Chanyeol, Baekhyun notes from his corner of the rink, is getting better. He hasn't fallen at all today and his legs haven't been shaking as much -- he's actually skating. 

He's barely breaking three miles per hour, but progress is progress. Baekhyun watches Chanyeol say something to the skater next to him, bright eyes lighting up in conversation, hands animated and throwing off his balance.

It'd been hard to schedule a skating practice that worked for the both of them and so here they were, surrounded by other skaters. Baekhyun recognizes them as his juniors from the skating department, but Chanyeol only seems to recognize them as friends. Baekhyun soon realizes that Chanyeol sees everyone he meets as a friend, which is sort of odd to someone like him, but also very heartwarming. Baekhyun ignores the very real warmth in his heart and cheeks at the sight. 

"Baekhyun!" a familiar voice calls out. Baekhyun turns quickly, searching for the source of the voice, and one face in particular. He finds it and watches Jongin skate over lazily with a soft smile on his tanned face. He notices a shorter man behind his friend, one with cropped hair and amateur movements. It registers in the back of his mind that he's seen him before, but he can't quite place him. 

"Jongin," Baekhyun smiles. He offers a tiny quirk of lips to the shorter boy out of politeness, almost surprised when he receives a awkward smile in return. He can't figure out why, but this boy seems incredibly familiar, and one sweep of Jongin's eyes over the shorter confirms it: it's Kyungsoo. 

Baekhyun had heard of him from Jongin countless times -- they're friends and, Baekhyun suspects, Jongin might harbor something other than friendship towards the shorter boy. One look at Jongin's brown eyes softening toward him and Baekhyun's confirmed his suspicions.

Chanyeol had also brought Kyungsoo up casually. When they're sharing stories while they make their rounds around the rink or walking from psychology, he'd heard stories about Chanyeol's friend group and Kyungsoo was prominently featured. Although, Baekhyun had imagined him very differently. Maybe tall and burly, intimidating. But here he was, short and sort of soft looking with dark eyes and thick eyebrows. He still looks intimidating, but he's also kind of adorable, Baekhyun thinks to himself. Before he can analyze the boy anymore, Jongin's hand on his elbow brings him out of his thoughts. 

"This is Kyungsoo," Jongin says rather proudly, fondly. The shorter boy continues smiling, his cheeks now puffed and pink. 

"I'm Baekhyun," he replies, ignoring the affection oozing out of Jongin's gaze, the way Kyungsoo shifts to avoid it. "You're friends with Chanyeol, right?" 

Baekhyun reflects suddenly, worried. Why had he introduced himself using Chanyeol? Why did he make it seem like he and Chanyeol were a thing? It was weird, and he knows it, is positive that Kyungsoo picked up on the wording and is judging him now. 

"Of course he knows me!" a deep voice yells happily, and then Baekhyun feels a heavy hand land on his shoulder. He knows it's Chanyeol, can feel his stance wobbling from the iron grip he has on his shoulder. He almost smiles because the voice, the entrance, the touch, it's all so Chanyeol. It's familiar. 

Kyungsoo lets out a twinkling laugh and his lips form a small heart, obviously delighted to see his teammate. Baekhyun doesn't miss the way Jongin's cheeks twinge pink at the same time, out of shame or happiness, Baekhyun can't tell. Kyungsoo makes eye contact with Chanyeol, something unsaid between them spreading over the thin ice. 

"Are you guys practicing?" Jongin asks, although the answer is obvious. Chanyeol nods yes and skates feebly over to latch onto Kyungsoo instead, leaving Baekhyun's shoulder oddly cold.

"Kyungsoo, how are you so good at this?" Chanyeol's whiny, betraying his height and image. Baekhyun bites his lip to keep from smiling and saying something mean about how it's really not that hard, the tallest boy is just extremely untalented. 

"It's just like roller skating," Kyungsoo shrugs, and his shoulder hits Jongin's. "That's it." 

"But it makes my feet hurt."

Kyungsoo pushes the tallest boy off of him, huffing, mumbling a quiet, "Doing anything on your feet for a long time makes them hurt."

Chanyeol decides to act as if he's offended, spinning around too suddenly and falling back towards Baekhyun. The shorter boy catches him, arms tight around his waist, and feels suddenly that they're too close, that Chanyeol isn't moving away at all, and that he needs to leave.

He can't be in that proximity with someone, even if it's someone like Chanyeol, who he's come to trust. At least, he can't without feeling like he might pass out, without feeling lightheaded. He doesn't know why it comes and goes like this, why his mind can't make up its mind if he's okay or not.

He pushes Chanyeol back to his feet, ignoring the flash of surprise in the taller's eyes.

"Jongin, do you want to show off a little?" Baekhyun asks suddenly, nervously, trying to sound confident and put-together despite the sweat collecting on his palms.

Chanyeol has a vague notion of what showing off could entail, but he only focuses on the way Baekhyun's pink lips are shaking a little, the same way they had in the coffee shop the day after they'd met. He feels dread creeping into his stomach, observes as Baekhyun's eyes go somewhere distant and scared. He'd done that, he realizes, he'd made Baekhyun scared.

Jongin notices the change in the air, much like the two football players, and he nods, if only for Baekhyun's sake. The pair skate off together toward the side of the rink, legs extending to take in more ice than Chanyeol could ever dream of. They're gliding together, talking, and they're graceful. Chanyeol watches in awe as they skate circles around each other, some sort of unspoken ice skater language telling them which way to turn, when to make a rotation and land that jump. 

"I saw that," Kyungsoo says softly, eyes transfixed on Jongin's movements. Chanyeol knows it isn't about the way Jongin had landed. "What was that?"

"You said it before, he doesn't like to be touched," Chanyeol answers morosely, mind preoccupied over the fearful face Baekhyun had made at him when they were only inches away. 

"But he didn't get mad?" Kyungsoo muses, eyes trailing after the pair of boys across the rink. Chanyeol in a deep breath when Baekhyun smiles at something Jongin says, lifting his leg in a joking manner. "I thought he'd get mad if you touched him. Like the party." 

"No, he didn't get mad," Chanyeol shakes his head. He knows that Baekhyun was more terrified than angry at the party, knows that it's the same way today. Kyungsoo doesn't realize that Baekhyun's issue isn't being touched in general, it's being close to people like him.

He's seen Baekhyun allow Jongdae and Jongin to touch him without thinking twice. The hesitation with Chanyeol was present because he's similar to whoever hurt him in the past. The night that Baekhyun had been sick and let Chanyeol share his warmth, let their shoulders fit together naturally, it had been in a moment of weakness for the shorter boy, he knows.

He tries to avoid thinking about it, but deep down he knows that the chances of Baekhyun getting comfortable around him, of liking him back, are slim to none. Maybe that's what makes Chanyeol's heart burn, what makes him keep his mouth shut to Kyungsoo. He can't admit it to himself, much less explain it all. 

"You got so quiet last time," Kyungsoo says it softly, and when Chanyeol looks to him, he's twiddling with his fingers. "When Sehun pointed out that you might like Baekhyun. You know, he said you're gay, and you got quiet and left." 

Chanyeol hears the unspoken Are you? in the air, understands that Kyungsoo is trying to let him vent if he needs to. 

"Not sure," Chanyeol shrugs because, really, he hasn't done much thinking past the short skater in his life. "I like Baekhyun, though." 

Kyungsoo looks up, shocked at Chanyeol's bluntness, and he's smiling. "Really? We figured that out after your first practice with him, but I'm glad you know it." 

Chanyeol laughs momentarily before he realizes that his teammate's not joking. He's about to ask more questions, but then Baekhyun and Jongin are on their way back, a thin sheen of sweat on their foreheads. Chanyeol smiles involuntarily at Baekhyun and gets a bright one back, completely uninhibited. The taller boy realizes that the skating calmed Baekhyun down and he sighs with relief. 

He feels a sudden, strong pride for the amount of effort Baekhyun puts into his art, to the way his legs curve on every inch of ice in the rink. He's a master because it's his distraction; Baekhyun loves skating as much as he loves surviving. Chanyeol is in awe of him, lump in his throat and thumping in his heart constant.

"I'll leave with Jongin," Kyungsoo whispers, lips upturning at the corners. "You go out there and hold hands and fall in love or whatever you're trying to do." 

Chanyeol stares at him, cheeks turning rosy red, unable to process that Kyungsoo and Sehun had figured it out before him, had been teasing him because they knew. He's not sure how, but it seems like Jongin gets the message, because he's immediately at Kyungsoo's side, leading the way towards the exit, waving a soft good bye to a confused Baekhyun. 

The shorter boy turns to look at Chanyeol accusingly, as if he'd run Kyungsoo and Jongin off, but his stern look crumples with one smile grin from Chanyeol. He rolls his eyes to keep from smiling back, making a vague come here gesture, determined to teach Chanyeol how to skate faster with better balance. 

--

It's night this time. Schedules are hectic, the both of them know this, and so they end up running to the rink to slip in a few minutes of practice here and there. Sometimes Chanyeol brings drinks, and sometimes Baekhyun shows up with food -- food that he'd happened to already been buying when Chanyeol texted, he constantly explains.

It turns into something different, something sweet. It's sitting on the floor by the rink and sharing food, telling stories about class, ignoring that Chanyeol is getting no skating done, that they have papers due in two days. It's almost like a date, if Chanyeol could bring himself to verbalize it, but he doesn't -- instead he watches the way Baekhyun's eyes light up when he brings different foods, storing the boy's favorites away deep in his memory.

It's dark and cold outside, wind howling at the doors, and Baekhyun had accidentally bought an extra hot chocolate on his way to practice. Chanyeol thanks him with a kind smile and scrunched nose, reaching out a careful hand to brush a leaf out of Baekhyun's hair. He doesn't flinch when Chanyeol's hand touches him but his eyes widen considerably, pink dancing across his cheeks. 

"How are your classes going?" Baekhyun asks after he takes a sip. Chanyeol studies the way his fingers wrap tighter around the cup and he his lips, noting that Baekhyun likes hazelnut.

"I'm passing them," Chanyeol answers honestly, voice tired. He's exhausted and he needs to go to bed, but he didn't want to miss practice, didn't want to miss seeing Baekhyun wear his oversized hoodies and glow on the ice.

Baekhyun registers Chanyeol's fatigue and offers a kind smile with even kinder eyes. They're always brown, but now they're sparkling, and Chanyeol feels his breathing stop for a minute. 

It's silent for a little while, the only soundtrack being an occasional sip and steady breathing, but Baekhyun doesn't mind. He likes that Chanyeol is so friendly and kind, so accomodating. He doesn't have to worry about making small talk because Chanyeol can go without it or make the conversation himself and be fine; it's comfortable, sitting on the floor and drinking hot chocolate, feeling the heat from the taller boy from a foot away. 

When their cups are empty, they look up at each other, unspoken words forming commands and replies, familiar enough to understand the routine.

They get up wordlessly then, headed toward the ice. Chanyeol knows the drill; Baekhyun stretches, skates his routine, stretches again, and then he comes to help Chanyeol with that day's -- or night's, in this case -- lesson. 

He doesn't know if it's the way Baekhyun's eyes had looked before or the residual sleepiness of the day, but something is throwing him off. He keeps slipping, keeps falling straight on his . And while this would've been a great achievement during their first practice, Chanyeol is angry at himself. He's so out of it, it's infuriating, and he's being like this in front of Baekhyun, the one person he thinks it'd be amazing to look cool in front of.  

His troubles don't go unnoticed by the shorter boy. He watches the way Chanyeol keeps getting unfocused and moving his arms too much, letting himself tumble when he could usually recover. He glides over softly, silently, and puts a cold hand around Chanyeol's, letting their fingers rest peacefully the other's. 

"What's wrong?" Baekhyun questions gently, pulling the taller boy along the ice as slowly as possible. Chanyeol's eyes are tired and sleepy and cute, Baekhyun notices, but then he puts that in the back of his mind, focusing on Chanyeol's pulse through his fingers. 

"It's nothing," Chanyeol shakes his head, forcing himself to wake up. "I'm just sleepy." 

Baekhyun doesn't know how much more of groggy, soft-voiced Chanyeol he can stand -- it's doing things to his stomach, to his heart, that he can't explain away -- and so he moves Chanyeol's hand to wrap around his shoulder, guides the taller into holding him. He's tucked under Chanyeol's arm now, breaths fanning out over Chanyeol's collarbones. 

"Here," Baekhyun whispers, since they're so close and it feels wrong to speak loudly; he doesn't want to disrupt this kind of tranquil proximity. "Put your other arm around me." 

Chanyeol feels his cheeks and ears heat up, knows that his heart is pounding at an unhealthy pace. He can't stop thinking of the day when he'd gotten too close to Baekhyun, frightened him. He likes the way that they are now, almost touching, close enough to brush against each other. He especially likes that Baekhyun initated it, that Baekhyun is comfortable, is warm against him. All he can think about is the sparkle in his eye, the mole above his lip, the curve of his nose. 

He wraps an arm around Baekhyun like he was told to do, completely encompassing the boy's body, holding him into his chest. He feels Baekhyun wind his arms around his waist, head settling to rest against his chest for a few seconds. It's surreal; Chanyeol must've fallen asleep, must be dreaming. 

"Hold on," Baekhyun instructs, arms tightening. "And don't move your feet too much." 

Then Baekhyun's legs are moving, spreading, and fanning out behind him, propelling the pair into a slow spin, like couples twirling in a ballroom. He does it again so that they're truly spinning in a tiny circle now, breath coming out in heated puffs against Chanyeol's neck. 

Before Chanyeol can process what that felt like, Baekhyun's arms are gone and he's being pushed away, little by little. He's still spinning slowly, now on his own, and Baekhyun is smiling at him like he hung the stars. 

"Look, you did a spin," Baekhyun compliments, as if he hadn't orchestrated the entire thing. Chanyeol lets out a bittersweet smile as he feels himself slowing down to a stop. He wants to do it again, wants to feel like he's holding someone precious close to him at a royal ball, like he has a crown jewel tucked in his arms. 

"I can't do it on my own," Chanyeol points out, leaving his true meaning unspoken. He sees the hesitance in Baekhyun's eyes, watches something flicker in them, before Baekhyun is back in his arms, this time naturally. It's startling, how easy they fit together, Baekhyun notices with a tinge of worry. Chanyeol isn't sleepy anymore; he doesn't think he'll ever sleep again.

"Okay, one more time," Baekhyun sighs against his chest, and then they're spinning slowly around again. Chanyeol can almost imagine the slow waltz in the back ground, Baekhyun's soft hair tickling his chin, the sound of his name coming from Baekhyun's soft lips, the feeling of his soft hands against his.

When Baekhyun moves to pull away, Chanyeol's feet get in the way, and it sends the shorter boy tumbling down onto Chanyeol. It happens too quickly for Baekhyun to steady himself, and he braces for the impact of cold ice on his hands and knees, but it never comes. Instead, he only feels the same warm chest, the same breathing against his cheek. Oh.

It hurts. Chanyeol's back hits the ice and but he keeps his head up, arms around Baekhyun keeping him unharmed. Baekhyun lifts his head off of Chanyeol's chest carefully, frantically checking the taller for injuries, eyes panicked. When he meets Chanyeol's gaze, he's relieved to find that the taller is unharmed and smiling ever so slightly.

"What's so funny?" Baekhyun asks suspiciously. He's slightly worried that maybe Chanyeol's sudden laughter is due to a traumatic head injury, but when he lifts his chin to check the ice for blood once again and finds nothing, he refocuses on Chanyeol laying under him. 

"Sorry," Chanyeol responds, cheeks flushed. He laughs out loud, embarrassed for causing the accident, but most of all, embarrassed that Baekhyun is still laying on top of him. "Didn't mean to take the whole team down." 

Baekhyun watches Chanyeol's lips quirk up in their signature smile, in the one that Baekhyun had grown so accustomed to. He suddenly notices that Chanyeol is looking at him too, that they're laying on the ice, that Chanyeol's cheeks and lips are so pink right now.

He thinks that maybe he shouldn't do this, but then he looks into Chanyeol's eyes again, feels the warm hands softly holding his waist, and he's leaning down. 

Lips touch lips softly, Baekhyun placing a gentle kiss against the bow of Chanyeol's lips, right where his smile had been moments before. He notices that Chanyeol's lips are smooth and warm, that he can feel Chanyeol's heartbeat thundering against his own. And then he realizes what he's just done and he's back standing up, focused on anything except the way Chanyeol's eyes are fixated on him, on the way his lips are tingling in a way that screams do it again. 

-- 

oh ? I'm back? it's been years? sorry..

school .. but i got my laptop working again and I felt super bad about being absent lately, so here we are!

hope you enjoy! please give me feedback! bye bye! <3