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Winter wasn’t Gouenji’s favourite season, far from it. He much preferred being hot over being cold—which is pretty easy to guess—and couldn’t stand all the snow in his way, falling into his shoes and dirtying his trouser leg. It was difficult to move around; one misstep and he would be kissing the icy floor in front of everyone. All that would probably end with him catching a nasty cold.
He would much like for practice to go as always, but with the thick snow and chilly air, even a child could tell everyone was moving both clumsily and more carefully. The only exception was Endou, but that could easily be linked to his reckless nature.
Going home felt more dull than during spring. His surroundings felt lifeless, and the only light around them was the street lamps and the snow that reflected them. It got dark too fast for his liking.
The walk home was slow; practice tired him out completely.
He strolled calmly beside Endou, who occasionally stopped to kick the snow at his feet, while he followed him at a steady pace.
“It's hard to run around in the snow," Endou noted. With every breath he exhaled, a white cloud appeared in front of his face. “It really slows me down, I let so many goals through… It's hard to predict movement in this weather. Both mine and the ball's.”
“Yeah," Gouenji nodded, “but it's good training, isn’t it? Practicing in more difficult conditions."
"That's for sure! It was pretty fun!”
Gouenji sneaked a look at the other, finding himself speechless for just a moment. He didn't know what it was that caught his attention the most—his red from cold cheeks and nose, the snowflakes sticking to his hair, his wide smile (a common culprit recently), his pretty eyes, maybe a combination of all of them? He looked…
He didn't want to finish the sentence.
This was getting more usual. Why was Endou catching his attention so much lately? Was something wrong with him?
Only after a moment did he realize he should respond. He took a breath, then shuddered as the freezing air hit his throat like ice shards. He's going to get sick at this rate.
"It's always fun,” he replied briefly.
"Exactly!” he beamed, "still, it's super cold. It wasn't too bad when I was running around and wearing my gloves, but only now I'm realizing how cold it is really. My hands are freezing!”
Gouenji held back a smile.
"Ever thought about investing in normal gloves?”
"Are you suggesting my gloves aren't normal?" he scowled a little, but immediately softened up after. "I just keep forgetting them. And you don't have gloves either.”
"I’m not…” he sighed, “I keep my hands in my pockets. Even so, my hands are pretty much always warm.” He pulled his hands out of his pockets.
"In this weather?" he asked with disbelief.
“Well… yeah?”
Gouenji heaved at the feeling of Endou's hands touching his. His legs abruptly halted, and the sound of snow crunching beneath them faded away.
"Whoa, how is that even possible?”
He almost squeaked as their fingers interlaced, his cheeks feeling abnormally warm, contrasting with the cold wind hitting his face. He attempted to speak up, but after several stuttering tries, he looked away, allowing Endou to do as he wished. His heart was desperately thumping against his ribcage, and his eyes darted around his surroundings.
What the hell was that?
He tried to focus on anything else around him. A street light, a bench, a trashcan, anything to take his mind off the situation. Anything to not think too much about the warm fuzzy feeling in his chest. What the actual hell was that?
He looked back at Endou, who was curiously looking down at their intertwined hands, with the same red cheeks and nose Gouenji saw before.
“It feels like they're getting warmer, you know?”
Gouenji nearly flinched at his voice, which was accompanied by the genuine smile Endou wore so often. His heart skipped a beat, feeling Endou's hands wrap tighter around his.
He looked down, trying to hide his reddening face in the scarf, "You're imagining things.”
Maybe he could tolerate winter.