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Marc leaned his head against the wall, staring up at the ceiling of the ice rink. He checked his phone once more, hoping there would be a message from Nathaniel, at least telling him why he was late.
He pursed his lips, then opened up his social media. Suddenly, his timeline was filled with pictures and articles depicting a recent akuma attack near Nathaniel’s house. Marc shot up, scrolling through and hoping Ladybug and Chat Noir had already taken care of it.
Shaking his head, he groaned. The akuma alert on his phone had not gone off, and Marc considered checking it out soon and making sure the notifications were actually on. It could be dangerous if he was near one and the alarm didn’t go off. Marc hoped Nathaniel’s was working too, and that everyone’s akuma alerts didn’t randomly malfunction.
He kept scrolling, then eventually found a video with a very familiar shock of red hair. Marc immediately clicked on it. The camera was shaky, probably filmed by some random citizen. Although burry, Marc could still make out Ladybug with Nathaniel in her arms, swinging to the ground. She put him down, and they exchanged panicked looking words Marc couldn’t understand, before a scream came from behind them and Ladybug took off.
The camera seemed to stop focusing on Nathaniel, but it did catch him taking his phone out of his pocket before he ran out of frame. Marc let out a relieved breath, looking at when the video was posted. Twenty minutes ago.
Marc closed the app, pulling up his contacts and clicking on Nathaniel’s. Before he could click the call button, the door to the ice rink opened, and there stood Nathaniel, panting and out of breath.
Marc shut off his phone immediately, running towards Nathaniel before he could even step into the building.
“Are you okay?” he asked, stumbling slightly before reaching out to put his hands on Nathaniel’s shoulders. He cursed himself for wearing his ice skates already. When he felt more balanced, he moved his hands to Nathaniel’s cheeks. “You’re not hurt, right?”
Nathaniel nodded, his cheeks turning pink from what, Marc assumed, was the cold building. “You can let go of my face now.”
Now it was Marc’s turn for his cheeks to flush, and he immediately let go, rubbing his hands up and down his arms. “R-Right, right, um, well, I got our skates for us already if you still wanted to…” he started.
Nathaniel nodded, running his fingers through his hair. His bangs were pushed out of his eyes, slightly and briefly, before falling back into place. Marc took another deep breath, before nodded and turning to where he had been sitting before.
“Well, I think it’s time for your first ice skating lesson,” Nathaniel said, walking towards the skates and effortlessly sliding them on. Marc huffed. It had taken him almost five tries to get it right.
“This is my second time skating, for your information,” Marc said, sitting next to Nathaniel.
“I think you told me that the first time you went ice skating, you stopped after five minutes because you kept falling.”
“I was ten!” Marc exclaimed, knocking Nathaniel’s shoulder with his own, holding back laughter.
“It still counts!” Nathaniel laughed, strapping the last part of his skates. Marc watched as Nathaniel gathered his hair in a low ponytail, blowing the access hair out of his face. Then he stood up, extending his hand to Marc.
Marc blinked up at him for a second, trying to burn the memory into his mind. Nathaniel, soft smile playing on his lips from laughing only moments before. Nathaniel, with his small and messy ponytail that he only did occasionally, that didn’t even remove the hair from his eyes. Nathaniel, who was charming and sweet, who was dorky and loved to talk with Marc about the newest comic books and their newest interests. Nathaniel, who had stolen Marc’s heart within moments. Many moments.
“I’m not too good at skating, though, so be warned,” Nathaniel’s voice broke Marc out of his trance, and Marc realized Nathaniel was still waiting with his hand extended, smile still in place.
Marc flushed, grabbing Nathaniel’s hand and telling himself there was no way for Nathaniel to have been able to read his thoughts.
He let go of Nathaniel’s hand quickly, then started walking to the doors of the court. He immediately stumbled though, but someone grabbed his hand before he could fall. He looked back at Nathaniel, who looked close to laughing. Now that he was in less of a rush to get somewhere, it was harder to stand.
Marc shook his head, huffing. “I’m not even on the ice yet, I can get to it myself without falling.”
“Whatever you say,” Nathaniel said, letting go of Marc’s hand. He immediately missed the warmth.
Nathaniel walked towards and onto the ice, holding onto the side before letting go and holding his hand out to Marc. Marc hesitated, before taking it and walking onto the ice.
He immediately started slipping, before both of Nathaniel’s hands held his to keep him steady. Nathaniel laughed, and Marc snorted.
“Let’s go this way,” Nathaniel said, still holding both of Marc’s hands as he slid across the ice.
Marc let Nathaniel guide him to another side of the wall, not even moving his legs. Nathaniel sent him a look, and Marc shrugged.
“How did you even learn to skate?” Marc asked when they stopped.
“Alix,” Nathaniel said. “She wouldn’t stop pestering me about it, that it would ‘help her with her roller blades’ or something. I found it fun and it… Kind of became a thing for me, you know?”
Marc smiled at him, tilting his head to the side. Of course it was some slightly sentimental reason, like his friend showing it to him. And of course Nathaniel would go along with it, even if it was something he originally didn’t want to do. He squeezed Nathaniel’s hand subconsciously. “That’s really nice.”
Nathaniel stared at him for a moment, before clearing his throat and averting his eyes. “Yeah, well, at least I get to go skating with you now, huh? I can teach you the ways of the skate!”
Marc laughed. “Dork.”
“Anyway,” Nathaniel said, letting go of one of Marc’s hands to move to his side, “the first thing you need to do is learn to glide. Its like walking but you don’t lift your feet. Got it?”
Marc nodded, biting his lip and looking down. Don’t lift his feet, don’t lift his feet… He started, taking a step forward.
And lifted his feet.
He slipped forward, and Nathaniel kept his hand, pulling him back. Marc huffed, then tried again. He was able to get his feet more stable, and he slid across. He could feel Nathaniel next to him, hand still warm in his.
“See, you got it!”
He looked to the side, sending Nathaniel a wide grin, and was met with a soft smile. He stared. No matter how many times he saw Nathaniel’s smile, it would never get old. Marc’s cheeks warmed, and he tripped over his skates.
He saw the moment Nathaniel realized Marc had tripped, but there was nothing either of them could do before Marc fell, accidentally dragging Nathaniel down with him.
He landed with a thud on his back, groaning. There was something warm on top of him, and it took Marc point five seconds before he realized it was Nathaniel.
Nathaniel scrambled up, talking. “Oh my gosh, are you okay? You’re not hurt right? Nothing sprained?”
Marc stared at him, hand extended again. He shook his head, making sure not to get distracted by bright eyes and smiles again. “I-I’m fine, I think. Just a tumble.”
“Good, now get up.”
Marc started to get up, but immediately fell onto his butt again. “Um, how?”
Nathaniel laughed. “You have to get on your knees first.”
Marc made an o with his mouth, then staggered upright. He grabbed Nathaniel’s hand again, and Nathaniel smiled at him, wide and blinding. Marc sent him a small one in return, then looked away.
><><><><
“There you go, you got it!” Nathaniel said again, and Marc laughed.
“You’ve said that multiple times, and every time you did, I fell.”
Nath shrugged, grabbing Marc’s hands when he reached him. “Yeah, but now you’ve actually got it.”
Marc shook his head, but he was grinning proudly. They had been at the rink for a while, practicing and skating around. Marc didn’t know exactly how long they had been there, but a few people had come and gone, and now they were the only ones on the ice.
The music was playing from the speakers around them, and Marc didn’t know if the volume had been turned up or if it was just the echo, but the music seemed louder, bouncier.
He hummed along to it as he and Nathaniel kept skating around the rink, still holding hands. Marc didn’t think he ever wanted to let go, but he knew he would have to, eventually.
“So…” Nathaniel started. “How do you like ice skating so far?”
“I love it!” Marc said, grinning, although half of that was because of the person he was with, he supposed. “It’s been fun learning with you.”
Marc immediately flushed, then cursed himself for saying that. Why would he say it? That sounded way too cheesy. He held back a groan.
Luckily, Nathaniel only laughed, ducking his head. “I’m glad, I didn’t know if you would like it.”
“Of course I liked it, I’m with you.” And Marc officially wanted to duck his head under the ice and hide forever, like an ostrich. He turned his head away, trying and probably failing to hide the blush that was coating his face and ears.
“O-Oh, yeah?” Nathaniel said, and Marc nodded, still looking the other way. Nathaniel’s voice softened when he spoke next. “I’m glad.”
Marc hummed, and they continued in silence, before Nathaniel perked up. “Hey, I know this song! Dance with me?”
Marc barely got a chance to answer before he was whisked away. Nathaniel didn’t do anything crazy, and Marc laughed when he started skating backwards with Marc.
“You’re not even dancing! And you’re going to fall!”
“I’m not going to fall, I’ve done this plenty of time—“ and what Marc said would happen came true, and Nathaniel stumbled and fell, dragging Marc with him.
Marc laughed as he fell on top of Nathaniel. “Is this pay back for earlier?” he wheezed out, then felt Nathaniel shrug underneath him.
“Maybe.”
Marc kept laughing, burying his face into Nathaniel’s shoulder. Nathaniel yelped, squirming.
“Stop! Your nose is cold!” he yelled, and Marc could hear the laughter bubbling out.
“Suffer!” Marc exclaimed, and they both kept laughing. Their laughs eventually faded away, leaving them both on the ground.
Marc immediately stood up, wiping away the cold ice flecks from the front of his shirt.
Nathaniel smiled at him, then took his hand again. “The song hasn’t ended.”
Marc laughed.
><><><><
“This was a lot of fun,” Marc said as they sat on the bench outside the ice rink. They had turned their skates in earlier, then grabbed something to eat before moving outside.
It wasn’t as cold, and Marc stared up, closing his eyes and letting the sun warm up his face.
“It was,” Nathaniel said. Then he took a deep breathe. “I’m happy you said yes to this date.”
Marc’s eyes snapped open, and he looked at Nathaniel, gaping. “Th—This what?”
Nathaniel blinked at him, looking if he were about to shrink in on himself. “Um. This date?”
Marc’s mouth opened and closed, and he could feel the heat rushing to his cheeks. A date? The ice rink had been a date? Marc tried to say something slightly comprehensible, but all that came out was a long and high-pitched squeal.
“You didn’t know?” Nathaniel asked, his voice almost as high as Marc’s.
“No?” He took it back. Marc’s voice was much higher.
“What do you mean, no? I asked you if you—oh.” Nathaniel stopped talking, looking down before groaning and shoving his face into his hands. His voice was muffled. “All I did was ask if you wanted to go to the ice rink.”
He took his head out of his hands, still talking. “Oh wow, how were you supposed to know this was a date? You probably would have said no if you knew. Why didn’t I make it clearer? Wh—”
Marc couldn’t help it. He started laughing. He doubled over, laughter echoing around them, filling the silence. He eventually stopped, wiping the tears from his eyes, before realizing that they weren’t all from laughing.
“So, you want to date me?” Marc asked, smiling, and Nathaniel must have seen something in Marc’s eyes, because he let out a small laugh, then kept smiling.
“Yeah. I kinda really do.”
Marc laughed again, wiping away his tears before falling forward, burying his head in Nathaniel’s shoulder. Nathaniel wrapped his arms around Marc, squeezing him. Marc felt a kiss pressed to the side of his head, soft and smiling.
He looked up at Nathaniel, who was looking at him in a way he had so many times before, but now Marc finally had a word for it. He knew the feeling. He recognized it, in Nathaniel and in himself.
Without thinking, he leaned forward, pressing his lips to Nathaniel’s for a second before pulling away. They weren’t apart for long before Nathaniel pulled Marc back in for another kiss. They stayed like that for a moment until they broke apart, foreheads pressed together.
“So, Marc Anciel,” Nathaniel started, and Marc pressed his lips together, trying to keep in his giggles. “Would you do me the honor of being my boyfriend?”
The giggles bubbled out of Marc, and he nodded as he laughed. “Yes,” he said, when he finally caught his breath, and Nathaniel kissed him again.