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The chills of the rink sent shivers down his spine. He sits on one of the plastic seats in the audience, plopping his bag beside him unceremoniously before staring dreamily at the one he had the honours of calling his Valentine this year. The quiet, withdrawn Espresso, who Madeleine once thought harboured no interest in him, had accepted his request. This was their first date, Espresso’s choice.
It’s not his first time, his mother and aunties had taken him as a child, so he knows the basics. He’s not sure about Espresso, and he isn’t sure what he’d prefer. For Espresso to be a beginner, to guide him by the hand across the slippery ice, or for him to be at his own level or above, skating and gliding around the rink in an intertwining dance.
Espresso eventually sits next to him to put on his skates. Madeleine snaps out of his short daze, reaching towards his bag for his own. They sit in awkward silence, neither saying a thing. Espresso stands up first, offering a gloved hand towards him. Madeleine eagerly accepts it, holding onto the hand. Warm, like a fresh cup of coffee. It’s one of the things he liked about Espresso, that despite his cold personality, he was quite warm.
They head down towards the ice rink, waiting patiently for the ice to be shaved. Madeleine both hates and loves the freshly shaved ice. It makes it smoother, but after a few years of rust, it would take some time to get used to the slipperiness. He doesn’t want to make a fool of himself, he was lucky enough to even be here in the first place. “Ready?” Espresso asks as the rink door’s open. Madeleine nods hesitantly.
He steps onto the ice awkwardly, clutching onto the sides in desperation to keep himself steady. Espresso skates steadily beside him, an upturn of his lips in amusement. Madeleine can’t help but feel a sinking feeling in his stomach. He pushes away from the edge, balancing. “Need some help?” Espresso asks softly. Of course, Madeleine refuses. He wasn’t going to be defeated by ice of all things.
“I’m just a bit rusty, I know what I’m doing,” Madeleine reassures. Espresso doesn’t budge though, instead following the shaky skater slowly around the rink. Every time he almost slips, Espresso is there behind him to steady him. Eventually, Madeleine gives up and silently outstretches his head, cheeks ablaze as Espresso accepts it with a warm smile. He’s dragged along the remainder of the circuit, before Espresso lets go and Madeleine is skating on his own again.
“Better?” Espresso asks as he quickly catches up to Madeleine. Madeleine nods, doing a small spin to emphasise on it. Espresso nods. “I used to come here once a week, so I know quite a few tricks.” Madeleine’s eyes light up eagerly.
“Think you could show me, perhaps?” Madeleine asks. Espresso seems hesitant, looking towards the centre of the rink where all the professionals were. He turns back to Madeleine, only to be met with pleading blue eyes, shining like the summer sky. Espresso sighs in defeat as he skates backwards towards the centre.
“Fine!” he yells towards Madeleine. Madeleine skates forward a bit, prepared for a performance. “There isn’t much to see, that’s all I can say.”
‘There isn't much’ was an understatement. Madeleine’s eyes watched the hesitant figure skates around, completing triple axels, jump combinations, toe loops, sit spins. Madeleine couldn’t pry his eyes off Espresso. He stood there, stunned as Espresso slowly made it back to him, sweat dripping down the side of his head and glasses askew. He couldn’t help but readjust them, Espresso blushing in response.
“Was that ok?” he asks quietly. Madeleine is more than puzzled.
“Ok? Just ‘ok’? Ess, that was incredible! Professional level even! I’ve never seen anyone skate so well!” Espresso turns red in response, Madeleine isn’t sure if it’s because of the nickname or the compliment or both. Espresso huffs, looking away.
“You flatter me, truly.” He doesn’t say more than that, instead just taking Madeleine’s hand in his own and skating towards the centre. “Care for a dance?” he asks with a smirk. And how could Madeleine possibly ever say no to that?
Espresso is the one leading the dance. They’re mostly just going in a circle, occasionally breaking off to show off to one another. Madeleine can’t possibly do what Espresso has done, but he throws in an axel here and there, as well as some toe loops. Espresso doesn’t comment on it, but he seems to be enjoying himself. That was all that mattered to Madeleine.
After landing another axel, he was suddenly pulled towards Espresso, faces almost touching. Madeleine burned bright red in response as Espresso skillfully skated to avoid any others. Blue eyes flickered down towards Espresso’s lips before a gloved hand pushed his head back to face Espresso. A smirk is on his features, and Madeleine can’t help but flush.
“Happy Valentine's Day,” Espresso whispered into his ear before slowly connecting their lips. Madeleine short circuited on the spot, eventually kissing Espresso back. He was kissing. Espresso. His crush for years. He was finally kissing him, just as he has always wanted to.
A dent in the ice quickly makes Madeleine trip, sending Espresso down tumbling with him. They fall down unceremoniously on their butts. Espresso laughs softly as he stands up, helping Madeleine off the icey cold ground. Madeleine hugs Espresso tightly for a moment. “Happy Valentine’s Day, Ess.”