Snow falls lightly that Christmas Eve night, tumbling down slowly as a thin white blanket covers Hogwarts and makes the grounds glisten like one magnificent crystal. Chanyeol does a lap around the lake, arms out wide and long scarf billowing behind him as he skates in circles across the thick ice. The Fourth Year hasn't been ice skating for a long time, the ice rink in his village having been shut down several years ago due to a lack of customers, and he relishes in the feeling of his muscles aching and the cold wind nipping at his face, making his cheeks and ears blush a brilliant red. "Come on, Baekhyun!" he shouts, drawing the attention of the smaller boy still at the edge of the lake, feet still planted firmly on the snowy ground.

Unlike Chanyeol, Baekhyun has never ice skated before. London opens several ice rinks during the winter period, all within a distance easily covered by a quick train ride, but he has never felt compelled to have a go himself, preferring just to watch instead. Not that he's never thought of trying, because he has. But the fear of hurting himself, the stories of what a pair of skates can do to you if your fingers fall into their path, the thought of what may lie beneath the ice, have been just a few reasons as to why he has never wanted to pick up a pair of skates and see what all the fuss is about.

Until now.

"Shut up. Just give me a second," he snaps in reply to Chanyeol's shout, making the taller bellow out a deep laugh that has Baekhyun feeling even less confident than he did before. He instantly regrets agreeing with the other boy's idea to go ice skating on the lake when he places his foot down only to have the blade of his skate slip under him and pull him into a sort of half splits. He cries out in pain and shock as his muscles tug and he scrambles to draw his leg back and sit in a huff in the snow. "This is the worst idea ever," he grumbles to himself as Chanyeol starts to skate backwards. Of all the things for Chanyeol to be good at, why did it have to be ice skating? He's the clumsiest human alive! Nothing makes sense. "I'm never listening to you again."

Chanyeol comes to a stop in front of him, little shards of ice flying out as he grates his skates into the ice to slow himself down. "It's really not that hard," he grins, holding a hand out to help pull Baekhyun up onto his feet. "You just need to be confident."

"Nothing about this situation makes me confident," Baekhyun pouts. He gestures to his wobbly feet. "These are a death trap."

The skates he's wearing are Chanyeol's sister's skates that his mother had sent by owl at Chanyeol's request. As such they are a little too tight, cutting into the skin above his ankles and making him feel almost nothing from the knees down. The biting cold does nothing to relieve the lack of feeling at all, and Baekhyun can already feel blisters beginning to rub into his skin even though he has barely done anything. His expression must have relayed how unhappy he is at the situation as Chanyeol suddenly pouts at him and brings a hand up to poke at his friend's rosy cheeks.

"Are you scared?"

Scoffing, Baekhyun swats his hands away. "Of course I'm bloody scared," he says. Honestly, what a dumb question. "The ground could fall beneath us at any moment!"

The laugh Chanyeol lets out is deep and warm, and Baekhyun knows his cheeks are no longer red from the cold alone. Chanyeol raises a hand to ruffle his hair, leaving his hand atop Baekhyun's head, and Baekhyun doesn't mind that he is sweaty and his hair is probably a mess because Chanyeol is smiling at him.

"No it won't," Chanyeol says. "And if it does, I'll be there to catch you."

There's a moment of stillness, a second in which the snow falling around them seems to stop, floating in mid-air, and the quiet of the night becomes almost stifling. Baekhyun is looking up at Chanyeol and Chanyeol is looking down at Baekhyun and something in Baekhyun's chest tightens. It ends as soon as it begins when Chanyeol's nose wrinkles and he turns his head to sneeze into the crook of the elbow, and Baekhyun feels like he can breathe again, huffing out a lungful of air he didn't realise he was holding in feigned annoyance. "If I get eaten alive by the giant squid I will come back and haunt you forever."

The other boy only laughs at him, shuffling backwards and holding out his arms. "Here, take my hands."

Baekhyun slips his much smaller hand into Chanyeol's very much bigger one and grips onto him as tight as he can. Chanyeol tells him to step onto the ice and he does, wobbling only a little bit as his friend keeps him steady. "Now push off with your foot," the taller says, and Baekhyun does so, gliding forwards as Chanyeol goes backwards with him. "That's it, and again with the other one."

They gradually make their way across the ice, Baekhyun stumbling every now and then over his own quaking feet. His grip on the taller boy never weakens as Chanyeol talks him through each movement, each step, each turn. "This is nothing like rollerblading, you liar," he says, making Chanyeol chuckle. It heats Baekhyun up from inside his stomach.

"Yes it is!" Chanyeol giggles in reply. And then, "I would never lie to you," softer.

"Yeah you would," the shorter pouts, "to torture me like this."

"I think you're doing a pretty good job." A pause. "Bend your knees a little."

Baekhyun does so, squatting down slightly. "Like this?" he asks. He feels ridiculous.

"Perfect! You look like a professional."

Baekhyun is certain he looks like a duck with a broken leg, but his comment to rebuff Chanyeol's statement is cut off with a distressed wail as Chanyeol eases them around a sudden corner.

Somehow, they manage to do a lap of the lake. Chanyeol hops on his skates as he claps his hands in celebration until Baekhyun thwacks him for being embarrassing. They're soon off again, Baekhyun gripping to his friend tightly as the taller of the two cheers him on in encouragement even though they both know it's Chanyeol doing all the work. In the hour that passes, the pair manage to skate the circumference of the lake a few times, each time making Baekhyun feel more sure of himself than the last. This might not be so bad after all, Baekhyun thinks.

Suddenly, Chanyeol lets go. One moment Baekhyun is happily skating, hands warm in Chanyeol's own, and the next he is cold and alone, gliding slowly across the ice, hands gripping nothing but empty air. "Chanyeol?" he calls out, "what are you doing?" His knees start to shake and he comes to a stop in the centre of the lake, too afraid to turn around and see if his friend is anywhere around him. "Where are you?"

The cold wind howling is his only reply. Baekhyun turns his head as far as he can in all directions, seeing nothing but snow and ice. "Chanyeol? Chanyeol, this isn't funny." His heart feels like it's going to beat out of his chest and he's breathless as his throat tightens up in knots. He thinks he sees something big and black moving sinisterly under the ice and he wishes more than ever that he never agreed to come out onto the lake at all.

Baekhyun slams his eyes shut. It's taking all his energy not to collapse on the spot. The inky darkness behind his eyes does little to stop him from panicking. "Chanyeol, come back!" he cries. "Chanyeol? Please, I'm scared!" Curling into himself, he squeezes his eyes tighter.

"I'm scared. Please don't leave me."

He startles when he feels a presence in front of him. A pair of warm hands take Baekhyun's own before sliding gently up his arms, brushing along his shoulders before coming to a stop at the sides of Baekhyun's face. Baekhyun's eyes are still closed, clenching tight in fear, but then something soft and a little wet presses gently against his lips.

Chanyeol tastes like the dark cherry and chocolate pie they had for dessert that evening. Baekhyun sighs into his mouth and slowly unravels, reaching forward to grab onto the other boy's coat. Chanyeol's lips are a little chapped, roughened by winter, but oh so soft as they move against Baekhyun's, slow and sweet. A hand moves from Baekhyun's face to the back of his neck, deepening the kiss to an extent that has Baekhyun feeling weak, clinging on to the other tighter as a small, high pitched whine rings from the back of his throat.

Chanyeol is warm, and soft, and wonderful, and Baekhyun can't bring himself to be afraid anymore.

It lasts for seconds, years, a lifetime, and then Chanyeol pulls away. Baekhyun opens his eyes at last to see the taller boy staring at him, almond eyes wide and cheeks flushed all the way up to the tip of his ears. His lips are glistening slightly with spit. He leans forward and touches their foreheads together, and Baekhyun feels his breath against his lips and chin.

"I'll never leave you, Baekhyun."

Chanyeol barks in pain as his hits the ice. Baekhyun had shoved him so hard he slides backwards on his skates. "!" the smaller screeches, hands spread out in front of him as he wobbles on the ice, slipping all over the place. "How dare you scare me like that! What on earth were you thinking, you moron?"

The taller rubs his sore bottom and winces up at his furious friend, laughing through the pain at his enraged expression. "I'm sorry," he says with a grin, "you looked so cute and you were doing really well, it seemed like a good idea at the time."

Scoffing, Baekhyun manages to right himself and glare down at his friend. "You're such an arse, Yeol." Honestly, this is the worst Christmas Eve ever. He doesn't help Chanyeol as he scrambles up from the ice, and when he glides forwards to hover close by, Baekhyun turns to look in the opposite direction in a humph. He successfully hides his smile when Chanyeol whines and pouts, "I'm sorry! I won't do it again!"

"You better not. I should beat your ."

The taller doesn't touch him (Baekhyun wants him to touch him) but he looks like he wants to but is afraid to do so in case Baekhyun pushes him away again (Baekhyun won't). Instead, Chanyeol flaps his arms about. "I didn't know you'd be that scared," he begs, shuffling from one foot to the other as he tries to get Baekhyun to look at him. "I promise I won't do it again."

"Idiot. Help me get back to land. I don't really want to stay out here anymore."

Chanyeol takes his hands and skates backwards towards the spot they first arrived at, pulling a disgruntled Baekhyun along with him. He looks sheepish, guilty, and just a little bit pleased with himself, and while the memory of Chanyeol's lips pressed against his own is burned into his mind and skin, Baekhyun is still very, (not) very angry. He makes his feelings known by sighing deeply and grumbling under his breath.

"I can't believe you did that."

"I'm sorry."

"I'm so mad at you."

"I'm know."

They reach the edge of lake and Baekhyun all but flings himself onto the dirt. "I am never doing that again," he pants, wiping away the sweat at his brow and temples as Chanyeol flops down beside him in the snow. Water seeps through Baekhyun's jeans and makes him shiver, but he's off the ice and didn't die so he doesn't really care. He turns to Chanyeol to tell him just how much he hated the entire experience, half if it being his own fault for playing that nasty prank on him, but his words die in his throat because Chanyeol looks so forlorn. It doesn't suit the handsomeness of his face.

He shuffles closer to him. "You know," he says, placing his hand over Chanyeol's where it sits in his lap, "you can always make it up to me."

Chanyeol turns to look at him, blinking at how close the closeness of their faces "Yeah?" he asks. He's smiling again, and so is Baekhyun.

"Yes," Baekhyun says, almost a whisper, and he smiles into Chanyeol's mouth as the taller pulls him in for another kiss, large gloved hands cupping his cheek and holding his hand, keeping him impossibly close.

They stay there for a couple of hours, stealing kisses and touches at the edge of lake, before the chill of the winter evening overpowers them and they are numb in more places than they can count. Chanyeol holds Baekhyun's hand tightly in his own as they make their way back to their dorm room, the prospect of a roaring fire and mug of steaming hot chocolate urging them forward.

Baekhyun hesitates only slightly before slipping into Chanyeol's bed alongside him when they go to sleep, curling up against his chest and sighing when he feels a pair of warm arms wrap around him. Their knees bump together and it's far too hot after a while, but neither boy makes any move towards leaving. Baekhyun thinks he hears someone say "Merry Christmas," followed by his name as he falls, lulled into a sweet and dreamless sleep.

I'll never leave you, Baekhyun.

Baekhyun knows that he will never leave Chanyeol either.