You and Namjoon clumsily cling to the wall surrounding the rink; neither of you have ever stepped foot on an ice rink before this moment, and you share matching expressions of distrust as you eye the ice below your feet.
You take a moment to learn how to maintain your balance by trying to find the best angle to stand on the blades while still gripping the wall to stay upright.

Namjoon watches you for a moment before he releases his hold on the wall and moves as if to skate away, apparently confident in his new-found balancing abilities.

To his displeasure and your reluctant entertainment, he ends up falling flat on his face the second he lets go of the wall. The way he flails as his feet disappear from beneath him sends you into a fit of giggles that nearly brings you to the ground as well. You manage to keep your grip on the wall and stay upright while Namjoon just huffs at your lack of sympathy.

When your laughing subsides you take a hesitant step towards Namjoon, pleased to see that you don’t have any trouble balancing, and attempt to help him up. You wrap your gloved hands around his jacket-clad arm and begin to pull up, but in his effort to stand his much larger frame pulls you off your feet. Your skates scrape against the ice as you attempt to anchor your blades in the ice, but Namjoon’s tug is too strong and you both collapse onto the ice in a pile of tangled limbs. The two of you spend several minutes trying to use the other to stand only to fall right back down again.

The sight of your struggles, and the fact that you are both cracking up at the ridiculousness of the situation, sends the other members into a laughing fit. You had thought that at least one of them would lend a hand, but they all seem too entertained by your predicament to offer any assistance.

It takes some time, but eventually the two of you work out a way to stand and stay on your feet. Namjoon keeps one hand firmly on the wall while the other is wrapped securely around your waist. You find your own balance again and the motions of ice skating come quite naturally after that, though you stay close to Namjoon’s side to help the struggling boy around the rink.

Jungkook, apparently intrigued by you and Namjoon or bored of whatever the others are doing, skates over and slides to an easy stop. He looms over you while looking Namjoon in the eyes with a bright grin on his face.

“Doing alright, Joonie?” He asks, the mocking humor clear in his voice. Namjoon huffs and moves to follow after Jungkook, who is allowing himself to glide backwards, but the motion nearly send the two of you to the ground again so you plead for him to stay still. Jungkook seems highly amused by the whole situation and he circles the two of you once with a plotting smile on his face. Without warning he grasps onto the back of your jackets and drags you out to the center of the rink.

You’re too focused on not falling on your to even protest and soon you reach a stop in the direct middle pf the expanse of ice. Jungkook releases his hold on your jackets and glides away without a word, leaving the two of you stranded and clinging to each other in an attempt to stay upright.

“Okay, okay, okay! Very funny, Kookie, but please come back now!” You call after the youngest member, your voice rising with slight panic when you see Namjoon’s feet begin to slide out from under him. You have a handle on staying on your feet, but with Namjoon’s hands fisted in your jacket for support you can feel yourself beginning to slip. Your arms go flailing uselessly in an attempt to stay upright and you start to go down, but thankfully Jungkook reappears and steadies Namjoon by his shoulders, keeping both of you from falling.

“Come on you two, the easiest way to learn is to just go for it!” Jungkook tells you, still grinning despite the deadly glare Namjoon is shooting him.

The youngest member leaves again before anyone can make further comment, leaving you and Namjoon to fend for yourselves on the ice.

“I’m going to kill him.” Namjoon mutters when the Maknae is too far away to overhear.

You had been staring after Jungkook, silently cursing him, but you look up when you hear Namjoon speak. It is then that the two of you make eye contact and realize how close you are standing. Your hands are curled around his arms and his hands rest lightly on your hips. Your breath, made visible by the chilly air, mixes with his in the small space between you.

“So,” You start, breaking the suddenly heavy silence and looking down at your feet in an attempt to hide your warming cheeks, “how do we want to go about this?”

He looks between his awkwardly angled feet and his hands on your waist and sighs, “I’m not sure.” There is a thoughtful pause and then, “You were starting to get the hang of it, right?”

“Yeah...” You trail off, waiting for him to elaborate.

“If you can help me figure how to stand the right way then you could probably pull me over to the wall.” His smile is sheepish and his cheeks, you notice, look like they are pink from more than just the cold.

You laugh softly at his expression and nod. You look down at your feet and he follows suit. “Okay, stand straight on this foot,” you tap the side of his skate with your own to point out which foot you had in mind, “and your other foot is fine the way it is.” He follows your instructions, moving slowly to avoid losing his already shaky balance, and then looks to you for more direction. “Okay, you’re going to have to give yourself a push before I’ll be able to pull you. Just make sure to keep your weight near the middle/front of your feet. Leaning too far forward will trip you up and leaning too far back will make you fall over. Got it?”

He nods firmly, seeming sure of himself. You back away from him and take a hold of his hands, then you motion for him to push forward and when he does you carefully turn around and let him hold onto your shoulders. Together the two of you slowly make your way back to the wall, laughing at the thought of how silly the two of you must look as you waddle carefully together.

After what seems like an extra long eternity, you and Namjoon are safely holding onto the wall. Namjoon opens his mouth to say something, but before he can get the words out, a blurry black object flies directly in between the two of you and narrowly misses your face. You stare at each other with wide eyes for a stunned moment before you both spin to see that the other members are split into two groups. One group is staring back at you with equally wide eyes; the other group is cackling at the terrified faces of the others. Seokjin now has skates and they all hold hockey sticks that seem to have appeared out of nowhere.

It takes only a moment for you to realize what had happened, but you just sigh heavily and rub at your eyes like a mother that is exhausted from dealing with her rambunctious children.

The boys at fault seem to relax with your sigh and soon the sounds of hockey return as the game resumes.

Ignoring the shouts coming from the other side of the rink, you and Namjoon work together near the edge. Slowly but surely you help Namjoon get the hang of moving without relying on the wall. It isn’t long before the two of you are able to take small trips to the middle of the rink and back with no problem at all.

You become so preoccupied by deciphering the secrets of ice skating that the two of you barely notice that the sun has sunk much lower in the sky. The sounds of hockey have faded into banter between the two teams that don’t seem satisfied with the outcome. Shortly after you stop to point out the time to Namjoon, Jimin calls out to the two of you.

“Y/N! Namjoon! Hurry back, we’re stopping by the cafe before we head home!”
The words bring out a pout on your face and Namjoon laughs before asking why you look so sad.

“I had fun today learning how to skate with you.” You reply. The two of you are now skating at a casual pace back towards the exit, but after a moment Namjoon pulls you to a stop.

“I had fun today too...” he trails off and you raise a brow at his sudden awkward tone. Before you can ask him what’s the matter he pulls you into a ghost of a hug that lasts for only a brief second, but it is enough for the other boys to start calling out teases form the car. Namjoon ignores them and continues, though now his cheeks a brighter than they were a moment ago, “Thanks for ...uh...you know, not leaving me to die in the middle...and...uh”

“You’re welcome Nams” You interrupt him to save him from his stuttering loss for words. You take hold of his hand and quickly skate forward so he can’t see that your cheeks are a little too pink as well.

“Come on. I want my hot chocolate.”