Final
Winter's Blossom
Different holidays were constantly approaching in the season of winter, and with each one came the cold promise of snow. Each chilly breeze brought that certain hint of soft whiteness, and the usual visions of the holidays would come to the minds of those who fell prey to the piercing frost. Feasts, presents, lights, and snow. Winter brought along all sorts of excitement and happiness.
But every light has its shadow, and in this case, that shadow was none other than Oh Sehun.
Sehun was the type of person who despised winter. Not so much the holidays, but he absolutely hated the cold and the happy-go-lucky attitudes that appeared everywhere. The amount of red that people wore was sickening, and the constant talk of what gifts may appear on Christmas Day and New Year’s was tiring and only showed how selfish people were.
In general, all that Sehun really wanted to do was curl up in bed at home during the cold season. Whether he was sleeping or watching a movie with a mug of hot chocolate, he wanted to be surrounded by the warmth of multiple blankets in the comfort of his home. The last thing he wanted to do was stand in the cold for an extended period of time, and his wishes were granted for the entire first half of winter.
However, the passing of the new year brought along one certain holiday that everyone just adored—everyone other than Sehun, that is. The world was filled with even more red around this time of year and Sehun’s friends found it to be the perfect chance to force him outdoors. The prolonged winter weather brought along snow and ice much later in the year than it normally would, the temperature never rising high enough to be considered warm, and when the snowy conditions lasted this long, the so-called “fun” began.
It was nearly halfway through January, on Friday the seventeenth, when Sehun was bombarded with a collection of weekend suggestions by his two closest friends at the end of school. The two goofs went on and on for a while about who knows what—Sehun wasn’t listening—before they even noticed that Sehun was turning a deaf ear to them. They didn’t even bother re-explaining anything, and instead told Sehun to be ready to hang out at six thirty the next night.
Sehun barely even caught the fact that they’d be coming over, and he automatically assumed that they’d planned a movie night at his house or something. It wasn’t exactly uncommon for them to randomly show up at his front door or make plans without consulting with him. Sehun wasn’t really good at that kind of stuff, so it was usually up to them to find some way to pass the time.
In the end, after slaving over homework and passing out that night, he completely forgot about his friend’s plans. So when the next night rolled around, Sehun was surprised for a few moments to see them standing at his front door. Then, after he recalled the conversation from the day before, it only took him one look at their clothes to grasp that they wanted to go out somewhere. His refusal on the subject was immediate, his arms crossing stubbornly over his chest as he bluntly stated his decision.
“I am not leaving this house.”
“Yes you are.”
“No I’m ing not.”
“Oh yes you ing are.”
“I am no—“
“Sehun, Kai! Shut the up!”
Sehun was interrupted mid-sentence by Chanyeol, the giant elf-eared teen that practically radiated pure holiday spirit on his doorstep. Sehun resisted the urge to cringe when he saw the ugliest sweater covering his torso, only hoping that Chanyeol would cover it with his coat. There were actual pine needles weaved into the fabric, with tiny lights sewn into it and everything. It was sickening and painful to view, and Sehun hoped he wouldn’t end up blind by the end of the night just from looking at it.
Jongin, Sehun’s most trusted best friend, stood at Chanyeol’s side, looking as though he was about to continue their argument once more. Only, a look from Chanyeol stopped him, and Sehun took the chance to reiterate for them.
“I refuse to leave this house until winter has passed, for any reason other than school and possibly my own death.”
“Well, looks like we gotta kill him then.”
“Kai, down.” Chanyeol ordered, referring to Jongin by his commonly used nickname as though he were a dog. The tall teen heaved a sigh, and then a nasty grin spread across his face. “There are other ways to go about this.”
And that’s the story on how Sehun was kidnapped.
Not really; it was more like being forcefully dragged and shoved into a car while his friends definitely broke some traffic laws by speeding dangerously down ice covered streets. So basically, kidnapped.
When the car finally stopped and Sehun was able to see more than just blurs of color, he came to the discovery that he was actually alive. Thank God. And with that realization, came the strangling of the two boys whom he had, up until this moment, believed to be his friends.
“Why am I even friends with you bastards! ing dickheads!” Sehun practically screeched the words as he threw his arms around the seat in front of him. His hands found Chanyeol’s neck and tightened, and the giant teen thrashed around in the driver’s seat of the vehicle.
“Sehun! Language!” The giant managed to choke out, and that only made Sehun even more pissed. He made a gruff noise of anger and set Chanyeol free, allowing the teen to gasp painfully for breath, while Jongin sat like a terrified puppy in the passenger seat, pressed up against the window as far from Sehun as he could get.
“W-We brought your coat so you wouldn’t be cold.” Jongin stuttered, eyes darting to Sehun’s right. Looking over, he saw his black pea coat lying on the seat. He didn’t remember them grabbing it, but it was the last thing on his mind at that moment.
“Don’t you think I’ll forget this anytime soon. You guys are gonna ing pay for screwing with me.” Sehun warned, glaring at his two friends in turn.
“We told you we’d be coming!” Jongin shot back, glaring just as hard. “You need to get out of the house, dude!”
Sehun opened his mouth to say something he’d probably regret, but was interrupted by a sharp knocking on a near window. Turning, he saw a smiling face from behind the driver’s side window, a small hand lifted to the glass. Instantly, a grin spread wide across Chanyeol’s face, and Jongin mirrored the expression when another person came into view. Both teens stumbled out of Chanyeol’s car like excited puppies, but Sehun followed with much more hesitancy and confusion.
The cold hit him like a smack in the face, and he shivered as he pulled on his coat. He didn’t have any gloves or a hat, and he wasn’t wearing proper boots either, so the snow on the ground seeped through his shoes almost instantly. Sehun shoved his hands into his pockets and hunched his shoulders in an attempt to keep his ears warm as he twisted to see who the two new faces were.
Already, Chanyeol and Jongin were chatting happily with the two males who seemed to be around their age. Both were shorter than them, one with black ringed eyes, the other with the most eye-whites that Sehun had ever seen. The two pairs stood awfully close to each other, and Sehun had a sudden feeling that he wasn’t going to like where his evening was going.
Now that Sehun thought about it, he didn’t even know where they were. His eyes hadn’t strayed farther than the parking lot they stood in, but when he turned a full circle, his heart dropped to his feet at the sight before him, along with any last bit of his meager peace of mind.
“You’ve got to be ing kidding me…”
After another minute of talking, Sehun was once again being dragged against his will by Chanyeol and Jongin, who didn’t even spare the time to introduce Sehun to their two other…friends. He didn’t really care either way, seeing as this was the last place he wanted to be. He wasn’t very fond of third wheeling anyone’s date, let alone fifth wheeling. And at an ice rink of all places.
The chill that reached Sehun’s bones worsened as they neared the round sheet of ice, and the high-pitched laughter of children was enough to make his head ache. Sehun’s hands were already numb and he glared at nearly everyone he passed without thinking, but the other four members of their group seemed to be having the time of their lives as they walked up to the booth to rent ice skates. Sehun, on the other hand, plopped himself down on an available bench to sulk.
Around him, parents and grandparents helped their small children into skates, making sure they wouldn’t fall over as they waddled over to the public ice rink. There were quite a few people that were already on the ice, and Sehun spotted several skaters with bright orange labels on their backs, the word STAFF on them in big letters. They seemed to be helping those unable to skate, and Sehun scoffed at the sight. He hated ice skating.
After a while, the others finally returned with pairs of skates in their hands. They were still chatting animatedly, not even pausing as they replaced their boots with the skates. That is, until Chanyeol prodded Sehun’s extended leg with his own.
“Dude. Put on your skates.”
Ignoring the blades that the lanky teen made a point of setting next to him, Sehun crossed his legs. “I don’t ice skate.”
“But I already paid for them! And they don’t do refunds!” Chanyeol whined, which was quite awkward given his unusually deep voice.
Sehun turned to give him a look that was meant to decline stubbornly, but the sight of both Chanyeol and Jongin’s puppy pouts had him sighing in quick, reluctant defeat.
“You guys owe me big time.”
Like always, Sehun regretted his decision as soon as his two friends let out obnoxiously loud gasps. A lot of their activities actually turned out like this, so there really wasn’t anything to be surprised about, and Sehun hated it every time. At first, anyway.
Jongin had to help tie his laces once Sehun had both of his skates on his feet, thanks to his numb fingers, and then he reluctantly stood on wobbly legs to follow them out to the ice. The two couples didn’t even hesitate to leave him behind, though, and he was almost tempted to go sit back down. He’d only just stood up and they were already stepping onto the ice without him, but Chanyeol and Jongin were still his friends, and as much as their antics annoyed him, he wouldn’t waste their money and efforts.
Sehun hobbled over to the freezing white sheet, grumbling under his breath as he did so, and he hung onto the wall surrounding the rink as he took his first steps out onto the ice. He hadn’t been skating in years, but it didn’t take him long to get the hang of keeping his balance. He was thankful to be able to finally get his red fingers out of the cold and into his pockets.
Inching his feet across the ice, Sehun started slow at first. He kept to the wall and followed the flow of skaters, but struggling children appeared in his way every few feet and he’d have to keep going around them. It annoyed him to no end, so with a quick glance around, he lengthened his strides and edged himself closer towards the inner section of the rink. The very center was left wide open, and a few show offs used the space to do fancy tricks. There were less obstacles on this side since the skaters were more skilled, and Sehun let his mind drift off in a matter of seconds without worry.
He really wished it were summer. He was so cold that it hurt, which was probably a sign of frostbite, but it seemed his friends hadn’t worried about the possibility when they kidnapped him(for the sole purpose of dragging him out on a date with them, no less!) He wasn’t even dating anyone, and saying he needed to get outside wasn’t reason enough. Valentine’s Day was right around the ing corner and he couldn’t care less about getting together with someone. Knowing his friends, that was probably their plan. But what single person willingly goes ice skating alone, anyway?
Sehun was just beginning to brood over the night when a body suddenly struck his. Thrown out of his thoughts, the air left Sehun’s body as he crashed into someone and sent them both sprawling across the ice. Cold seeped through Sehun’s clothes, his pants turning damp from the shaved bits of ice on the rink. His hands stung as he used them to push himself to his knees, which were open to the cold due to his ripped jeans, but all of that was forgotten as soon as he met the eyes of the boy he’d run into.
Bright, sparkling brown eyes met Sehun’s from a mere two feet away, and the turtleneck he wore seemed to grow tighter around his throat. Any words of blame he was about to utter were lost when they made eye contact, and he couldn’t help but trail his eyes over the boy’s features.
Honey brown hair, deep eyes, round cheeks that were tinged pink due to the cold, and lips that appeared small, yet plump. A dark green yarn beanie covered most of his hair, leaving his fringe visible, and he fixed the deep red scarf around his neck with gloves that matched his hat. Their breath billowed out in front of them, and Sehun barely recalled mirroring the precious boy’s actions as they stood. He was honestly surprised he didn’t lose his balance on his skates, especially when the boy spoke in a soft, tinkling voice.
“I’m so sorry! I should’ve seen you coming and moved out of the way!”
“N-No!” Sehun found himself saying. “I wasn’t paying attention… It was my fault.”
The boy stared at Sehun with wide eyes, and his cheeks turned warm under the attention. He cursed the sudden flow of blood to his face, hoping it would be passed off due to the cold. Even better, he hoped his cheeks had been that red beforehand so that it wouldn’t be noticed.
Sehun fiddled with his frozen fingers, and as if he noticed the movement, the boy before him looked down. But instead of commenting on his hands, the boy brought up the subject of his pants, instead.
“What’s up with your jeans? Did you not know that it’d be cold today?” Hints of sarcasm and humor were laced in the boy’s words, and Sehun turned his attention down to the subject at hand. Giant holes opened up at his knees, which were red and flaked with quickly melting clumps of snow.
“Oh, uh… These are actually my dancing jeans.” With zero brain to mouth filter, Sehun couldn’t hold back from making awkward conversation. Heat swept through his cheeks once again, and he didn’t even think before going on. “These were my only clean pair and I usually reserve them for just dance practice.”
“So you dance, huh?” Luhan’s mouth curled up in a smile on one end, and Sehun mentally cursed himself. He needed to control his composure before he made himself look like a fool. He really needed to leave, to be truthful, but this boy seemed to have another idea.
“My name’s Luhan, by the way.”
Unable to stop himself, Sehun furrowed his brows and looked at the boy like he was crazy. “Do you give your name to every stranger that you run into?”
“Excuse me! But you were the one that ran into me!” Luhan corrected, bottom lip jutting out in the cutest, sassiest pout that Sehun had ever seen. Sehun hastily busied himself with fixing the collar of his turtleneck, avoiding eye contact as he muttered a hesitant response.
“Name’s Sehun…”
“So, Sehun…” Luhan went on, emphasizing Sehun’s name in a way that made him shiver. “What school do you go to? Assuming you’re from around here, that is.”
Sehun gave the boy another weird look, but he didn’t argue this time before answering. “Northern.”
“Oh, is it cold up there? The chill’s seemed to trail you all the way here.”
“We’re on an ice-rink.”
“I’m talking about your personality, dummy!” Luhan rolled his eyes with a scoff, and Sehun was taken aback. The boy was so casual and outgoing. He didn’t even seem bothered by the fact that Sehun could have taken offense. The only reason he hadn’t was because it was kind of true, and Sehun was just purely shocked at how blunt and sassy the boy could be after only a few minutes of mutually acknowledged existence.
Pulling up his collar again, Sehun hunched his shoulders in order to fit the tip of his chin into the warm fabric. “I’m not cold…”
“Something tells me you’re cold both mentally and physically,” Luhan then retorted. He dug his gloved hands into his pocket, then he pulled his hands back out and shoved something into Sehun’s. Warmth spread through Sehun’s numb fingers in a matter of seconds, and he stared blankly at the hand warmer in his grasp, unable to comprehend what the boy’s reasoning was for sharing the precious heat.
When Sehun looked back to Luhan’s face, it was like looking at the sun instead of a person. His entire body was filled with a strange heat, and he couldn’t seem to stop blinking at the boy. He couldn’t find a single word to say in response to Luhan’s actions, but someone broke into their little bubble, anyhow.
Sehun had forgotten that they’d been standing in the middle of the ice rink for the duration of their conversation, and now everything was coming back to him when a new face joined them. Another boy slid up to them, about the same height as Luhan, with a bright orange label attached to his torso. For the first time, Sehun noticed that Luhan had a matching one on his own chest.
“Hey, Luhan!” The teen was saying, a mischievous smirk on his face. “Quit flirting with the customers and get back to work. I’m sure you don’t want to get fired, but you will be if you’re caught.”
Sehun blushed more than he could have thought possible at the boy’s words, and Luhan seemed to be in the same position. But the boy, who Sehun assumed to be Luhan’s friend, went gliding away on his skates before much else could be said. Luhan still made an effort to call after him when he was a few feet away.
“You better not spread any rumors about this, Yixing!!”
There was an awkward silence while Luhan turned back to Sehun, and he cleared his throat before speaking.
“So… You work here?”
Luhan pursed his lips as he nodded. “Yeah, and Yixing is probably right… I’ll uh, see you later, then.” He gave a tiny smile and a half wave, and then he turned and headed off across the ice. Sehun watched after him, his eyes following the boy’s thin, graceful legs. His heart thudded painfully against his ribcage, and he took a deep breath to calm it down.
“Yeah… See you later…”
~-~
After their first trip to the ice rink, Chanyeol and Jongin decided that they should start going every weekend. Sehun didn’t argue much with them, and he was less hesitant to join them again the next time. Though he wasn’t sure why, he was actually kind of looking forward to it.
This time around, Sehun got to know his friends’ recently named boyfriends. Apparently the two pairs had met up at the mall or something and they happened to kick it off pretty quickly. He learned that their names were Baekhyun and Kyungsoo, and that they went to the Southern high school. Their schools were on opposite sides of town, so it was no surprise that Sehun hadn’t seen them before. And for a fleeting moment, he wondered if Luhan also attended their school.
It was in Sehun’s subconscious where thoughts of the pretty boy were kept. He’d find himself thinking about Luhan without even knowing it, and he didn’t realize until they arrived at the ice rink for the second weekend in a row that Luhan was the reason for his speedy return.
Sehun first caught sight of the boy when he was putting his skates on. He recognized Luhan's fur trimmed, form fitting winter coat so quickly that it was almost scary, and from the distance he stood at, Luhan looked almost feminine. His legs were thin, his entire body visibly graceful, and he looked tiny, even while wearing his plump winter coat—especially so. He wore a different set of accessories for warmth, and Sehun was glad he remembered to bring a scarf of his own. He used it to cover a majority of his face when he stepped out onto the ice, because he really didn’t think he could handle talking to Luhan again so soon. His stomach did a flip just from looking at him.
Out on the ice, Sehun kept a wary eye open for Luhan’s whereabouts. He couldn’t risk being seen by him so soon, and he did everything he could to avoid Luhan—and Yixing, too, for that matter. If either of them recognized him, he wouldn’t know what to do, so he kept his face hidden and tried to act casual as he avoided both teens like the plague.
With his gaze constantly on the lookout for Luhan, he couldn’t miss the things the boy did. As his job required, Luhan worked with the children to help them learn how to skate. Several times, a small child would begin to cry, and it would be Luhan who worked his magic to end the sorrow. Sehun wouldn’t admit it out loud, but he thought Luhan looked cute when he held hands with the crowds of youngsters that clung to him. He seemed popular among the children, leaving several staff members alone and in need of someone to lend help to. Sehun found himself smiling beneath his scarf numerous times because of this, and every time he’d send himself into yet another fit of dorky blushing.
Sehun lost track of his own friends more times than he thought possible, he was so focused on Luhan, but each time he found them, they’d be skating close together among the crowd. More times than not, Chanyeol would be floundering around, and Jongin would occasionally say something to make Kyungsoo shove him away, but other than that they seemed to be two perfect, ordinary couples.
Sehun was a little jealous.
~-~
This pattern occurred for a total of four weekends in a row. Sehun continued to join his friends, old and new, for the last three weekends of January and the first of February. They went to the same public ice rink for four consecutive Saturdays, and each time Sehun had his eye out for one certain individual. It seemed almost natural for his eyes to stray out in search of a familiar tuft of honey colored hair, and going to this ice rink quickly became the highlight of his weekends.
Even in such a short time, it came to a point where Sehun was the one confirming their weekend plans. It was the Friday before the fifth Saturday, during lunch at school, that he brought it up for the first time on his own.
“So, I was thinking we could go pick up some snacks tomorrow before we go skating.” Sehun told the two teens, who paused in eating their food to look at him. He hadn’t thought much about the subject before bluntly wording his thoughts, though he tried to do so casually. The idea probably came out of nowhere to his friends, but it was all that was on Sehun’s mind. He wasn’t quite sure what he used to think about, because now it was only Luhan who took up his each and every thought. The boy was dangerous.
Swallowing the food in his mouth, Chanyeol was the one to respond first. “We aren’t going out tomorrow.”
Sehun’s eyebrows shot up in surprise before he could stop them, and Jongin continued in Chanyeol’s place. “Tomorrow’s Valentine’s Day, dude. Kyungsoo and I have other plans.”
“Yeah, and the weather’s supposed to start warming up soon, so they might close the rink down by next week,” Chanyeol added. “The place’ll be hella busy this weekend since people will want to get in one last skate before spring. We probably wouldn’t go even if we didn’t have plans.”
“But you guys were the ones who wanted to do this in the first place,” Sehun childishly argued. He couldn’t help himself. He was actually kind of hurt, being the only single one among their trio, but it must not have been obvious, because Jongin went on to joke about it.
“What, are you saying you actually like to skate now? A month ago you wouldn’t stop talking about how much you hated it.”
“It’s been years since I’ve been there.” Sehun mumbled, pushing his food around with his fork. “Opinions change.”
“Well I’m sorry, bro.” Jongin apologized, inching towards sincerity. “I can’t let Kyungsoo down. Not this last minute.”
“Baekhyun would slit my throat with the blade of my own ice skates if I cancelled.” Chanyeol agreed, a flash of fear crossing his features. He rubbed his neck with a hand, and Sehun rolled his eyes with a sigh.
“I’m not asking you to drop your dates. I just didn’t know you guys made plans already.”
“You can hang out with my dogs if you want.” Jongin suggested, a way too innocent smile on his face. “They aren’t doing anything important.”
Sehun pinched the bridge of his nose with a slight shake of his head. “I’m not babysitting those filthy animals.”
“I am offended by that statement. I do hope you rot in hell for saying that.”
“Yeah, well. We all know you’ll be there with me.” Sehun said with a small smile, gathering together his trash as he got to his feet. A quick glance at his phone showed that lunch would be ending soon, so he bid his friends a quick goodbye before gathering together his materials and exiting the cafeteria.
~-~
Even though Sehun had been informed that Chanyeol and Jongin would be elsewhere, he still found himself sitting alone at the ice rink the next night. It was probably the only one that was actually open, and only a few people occupied the ice, contrary to Chanyeol’s assumption. And Sehun was the only one left alone.
He didn’t purchase his skates right away, and sat down on an empty bench, instead. Like he usually did before hobbling out to the ice, he glanced around in search of a familiar face. The sky was dark, as it was getting late, but lights towered over the rink and shone down on the skaters. If it was any other night, Sehun would’ve seen bright orange labels on the fronts and backs of some skaters, but not today. There wasn’t a single staff member in sight, and Sehun’s heart dropped painfully.
He didn’t know why he was so disappointed. He hadn’t spoken to Luhan any time after they first met, and seeing as it was a holiday, the boy probably had the day off. And here Sehun was, sitting alone in the cold and the dark, surrounded by couples and all of the gooeyness of Valentine’s Day.
The ice rink was specially decorated for the night. Streamers in shades of red and pink were hung everywhere, and balloons in the shape of hearts were clustered together here and there. Beams of light shot into the air, red and pink and white, shining in all different directions, and soft music trickled through loud speakers. All in all, it was perfect, but Sehun’s heart hurt at the sight.
He wouldn’t have felt this alone even if Jongin and Chanyeol were out on the ice without him, and now it was just hitting him more than usual. Not even Luhan was here for him to see, and even that creepy realization was sad. He had no reason to believe Luhan would be there in the first place, especially for him. They’d only spoken once, and Sehun had surely made a fool of himself. Hot guys probably talked to Luhan all the time, so all that Sehun had been doing so far was tricking himself into believing that maybe he’d have some miraculous chance with the pretty boy.
“Who am I even kidding…” He murmured aloud to himself, hanging his head forward, elbows resting on his knees. “He’s probably out on a date of his own…”
“Woo! It sure is chilly!” A voice suddenly exclaimed, and Sehun sat up almost instantly. His eyes were wide with disbelief at the sound of the familiar tinkling voice—wide enough to hurt.
To Sehun’s right, Luhan stood in all of his natural glory. A large white beanie framed his perfect face, designed with stripes of green, red, and gold, and a puffball at the end. His cheeks were a rosy pink, his lips glossy under the light shining brightly above them. In his hands, he held two white cups, and two pairs of skates hung by the tied shoelaces at his elbows.
“Want some hot chocolate?” Luhan’s lips formed an unbelievably cute smile after the question, and Sehun stared at him like an idiot as the boy reached down to carefully place one of the cups in his open hand. The paper was warm to the touch, and Luhan took a loud, slurping drink from his own as he sat beside Sehun on the bench.
“It’s cooled down quite a bit, so hurry and drink up so we can skate.”
“We?” Sehun echoed, dumbfounded. His mouth remained hanging open, and Luhan tapped the bottom of his chin with a grin.
“Yes, we.” He confirmed, smiling even after he took another drink of his hot chocolate. “It’s cold sitting still like this. We need to get moving.”
“Wait. Why are you even here?” Sehun asked, still stuck on the fact that Luhan is here oh my god. In response, the boy reached down and held up one of the pairs of skates he’d been holding. They looked nice and were a different brand and coloring than the ones available to rent. They must’ve been his own, and it was confirmed with the boy’s next statement.
“I forgot to bring my skates home after my last shift so I came back to get them.”
“Do you skate often?” Sehun then asked, as if the boy’s current job didn’t already answer that.
“Yeah, it’s a hobby of mine.” Luhan’s smile twitched up further, as if he’d laughed at something. “I actually rollerblade a lot during the rest of the year, too.”
“I guess that explains why you’re so good…” Sehun meant for the soft-spoken words to be to himself, but Luhan caught them, too, and he acquired a flustered expression in reaction.
“W-Well, I’m no professional, that’s for sure. It’s merely a way to pass the time. Not to mention I save money on transportation.” Luhan twisted away to change into his skates, having just gulped down the rest of his drink, and Sehun found himself smiling at the back of his head, amused. By the time Luhan turned back around, the pink on his cheeks had blossomed into a beautiful red.
“What are you waiting for!? Put on your skates!”
Sehun covered his growing smile behind the rim of his drink as he finished it in one last go, and then he hurried to get his skates on. Luhan was already impatiently marching over to the entrance to the ice rink, and all of Sehun’s previous views on the night were gone the instant he joined the boy’s side, when Luhan reached out to take his hand.
Sehun’s heart rate jumped drastically at the touch, but Luhan was too busy pulling him forward to notice. The ice was slippery underfoot, more so than usual since not many people were skating. Fewer gouges were carved into the white sheet, so there was a smooth glide when crossing the ice. It made skating feel much nicer, but maybe that was due to the fact that he and Luhan were holding hands as if they hadn’t met only once before.
“Hey, aren’t you supposed to be doing something else right now?” Sehun had to ask. It felt a bit wrong to be skating with Luhan, as if he should be off with someone other than Sehun, but the boy didn’t seem to understand what he was getting at.
“What do you mean? It’s my day off so I technically don’t have to help anyone on the ice.”
“No.” Sehun interrupted before Luhan could go on. “I mean… Don’t you have other plans tonight?”
Luhan blinked slowly. “I don’t have any plans, no.” They’d stopped moving and now they just stood frozen on the center ice, hands linked between them. Luhan used his free hand to gesture to the far-away booth providing skates as he went on. “I came back to get my skates and recognized you, so I just thought I’d come over to say hi and—” He cut himself off with a gasp, and the hand that he had wrapped around Sehun’s loosened the slightest bit, though he didn’t let go completely.
“I’m so sorry… I didn’t—I didn’t know you were waiting for someone. I…”
“Wait, what?” Now Sehun was confused, and he shook his head as if to clear his thoughts. “I thought you were supposed to go meet with someone else, but I’m here alone. In all honesty, I was actually hoping I’d run into you…”
Sehun trailed off in an awkward spot, his cheeks flushed pink with embarrassment. The confession had slipped and he bit his lip to stop himself from saying more. Luhan was clearly just as surprised, and his entire face turned bright red. He ducked his head, then he mirrored Sehun’s lip bite as he looked back up.
“You wanted to see me?” He asked softly, and Sehun wished he’d brought his scarf so he could cover his burning face. Instead, he pulled down the hat he wore, reluctantly letting go of Luhan’s hand to keep his face hidden. His chest hurt with how hard his heart was beating and he regretted opening his mouth at all that night. He had to force his lips together just to keep from yelling, and he cursed his entire life within the span of two seconds.
But once those two seconds were up, Sehun felt small hands prying at his fingers, urging them away from his face. He tried to resist, but Luhan was too stubborn and he gave in rather quickly, only to be met with a tiny smile and shining brown eyes.
“I’ve been keeping my eye out for you, too, just so you know,” Luhan murmured softly. His arms extended out over Sehun’s shoulders, and it was then that he noticed how close they were. Luhan stood mere inches away, and he was that much shorter than Sehun was. This close, Sehun really noticed how nice his lips were, and the desire that rose deep in his gut was dangerously pleasant.
“You haven’t been looking hard enough, then.” Sehun whispered, his stomach doing a flip when Luhan’s eyes fluttered briefly. “I’ve been here every weekend since we’ve met.”
“So you’re my most recent stalker.” Luhan hummed, almost thoughtfully. Sehun’s arm tightened around the boy’s waist when he heard that, and then he wondered how and when his arm even got there, not that he was complaining or anything. He pulled the boy closer in a strangely protective manner, and he couldn’t suppress the discontent that leaked into his voice.
“You mean this is normal?”
“Sehun, I was joking,” Luhan whispered in exasperation. He closed whatever distance separated their chests, and Sehun had to crane his neck back to keep looking at him, only for the boy to let out one last, breathless whisper that sent Sehun’s whole world crashing down in an instant. “Hurry and kiss me, already.”
And Sehun couldn’t hold back. He didn’t need another second to think before he dipped down to press his lips to Luhan’s and he decided right then that he couldn’t have made a better choice in his entire life. It was sweet, but filled Sehun with a burning desire for more. He hardly recalled the beginning and end, or anything in between. By the time they pulled away, all Sehun could gather together was that Luhan was an amazing kisser, and he never wanted this feeling to end.
They didn’t leave more than an inch of space between them, and Sehun stared down at Luhan with a new perspective. Just as before, Sehun had disregarded everything other than the boy before him, and he could only hope that this wasn’t a usual occurrence for Luhan. Already, he wanted to have something between them, even though they knew next to nothing about each other.
“Sehun, I was serious, you know.” Luhan’s tone was sincere when he next spoke, and Sehun gave him his complete attention without another thought. “I’ve never done this before… It was so sudden, I must look stupid, but…” Luhan trailed off, and the rosiness of his cheeks grew darker. “I really wanted to kiss you… I just can’t explain it…”
“Then save the words for later.” Sehun husked, inching himself back in Luhan’s direction. He tilted his head down once more, and Luhan seemed just as eager for their lips to connect in yet another fiery kiss.
Sehun was already knee deep in this infatuation, and he was all too prepared to see it to the next level.
Love.
^-^ I hope you guys enjoyed.
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If you're interested, here are my other works ^-^
Black Pearl (Completed) : People face many challenges in life, but twelve high school students are about to face their biggest one yet. Throughout their lives, they have hidden the strange powers unique to them, confused as to why they have such inhuman abilities. Now the time has come for then to fulfil their purpose, after they figure out what that is, of course.
A Curve in the Road (One Shot/) : Chanyeol invites Baekhyun to the racetrack for a night of fun, but there turns out to be a different kind of fun in store for them when nighttime rolls around. Their lives are hit with as much force as two crashing cars, and their worlds are set aflame much like those same vehicles.
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