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"Keep up, Nick!" whined Maya, tugging at Phoenix's sleeve as she pulled him down the snow-dusted sidewalk. "Frannie's waiting for me!"
Phoenix stumbled after her, struggling to keep his feet beneath him. "Remind me why I have to chaperone your date?"
She grinned at him. "You're my designated driver, silly!"
"Maya, you're not going to have any alcohol," Phoenix grumbled. "We've been over this. You're 19."
"Well, yeah, buuuuuuuut…" She drew out the syllable and tugged his sleeve again. "We're gonna have lots of hot chocolate, what if I get too sleepy?"
He knew she was playing him, and all she really wanted him for was to buy her burgers later tonight, but he also knew there was no winning when Maya Fey had her heart set on something. "If you say so."
They reached their destination--a medium-sized tent awning was set up over a dozen or so wooden picnic tables, with a stand boasting hot cocoa, churros, nachos, and other warm foods for sale. Beyond that, a counter had been set up with rows of shelves behind it, each filled with pairs of skates. And in the center of everything, a large, oval-shaped ice rink.
Maya squealed in excitement and ditched Phoenix immediately, sprinting for the skate rental counter. Phoenix, for his part, pulled his beanie a little lower over his ears and settled on one of the picnic table benches. She'd be back when she wanted food.
As Maya and her girlfriend sat lacing up their skates, Phoenix shivered and stuffed his hands into his coat pockets. He wished he'd worn gloves. If Maya had given him two minutes of warning before dragging him out the door, he would have. He hunched forward a little more.
"Coffee, Wright?"
Phoenix startled, banging his knees on the underside of the table as he whipped around to face the voice. "Uh?"
Miles Edgeworth stood behind him, looking absolutely gorgeous. He wore a well-fitted maroon pea coat, with the top button open to reveal a plush white scarf wrapped about his neck and tucked beneath the front of the coat. A pair of fuzzy red earmuffs (earmuffs!) perched delicately atop his head like a tiara, and in his hands were two Styrofoam cups, emitting a gentle steam that wreathed Miles's face in a beautiful kind of shimmer.
Words, Phoenix. "Y-yeah, sure," he stammered, reaching forward to take one of the cups. "Thanks."
Miles gave a curt nod and sat opposite Phoenix, sipping from his own cup. "Shall I assume you are here for the same reason I am?" he asked in that smooth, deep voice of his.
"Hm?" Phoenix cursed himself internally. Words. Use your words. Yes, he looks stunning with his hair fluttering in the wind a little and his cheeks and nose kinda red from the cold and those cute little earmuffs--
Words, Phoenix. He took a too-quick gulp of the coffee in his cup, scalding the roof of his mouth. "What reason?" he managed.
Sighing lightly (with a tiny bit of a pout, breath fogging in the chill air, God he was so pretty it was unfair), Miles inclined his head toward the ice, where Franziska was guiding a somewhat wobbly Maya slowly around the rink. Both were laughing, hands clasped for balance, or warmth, or just the joy of being together. It made Phoenix happy to see Maya happy, but something in his heart tightened at the sight. A pang of longing.
"Franziska doesn't drive," Miles said, bringing Phoenix back to reality. "And rather than leave and come back to pick her up in an hour, I decided to stay here until she is finished. Just for convenience's sake."
Was it Phoenix's imagination, or did the red on Miles's cheeks get a little bit darker? The man quickly took another drink, so Phoenix couldn't tell for sure. "Yeah," he said, mostly to fill the silence. "Maya said I was her ride, but I'm really here as her wallet."
Miles smirked. "That girl and her obsession with burgers."
Phoenix nodded, his gaze drifting back to the ice rink. He must have looked pretty wistful, because a moment later Miles cleared his throat. "Do you skate, Wright?"
"Me?" Phoenix laughed. "Never once in my life. I don't exactly have great coordination."
Okay, this time Miles was definitely blushing. "Would you… like to learn?"
Phoenix's mind blanked for a second. Miles had just offered to teach him how to ice skate. Even though Phoenix was a supreme klutz, and would definitely lose his balance, and might need something to lean on for extra stability… His eyes darted to Miles's hands, wearing soft leather gloves. How would it feel to hold those hands in his own?
Miles shifted a little, fidgeting with his scarf. "It was merely a suggestion--"
"I'd love you," Phoenix blurted.
"I'm sorry?"
Goddamn words. "I--I said I'd love to," he amended. "To learn. How to skate. If… that's okay."
A long pause. Phoenix had just started to worry he'd ruined everything when Miles nodded, a hint of a smile on his face. "Come," he murmured, standing carefully. "First you will need skates."
~
After a full six minutes of struggling to lace up the ice skates, which only ended when Miles took pity on him and tied them himself, Phoenix tottered towards the ice with his arms flung out to his sides. "Are you sure about this, Miles?"
"Relax, Wright," the man answered with a chuckle. "If you're this tense, it will hurt more when you fall."
Phoenix grabbed the low wall as they reached the rink itself and clung to it for dear life. "When I fall?"
Miles laughed, a full, loud laugh this time. "Of course you're going to fall, Wright. You're walking on ice with blades on your feet and you've never done it before."
"Right, yeah." Inch by inch, Phoenix stepped forward until he had one foot on the ice. He promptly slipped and fell onto his ass.
Miles laughed again, stepping over Phoenix's sprawled legs and spinning around gracefully to offer a hand. "Exhibit A."
Phoenix decided that maybe falling wouldn't be so bad if it meant Miles would help him up every time.
They spent the next half hour going over basics. Miles showed Phoenix how to position his feet, how to lower his center of gravity for better balance, how to push off with the side of the skate to propel himself forward. It was… hard. Really hard. Phoenix was pretty sure his backside had turned into one giant, permanent bruise. But Miles kept pulling him to his feet again, and Miles kept smiling, so it was completely worth it.
"How'd you learn to skate, anyway?" Phoenix asked while pulling himself back up from yet another wipeout.
With a graceful turn, Miles began skating backwards so he could face Phoenix. "Franziska took figure skating lessons when we were young. I tagged along a few times."
"More than a few times, I'd guess," Phoenix replied, pushing himself slowly forward along the wall.
"Perhaps." Miles looked at Phoenix's hand on the wall and frowned. "You are teaching yourself to be unbalanced."
"Huh?"
Miles reached for Phoenix's hand, sending a jolt all the way up his arm, and pulled it away from the wall. "If you only skate while leaning on the wall, your body will become used to having something to lean on and will lean to the side naturally when you are skating on open ice." He released Phoenix's hand with an encouraging smile. "Try once around the rink without touching the wall. You will fall, but focus on your posture and centering your body."
That sounded absolutely terrifying, but Miles was smiling at him, and how often did that happen? Phoenix had to try.
He started wobbly, legs sliding out from under him like Bambi, but after a minute he felt like he was getting the hang of it. He wasn't going fast, by any means, and he was hardly what anyone would call graceful, but he fell less times than he expected to. About three-quarters of the way around the rink, he could see Maya and Franziska sharing a churro. He lifted an arm to wave at them.
This proved to be a horrible idea.
Not prepared to account for the change in balance, Phoenix tumbled to the ice and heard a crack! that reverberated from his wrist to his shoulder and all throughout his body. A flash of white covered his vision for a split second before he recovered and tried to push himself upright. An even worse idea, if that was possible, as pain sang through his right arm the moment he tried to put weight on it.
Almost before Phoenix knew what was happening, Miles appeared in front of him with brows furrowed. "Are you alright, Phoenix?" He glanced down at Phoenix's wrist, a little crooked, and answered his own question. "Oh."
"'s fine," Phoenix muttered through clenched teeth. "Doesn't hurt--that bad."
"Shut up, Wright," Miles snapped. "It's obviously sprained, at the least. More likely broken." He reached for Phoenix's uninjured hand and pulled him to his feet, like he had so many times that day, but this time he didn't let go once Phoenix was upright. Gripping Phoenix's hand a little tighter than was strictly necessary, Miles quickly guided the two of them off the rink. Maya and Franziska, who had apparently seen what had happened, were waiting for them.
"Nick! You idiot!" Maya burst out immediately.
He narrowed his eyes at her. "Oh, wow, Phoenix, that looked really painful! Are you okay? Well thank you for asking, Imaginary Maya."
She crossed her arms. "Shut up! You know you're a walking injury waiting to happen! Who thought letting you ice skate was a good idea?"
Miles coughed a little. "He needs to go to a hospital. Franziska, in the meantime, would you go ask if they have any ice?"
Everyone stared at him. Maya tilted her head towards the rink behind them.
Miles put his hands to his temples. "A bag of ice cubes. Or an ice pack. To put on his wrist."
Franziska nodded and headed for the concessions stand, pulling Maya in tow. Miles sighed and took off his own skates, then crouched down to remove Phoenix's.
"I am… sorry, Wright," he muttered, eyes on the ground. "I should not have pushed you past what you were comfortable with."
"Hey, it's alright, it's alright!" Phoenix managed a sheepish grin. "I mean, Maya was kinda right, I am a pretty big klutz… and kind of an idiot…"
Miles shook his head, but a little smile flickered across his face as he stood again, holding a hand out for Phoenix. "Come on then, idiot," he chuckled. "I'll drive you to the emergency room."