big goof. I’m just absolutely exhausted. I think maybe I did get a little too cocky…”
Percival sent him a knowing look. “You think? Seriously, I’ve never seen you so focused before. Are you sure you’ve never skated before?”
Elyan nodded his head, giving him another thumbs up.
“See? This is what happens when you face your fears. If you keep at it, maybe you can join competitions with me!” Percy smiled eagerly.
At this, Elyan picked himself off the ground, as best he could with skates on. “You know what? On second thought, maybe skating isn’t for me.”
Percival’s face fell. “What?! B-but you just said-- you just said you loved it!” He stammered frantically.
“Yeah, but then you mentioned competitions and I was sucked back into reality. You’re right, skating isn’t fun. Besides, people who compete too much start to turn into skating zombies and I don’t want that,” Elyan began to stride towards the ramp again, a very dishevelled Percival trailing behind.
“But that would mean I’m a zombie! Hey, wait. What happened to all that stuff about you being the world’s best skater?”
“Hmm, I don’t know what you’re talking about,” he smirked as he stepped up to the ramp, hands flocking to the rail. “Maybe your zombie brain is making you remember things wrong.”
Percival narrowed his eyebrows. “Take that back!”
“Never!” Elyan charged up the ramp the rest of the way. He heard Percival’s skates scamper up behind him and then a set of heavy footsteps charging towards him. Elyan giggled as he ran away playfully. “No!” He yelped when a hand reached his waist, pulling him to Percival’s chest. Elyan’s back was pressed against the taller man and he leant into the touch. “I’m not taking it back…” He grinned, tilting his head back to look up at Percy.
“Then no hot chocolate for you,” Percival chuckled sinisterly.
“You wouldn’t dare!” He gasped. The man knew how much marshmallows and chocolate meant to Elyan.
Percival’s lips curled into a smile at this. “Fine, you’re right. I love you too much,” he giggled, lowering his lips down to Elyan’s to give him a peck on the nose.
His tummy erupted in butterflies at the small but loving touch. “I love you too… even if you’re a skating zombie.”
Percival hid the marshmallows that night.