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As serene as it may feel to watch little cotton balls and intricately shaped crystals fall from the sky and transform any city into a scene straight out of some fairy tale movie, Till did not particularly enjoy the snowy weather.
Being a summer boy who was used to the heat and enjoyed wearing simple clothes that are just enough to keep him comfy and free over stuffy ones, winter was simply everything that went against his preferred lifestyle choices. He would shake like a leaf, everything he touched would feel like they came out of the freezer, and almost nothing was harder than leaving his cozy, warm bed and blanket every morning.
This morning, however, was different. He had all the energy and enthusiasm in the world to hop out of bed. The message on his phone served as an energy booster stronger than any caffeine Till had taken in his caffeine-addicted life, and reading it repeatedly only enhanced its effects.
From: Ivan🧛🏻♂️
I'm going to sleep now. You should sleep soon, too. Wouldn't want you to miss our date later ;)
12:02am
Yes, Till had a date. First ever, in fact.
Yes, he lost sleep over it.
Looking up, his own reflection stared back. He had wanted to look his best for the date, but that clearly did not work out. His eye bags were already showing.
"If that bastard asks about it, I'll just say some bullshit."
No way in hell will Till ever admit that it was his own excitement and nervousness about the date that had led to a lack of sleep.
Although, this was Ivan he was talking about here. That intuitive, observant jerk had always been able to expose just about any lie Till told him. Man, why did he have to fall for someone so annoying?
Or maybe Till just sucked at lying.
He grabbed the outfit he had definitely not spent hours matching and deciding on the night before, and wore it. A white hoodie with an oversized black jacket over it and light gray pants. Something comfortable, Till-styled and also kept him warm. After applying some deodorant and praying to his Mizi shrine for good luck, he styled his hair and checked himself out one last time in front of the mirror. He took some deep breaths, gave himself a pep talk ("This is Ivan. I'm going on a date with Ivan. It's going to be okay. Get your shit together already, Till! You've known this guy since we were kids! He isn't some stranger, he isn't Mizi, he's goddamn Ivan. Stop being a nervous dumbass!", etc.), pulled his hood over his head and finally left the house.
***
The pep talk did nothing, because the second he had spotted Ivan amongst the street of people, he had forgotten even his own name.
With a cream coat that reached just above his knee, a fuzzy gray turtleneck underneath paired with long, black pants, black gloves and winter boots, and a dark gray beanie on his head, this man looked like a male lead straight out of some romance drama. Now Till felt underdressed.
That was not Till's fault, though. Ivan always looked infuriatingly hot in everything he wore. It was just unfair to compare himself (or anyone, really,) to Ivan. Besides, Till did not look bad, either! Simple is best!
Giving himself one last confidence boost, he walked up to Ivan, "Hey."
When Ivan looked up at Till, and seemed to pause for a moment before, "Ah, you woke up. I was wondering if I should give you a wake-up call."
"What am I, a kid? I can wake up on my own."
"What time did you sleep last night?"
"None of your business."
Ivan chuckled, staring at Till, as if in admiration and adoration. Every now and then, Till would catch Ivan looking at him with that gaze. Sometimes it was embarrassing, other times it made him feel like the Mona Lisa. Sometimes, a confusing mix of both.
This time…
"You look… good." Till tried not to stutter. He was never one to give compliments, but this time, it felt necessary.
Ivan's eyes widened, his cheeks flushing faintly. His face melted into a warm smile with crescent eyes, as he walked closer towards Till and pulled on the latter's cheeks, "So do you!"
"Ow– Stop that, you–" Till pushed Ivan off of him, "you're so embarrassing!"
"And you're so beautiful."
Till did not want to know how red his face must look right now; the heat he felt emanating from himself already told him everything.
"Just… Go already!" He grasped the embarrassing man's hand and started pulling him along.
"Wait, Till," Ivan called out.
"What?" Till did not turn to face Ivan.
"You're not wearing gloves?"
That, Till did turn to look, and sure enough, he had forgotten to put on his gloves.
"It's not even that cold, I don't need it." Till lied. He knew he needed it.
"You sure? You can have my gloves–"
And let Ivan be cold instead? "I said I don't need it, let's go already."
"Till–"
"I'm starving!"
Defeated, Ivan proceeded to walk alongside Till as they bantered their way to a nearby café.
***
"Hey, isn't this the new arcade?" Till said as he looked into a shop with colourful lights emitting from all the screens inside.
"Yeah, wanna go in and check it out?" Ivan suggested, "We can have a few games while we're at it. Loser…" he wore his infamous sly, crescent eyes smile again, "...agrees to whatever the winner wants?"
"Like what? For how long?" Till inquired, suspicious of Ivan's tone.
"We'll figure it out by then."
Now, Till was confident in his skills, of course, but this was Ivan they're talking about here. The stakes were high.
But, as long as it did not have anything to do with money, Till should be good. He had been saving up meticulously for a ticket to Mizi's live concert, after all. Every dime counted! All he had to do was win, right? Easy peasy, Till was not one to back down from a challenge. All those all-nighters from fighting and winning matches would finally pay off!
"You're on."
***
It did not pay off.
He had lost to Ivan by one game.
One.
He was so close.
"That was fun, right, Till?" Ivan teased, putting an arm around Till's sunken shoulders.
Yet, so far.
"What do you want?" He could only grimace.
That infamous grin showed up again. Damn it.
"Let's go to the karaoke first." Keeping his arm around Till and pulling him closer to himself, he exuberantly dragged the upset loser to the karaoke they would frequent.
Once they entered, the familiar atmosphere of the karaoke felt comforting to Till. They paid for a room, got their drinks and proceeded into their vividly lit room. In there, although there were security cameras, Till still felt better about being in a secluded room than in public, doing whatever the hell Ivan might want him to do.
"Alright, now that we're here," Ivan dug into one of the pockets on his coat, and pulled out a headband with fluffy cat ears on it…
Oh, hell no.
"What the fuck? Were you just carrying that around?"
"I thought it would look cute on you, so I bought it." Ivan so happily chirped, already going towards Till to put it on him. He practically flew over to him, Till had no time to even react.
And now the headband was on Till, and Ivan was taking photos of him on his phone.
Lord Mizi, please give Till the strength to get through the day without punching Ivan.
"I hope you know I hate you."
"It looks so good on you! Do a cat pose~ Say 'meow'~"
"No. Fuck you."
"Aww but–"
"I'm already letting you take photos of me, take it or leave it!"
Ivan pouted, but did not want to push it, so he settled on what he could get and looked through all the photos once he was done taking them.
"Can I take this off now?" Till was eager to rip it off from his head.
"Not yet, it's staying on for now."
"Just so you know, there's no way I'm wearing this outside."
"I know, that's why I brought you indoors. More privacy, no?"
"You know there are CCTVs watching us right now, right?"
"Indoors or outdoors, take it or leave it."
Till really wanted to punch Ivan.
After Ivan seemed satisfied with the photos he took, he put down his phone and ruffled Till's hair, "Alright, we can start singing now."
"Finally," Till rolled his eyes as he started finding songs, "what song do you want?"
"Your song. The one you've been composing."
That took Till aback.
"You remembered?" Till only ever mentioned that he was composing a song one time, in a conversation that happened probably a few months ago. He could not even remember what they were talking about in the first place.
"Of course. I remember everything I can about you, Till." Ivan smiled, "The last time we talked about it was months ago, I've been wondering how it's going. I really want to hear it."
"You could've asked earlier then…" Till suddenly felt a bit shy. Just a bit.
"Isn't it more romantic to ask on the first date?" Ivan replied smoothly.
All the anger Till felt towards Ivan had rapidly died down. He hated how Ivan always had that effect on him.
"Mushy, stupid jerk…" Till murmured, stepping away from the song list and picking up the microphone.
Ivan's attention was all on him, his eyes fixated on him with anticipation and full focus. It was as if no one and nothing else existed in the world anymore besides these two. Till would probably never admit to it, but damn did he love it when Ivan would look at him like that.
He did not have his guitar around, so acapella would have to do. He took a few deep breaths, and let the melody take over his mind and voice. Each note flowed smoothly to the next, delivered with the emotions he wanted to convey, and when he closed his eyes, he could imagine having his guitar on his arms and shredding away, as if he was on an actual stage with audiences. Except, the audience was only Ivan, and honestly, it was more than enough.
***
What he did not see was Ivan's overwhelming desire to embrace him and kiss him hungrily on the lips, all the while asking himself how he could have ever landed a date with someone as perfect as Till.
***
After the song, Ivan clapped and cheered for Till.
"You're the first ever person who got to hear this song at all, you better be honoured." Till panted. He truly gave the performance his all, Ivan deserved at least that much.
"I am. I feel like the luckiest person in the world. The song sounded amazing, and your voice was immaculate. Your range is so wide, it's honestly insane. You're truly so talented, Till." Ivan could not take his eyes off of Till, and now Till felt shy again.
"Thank you…" Till was never good at receiving such genuine compliments, "Alright, your turn," Till shoved the other microphone in front Ivan's face, avoiding eye contact with the latter, "go sing."
"Let me pick a song, first." He stood up and walked over to the song list, scrolling through. Now, it was Till's turn to feel excited. As much as he had praised Till, Ivan was nowhere worse than Till. His voice was simply out of this world, with its smooth and silky delivery of every note and lyrics.
When Till compared Ivan to a male lead straight out of a romance drama, you better believe he meant it.
"Hmm… I guess this is fine." Finally picking a song, Ivan held the microphone to his mouth and prepared himself.
When the first lyric even left his vocal chord, Till could feel himself melting into a puddle of goo. Ivan's voice was beautiful, unfathomably so. He had the voice of angels harmonizing. So charming, captivating, hypnotic. If Ivan was the male lead, Till felt like the female lead getting serenaded to.
If anything, Till was the luckiest person in the world instead of Ivan.
The next few hours consisted of them singing to each other, with the (not so) secret intention of courting each other through the songs.
***
They went sightseeing, window shopping, all the while holding hands. Ivan would occasionally put an arm, sometimes both, on Till's waist and pull him closer, pointing out how slim his waist was and how easy he was to hug. He would ruffle his hair, lean on his shoulders and talk right to his ears.
If it was anyone else, Till would have likely felt uncomfortable, but this was Ivan. Even before they had confessed their feelings to each other, the taller man had always been clingy, with a tendency to hug and snuggle against Till, regardless of where they were.
Sometimes, when Till's rash and careless behaviour would get him injured and littered with wounds and scars, Ivan would always be the first to worry about him. He would so gently and carefully touch Till, and he would even try to tend to his wounds whenever medical help was not immediately available. Till could hardly remember anyone else who would treat him with such care, like he was some cherished treasure. He would joke about Ivan acting like some mother and laugh about it, all to hide how greatly loved he felt.
Loved by Ivan.
Ivan was probably the only person in the world he would never mind getting touched by.
He did not know when or how it happened, but gradually and surely, he had developed a strong crush on Ivan. It was not the kind of crush he had on Mizi, where he idolized her like she was his Goddess. He had never once idolized Ivan. He knew Ivan's nasty parts, his insecurities, and the things he would hide from everyone, even Till. None of that had ever stopped him from wanting to spend each and every day with the clingy vampire.
He never knew what Ivan saw in him, but he was eternally grateful for whatever it was. He hoped that Ivan would continue to like and tolerate him for a long time. He hoped he would never stop.
"It's getting late," Ivan commented.
"Yeah." Till agreed. Time flew fast whenever he was with Ivan, nothing new.
"There's still one place I want to bring us to."
"Let's go then." He would go anywhere with him.
"You don't have any plans after this, right? So you'll have time to stay out a bit longer?"
He would always make time for Ivan.
"You're acting like I actually got a sleep schedule or something, just lead the way already." Till rolled his eyes.
Ivan laughed, sweet music to Till's ears, "That's true, you're looking more and more like a panda."
"At least I don't look like a vampire."
"Please, with the way you don't sleep, you already are one."
God, he might actually love Ivan.
***
Bright lights of various hues pouring from the shops, stalls and buildings in town were reflected onto his eyes. The darkening sky emphasized the warm sun peeking out from the clouds, casting a breathtaking blend of pink, orange and blue across the world around them as snow continued to fall and dye their town in pure white. If that was not enough, the place where they got to admire this view was so calm and peaceful. They were atop a hill of sorts, with some trees and no people around.
"I found this spot a while back. The area is quiet, rarely anyone comes here, and when you look down, you get to look at the whole town. Thought you might like it too, so I wanted to bring you here today." Ivan stated.
"Yeah, it… looks pretty cool. The view is great."
"...Yeah, it is." From the corner of his eyes, Till could see that Ivan was not looking at the town when he said that. He did not comment on it.
"How'd you find this place?" Till wanted to know, for as great of a place as this was, it was in fact quite isolated. Barely anyone would have a reason to come to somewhere like that.
"I was just having a stroll around town, decided to wander to some places I've never been to before, and I found myself here." For some reason, Till could feel Ivan was hiding something, but he would not pry. If Ivan wanted to tell him, he would. If he did not, he did not have to.
"...Next time, if you're going on a stroll again, I don't mind tagging along." Without looking at Ivan, he could basically feel the taller man's bright smile. It felt warmer than the sun.
"Will do!" He put his arms around Till again and hugged him close, snuggling against his head, "Your hair is so soft and fluffy, Till~"
"And you're messing it up–" he complained as he pushed his palm against Ivan's face lightly, as if pretending to want to push him off of him.
"Till, your fingers are freezing."
"Ah." Shit.
"You needed the gloves, didn't you?"
"No, I don't. Shut up."
"Till."
"What?"
Ivan took off his left glove and slotted it onto Till's right hand. He took Till's left hand with his own left hand and held it, his gloved right hand closing in on the other side of Till's palm.
"Bring up your other hand." Ivan asked, and Till complied, holding onto Ivan's left hand with his now gloved right hand.
Now their respective left hands were being protected on each side with their right.
"Be honest, you said you didn't need it, but you really just forgot about your gloves, didn't you?"
"...Shut up."
Till could feel his heart beating out of his chest. He was standing so close to Ivan, and his freezing palm was touching Ivan's warm one. So warm, it felt hot. Burning.
Till could feel his own face burning.
He tried to play it cool, "Haha, did you learn this from some drama or something? It's so stupid and extra–"
"You wanna stop then–"
"I'll kick you."
Ivan snickered. Shit, Till fell for it. "I know you don't actually hate it; you're not pulling away."
Till decided to keep quiet. He was sure he would not be able to manage a coherent sentence otherwise, so he focused on the ground beneath them.
He could feel Ivan coming closer towards him.
Closer.
Closer.
Was Ivan planning on kissing him already?
It was still just the first date, wasn't it too early?
But if it was Ivan…
Till closed his eyes and prepared for the contact.
It came, but not in the way he had expected. He felt something soft against his cheeks instead.
He opened his eyes. Ivan was snuggling his face against Till.
"Yep, your face feels as warm as it looks."
"Wha–"
Till felt a mixed of emotions – confusion, embarrassment, disappointment and frustration.
"You bastard!" He was so ready to punch Ivan, until–
"My face was feeling rather cold, so warm me up a bit, won't you?"
…Liar. Ivan's face felt as warm as his own. Who did this vampire-looking bastard think he was, trying to act cool like he was not as flustered as Till?! If Ivan did not want to do it, Till would.
Till planted his lips on Ivan's cheek, anxieties be damned.
"There, you're all warmed up now." The shorter man declared proudly, as if his voice was not shaking.
"...You're dangerous for my heart, you know that, Till?" At least he was not the only one struggling to speak.
"Shut up already, cringey bastard."
After a few seconds of silence, Till could feel Ivan's lips on his face.
They stayed in that position, for how long, they did not know. Neither would mind if time had stopped at that exact moment, with just the two of them.
Nothing else mattered besides the two of them.
***
"Next week, I'll bring my gloves and we can have a snowball fight."
"Come to think of it, I could've bought you a new pair of gloves today and we could've had that fight."
"...Nah. I liked what we did instead better."
"..."
"Dude, why are you clutching your chest like that? You good?"
"Yeah. I just fell for the cutest person in the world and I'm feeling the effects right now."
"...You really are embarrassing."