they first met on an ice skating rink, and it was jongdae who lost his balance, legs getting wobbly as he fell backwards. his back hit something warm and solid, instead of hard and cold like the ice beneath his ice skates. "you ok?" the voice behind him asked, warm hands going to jongdae's waist so he can regain his balance.

"yeah," jongdae nodded, slowly turning towards the man who caught him before losing his balance again, arms reaching out instinctively to the man's shoulders. "sorry,"

the hands on his waist were firm, and the man chuckled softly, like the snow around them. "is this your first time ice skating?" he asked, warm hands going to jongdae's ice-cold hands to help him regain his balance.

"yeah, i was supposed to meet a friend here but there was a change in plans so here i am," 

"i can teach you," the man smiled, and jongdae felt warmth spread inside his chest. he wasn't sure if it was from the man's hands, or if it was just relief, but it certainly felt nice when he held his hand to lead him through the ice skating rink.

they met the next day in a shop, and both of them were reaching out for the same mittens. "oh hi," zitao smiled, his hand pulling away from the mittens. "jongdae, wasn't it? sorry, you can have it," 

"no, it's fine." jongdae shook his head. 

"no, you need it," he said, and jongdae's mind goes back to the conversation they had last night, when zitao taught him how to skate. 

"your hands are cold," he had said. "buy some mittens, you'll need them."

"alright," 

"do you want to go out sometimes? have a drink?" zitao had asked that night when they were done, wrapping a scarf around jongdae's neck. it's strange; they had just met and yet it all felt right.

when they both step out of the shop, zitao looked down at him with meaningful eyes and asked, "so how about that drink?" 

jongdae flashed him a smile. 

and in that night they had cold beer, when what they really wanted was hot coffee in the cold weather. it's fine, jongdae thought, as long as he gets to wear zitao's scarf and inhale his scent, as long as he can have zitao close to him just to warm both of them up. "it's cold," zitao said. "remember to bring a scarf with you next time."

he felt warmth spread inside his chest again, and as he rubbed zitao's neck with his fingers, he said "i promise,"

they make their way to zitao's flat.

zitao pinned him against the sofa that night, attacking his neck with desperate lips. "zitao," he called, hands going to the said man's biceps. "the windows-" zitao turned his head to look at the opened window before looking down at jongdae. "...it's cold." 

"then let's try to warm ourselves up," zitao carried him to his room. in the middle of the night, he felt warm hands wrap itself around his waist, bringing him to an even warmer embrace. he felt lips at the back of his neck, and zitao mumbled into his neck. "hope it's warm enough,"

in his tired state, jongdae turned to look out the window, look at the soft snow as it fell down from the dark sky. it is, jongdae thought as he shifted to burry his face in tao's chest, really warm. 

the next day he woke up wearing a blue hoodie. the hoodie was probably three sizes bigger than him and it felt heavy, but warm, just like zitao. he's wearing shorts and his legs were enveloped in blue blankets. he snuggled in, reaching out for the man beside him. 

it was then that he realized that no one was with him on the bed, so he slowly swung his legs over to the edge of the bed before standing up, the sleeves of the hoodie falling to the tips of his fingers. he walked to the kitchen and there zitao cooked pancakes, humming. "morning, jongdae,"

"morning," 

after they ate breakfast, zitao slipped his feet into his shoes, mumbling apologies into jongdae's head as he hugged him. "i'll be back..." he said. "please stay. i hope you'll be here when i get back," and jongdae nodded his head, giving him a kiss on the cheek before he turned to his heels and leave.

"wait!" jongdae called out, and zitao turned his head to see jongdae running towards him, his scarf in his small hands. "you should remember to bring your scarf with you," jongdae said with a wide smile as he extended his arms to wrap the scarf around zitao's neck. 

of course, how could he have forgotten?