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Graceful. That was the perfect word to describe the scene unfolding before Akito’s widening eyes. Even though countless other people occupied the ice skating rink, Akito could only see Toya. I mean, it was that way for everyone, right? He looked so pristine, pink tinting his nose and cheeks, lighting up his pale face from the cold. His two-toned hair flies wildly yet elegantly around his head as he effortlessly glides across the ice. At last, he slides over to the exit of the rink, flashing a smile to his bandmates.
“See? Nothing too difficult. I’m sure you’ll all get it in no time,” Toya says humbly.
“‘Nothing too difficult’?,” Akito repeats, incredulous. “Give yourself some credit, man. That’s pretty cool.” He smiles, and Toya returns it, thanking his partner.
“Alrighty then, time to give it a try! I’ve done this a few times before, so I’m sure I’ve got this,” An announces confidently. “Come on, let’s go!” She says enthusiastically, grabbing Kohane’s hand and hurrying onto the rink, earning a few protests from her companion.
Akito stays behind for a few moments, watching the two stick close to the wall. An can sort of skate though not nearly as elegantly as Toya, and not nearly as well as she made herself sound. Kohane struggles to keep herself upright, holding An’s hand for dear life as she tries to follow her instructions. Akito can’t help but chuckle.
“Shall we go?” Toya says, startling Akito out of his thoughts. He hadn’t realized Toya would be waiting for him.
“Yeah,” Akito agrees, walking awkwardly to the opening to the rink and stepping in on slightly shaking legs. He’d only been ice skating once or twice before, dragged along by Ena and some of her friends. Though, he was quite good at rollerblading, so he just hoped that experience would come in handy here. “But I’m warning you, I’m not good at this by any means.”
“Don’t say that; I’m sure you’ll be just fine,” Toya smiles reassuringly, making Akito think that maybe he can. He flashes a smile back, and begins to skate. Toya sidles up to him, hands clasped behind his back.
Akito was wrong- this is nothing like rollerblading. Sure, the v-motions you had to make with your feet were similar, if not the same. However, he regretfully didn’t take into account how damn slippery the ice would be, and all the grooves made by the many skaters kept catching his blades, startling him and throwing him off course. Speaking of the blades, they were much skinnier than the wheels of Akito’s rollerblades. Plus, given they were rentals, the ice skates he wore now weren’t nearly as sharp and well-kept as the ones Toya wore now (which were his own), so they didn’t glide over the ice as smoothly.
Laughter. That’s what the ginger hears from beside him. He looks over (though still careful not to hit anyone in front of him as he slowly and awkwardly progresses forward) to see Toya stifling laughter from beside him.
“Sorry, sorry,” he replies to the look of shock in Akito’s eyes.
“Not cool, man,” Akito says, shaking his head disapprovingly, though as he smiles rather fondly it’s obvious he doesn’t mean it. As he stands up a little too tall, Akito is thrown off balance, and he tilts backwards, about to fall until-
Until Toya quickly grabs his wrist and pulls him to the wall and out of the circulation of skaters. “Please be careful, Akito,” he says, worry plastered clearly on his face and in his voice. He instructs Akito to never lean too far back, rather, to lean forward a bit. After his mini-lesson, he returns to his former worry, eyebrows drawn together in a serious expression. “Perhaps stay a bit closer to the wall for the meantime. That way you can get used to it a bit more. The middle is a lot more crowded, making it a dangerous place to fall. Especially with all the blades going by…”
“Hey,” Akito says, putting a hand on Toya’s shoulder. “No need to overthink. I’ll be fine.” He smiles, and turns to see An and Kohane passing them, An whooping and cheering, Kohane giving them a nervous smile, still gripping An’s hand in her own.
“Would you like me to teach you?” Toya says suddenly, causing Akito to look back up at his partner.
“Huh? Oh, yeah, that’d be great,” Akuto affirms.
“Then I’ll do my best,” Toya says, determined.
Much to Akito’s surprise, Toya grabs his hand in his, lacing their fingers together. He squeezes lightly and tugs Akito back into the ring of skaters moving in circles around the rink. He begins giving instructions, about how to move your feet, how to speed up and slow down, how to maneuver around others, about what to do if you’re stuck in a groove, and so on.
But Akito finds it hard to pay attention. His head is turned to the left, facing Toya, but not his feet. Akito can’t seem to peel his eyes away from his face. As the pair surges forward, his hair is blown backwards slightly, creating a pretty frame for his pink tinted face, bitten by the cold. His mesmerizing gray eyes stare down at his skates, his thin lips moving as he voices every movement. Overall, he just seemed so natural and precise, nearly as talented here as he was singing his heart out on stage beside Akito.
“Akito? Are you paying attention to what I’m saying?” Toya smiles slightly, meeting Akito’s eyes.
“Yeah, yeah, of course,” he assures, but his shaky legs and awkward, less than smooth movements suggest otherwise. “I’m sure I’ll pick it up through practice,” he flashes an easy smile and a thumbs up from his unoccupied hand to hopefully distract from his lame excuse.
Toya shakes his head slightly, but a smile plays on his lips. Wordlessly, he continues along, picking up the pace just a bit.
“Woah, man,” Akito protests. “Slow down!” He gets caught in a groove once again (damn grooves!) and grips Toyas hand, hard, and flails his other arm in an attempt to stabilize himself, which is thankfully successful. He hopes An didn’t see that; he’d never hear the end of her teasing (since she’s apparently such a natural).
“You okay?” Toya says. After confirming the well-being of his companion, he adds, “Here, let’s try this instead.” Quickly and with more poise than any professional figure skater Akito had ever seen, Toya spins so that he’s in front of Akito, skating backwards. He reaches forward and grabs Akito’s other hand in his, his fingers now in the gentle yet reliable grip of Toya’s hands.
Suddenly, it seems as though it’s not just the biting cold heating up Akito’s cheeks. But, this can’t mean…
Akito’s just embarrassed at his inability to skate nearly as well as his partner. Yes, this must be it. Though, Toya seems intent on changing this fact. “There,” he says, content with their current setup. “You won’t fall, trust me. It should be easy to pick it up after skating securely like this. You just need to alert me if I’m about to crash into any other people.”
“Right,” Akito nods. “Will do.” But he can’t seem to peel his eyes away from Toya enough to see the people behind him.
Akito can’t help but feel that this moment is perfect. Sure, he’s no good at ice skating (and An is sure to tease him endlessly about that), and despite the layers he’s wearing, he’s cold, and his skates are a little too tight on his ankles. But none of this matters, not really. Because Toya is a great skater and is helping Akito improve. His warm hands in Akito’s own help warm them, and his mesmerizing gray eyes erase any and all pain he’s experiencing. And hell, even An’s relentless jeers wouldn’t stop him from reliving this moment over and over again.
Woah. That was definitely a little too sentimental.
“Akito? What’s on your mind?” Toya shakes Akito out of his thoughts with his words and a gentle squeeze of his hands.
“Huh? Oh, uh,” Akito is still startled at how well his partner can read him, though it shouldn’t be that surprising given how close they are. Besides, it’s reciprocated- Akito can understand Toya better than anyone else. It’s something he prides himself on.
Anyhow, how should he respond to Toya? He’d know that Akito would be lying if he brushed it off as nothing. But how could he admit all that he was thinking? His stomach is all in knots, butterflies body-slamming his ribcage as they fly wildly. This feeling must mean that there’s some deeper, more hidden emotions behind those thoughts… emotions Akito doesn’t care to untangle right now.
“Nothin’ much,” he settles on. “Just… I’m really having a good day.”
“I’m so glad,” Toya smiles that smile that can light up a whole room with ease. Akito is always glad when he can bring that lovely smile to his face.
The two fall into easy conversation, as they usually do; Toya’s carefully crafted walls come crashing down when in conversation with Akito. They circle endlessly around the rink, passing by An and Kohane as An tries to give her beloved partner a big hug before losing her balance and dragging Kohane down to the ice with her. Akito doesn’t even try to stifle his laughter with the hand that was freed as he and Toya began skating side by side, hand in hand, again. At least Toya has the decency to. And, miraculously, Akito finds that he really has improved throughout their many laps.
So much time has passed that it’s astonishing. It feels like it’s only been a few minutes; time flies when you’re having fun. By now, Akito and Toya have slowed their paces, and the skates begin to dig uncomfortably into Akito’s ankles. Yet, he’s reluctant to give up this moment.
“Should we end it here? It seems Shiraishi and Azusawa have already left the rink,” Toya says, much to Akito’s dismay. Despite not really wanting to leave, he agrees.
“Yeah, sure. Man, that wore me out.”
“If you haven’t gotten too warm from all that activity, may I treat you to some hot chocolate?” Toya asks, holding his hand out to help Akito exit the rink after he steps out.
“Of course,” Akito replies, taking Toya’s hand. “I’d like that.”
Akito couldn’t think of anything else he’d rather do in the whole world.