Daichi had done his best to explore every inch of the snowed-in park. It wasn't often he found himself in a secluded, wintry haven, and he wanted to capture as much as he could about the place so he could remember it for a while. It was the most fun he'd had in what felt like forever, his expression often hiding the genuine joy he felt in the small smile he wore, and the faint twinkle of his eyes as he wandered about. He'd done explored everywhere he could go�including the nearby forest that really wasn't all that interesting in the end�and as far as he was concerned, he'd done most of the traditional things people did in the snow outside. This included exploring an icy cave�as a weird, unique bonus to the usual wintry activities.
Outside of that, the crow had built a snowman. He'd made little snow penguins to go along with it, though they had lasted all of an hour before they were trampled by kids having a snowball fight. That, too, he had joined and considered himself a reigning champion at building the most impenetrable fort. Daichi had also enjoyed several mugs now of the warmest, creamiest hot chocolate that had him all smiles whenever he drank it. Its warmth was always tickling, and of the few different types he'd had, he had to admit a certain unique flavor to the hot chocolate he had with a sprinkle of chili and cheese. It sounded like the most bizarre combination in the world to him, but a peer had insisted it was deliciously delightful, and while Emil wouldn't say it was a five-star drink, he hadn't hated it as he thought he would. The crow had even gone so far as to try it again later, still debating whether he loved it, or simply liked its foreign flavor.
Just about the only thing left on his list of things to do during the trip remained in the frozen lake. He was interested in finding another, smaller lake, one that he could possibly fish in as he'd never gone ice fishing before. But the most common use for the lake behind the park was ice skating, which ticked off another check on the wintry things Daichi wanted to do before leaving. He wasn't really what one would call a professional at ice skating. Really, he wasn't so positive that he could be called an amateur, either. Daichi had ice skated five times in his lifetime, and while he honestly thought he improved each time, he hadn't quite gotten the hang of venturing too far away from the edge.
The main difference here that he found to be a little troubling was that this time, there was no glass edge for him to reach out to correct his balance like times before. The ice itself seemed uneven, with countless scratches at its surface from the many people who had already been skating earlier�hours, even days before. Clearly, there wasn't any maintenance going into the thing. Still, with pursed lips the Karasuno captain got into his gear, tying the laces of his old, second-hand ice skates and grunting as he rose up off the snow. He stood erect, eyes peering down at the foggy ice just a step away. He was a few inches taller with his skates, a detail that he noticed immediately from his view of the ground below and that he felt even as he stood still, his center of gravity just slightly off now.
For a moment, Daichi simply stood still, hovering over the edge of the lake. He looked around, noticing peers rolling down tiny snow hills, throwing snowballs, while others were already gliding around on the lake. He sighed, letting go of his winter boots and allowing them to plop onto the snow at his side. Then, with another deep inhale, Emil stepped out onto the ice, his breath held firmly in as if it would help maintain his balance. He exhaled slowly, allowing the air to slip between his lips while he steadied himself, pushing carefully with his feet to get him going. He started, slowly, but managed a decent enough pace.
But then he got cocky.
One full minute without falling had the captain's ego a little too inflated, and, true to his nature, his ambition took hold and he tried to go faster. Faster, faster, and faster still�until it was very clear he wasn't very great at skating, his arms flailing and his eyes wide as headlights as he started to spin around, clearly out of control.
"Let's see.." a small gentle voice, almost as if a whisper, was almost drowned out by the sound of cheers and merry-making. Often times small Suga would stay at home and study for tests or inside the school gymnasium practicing his tosses and serves, but not today. The percentage of classes and volleyball practices was at an all time zero. It was time. Time for him to head out into the vast ivory cold wonderland and be outside. But of course, he had to be prepared.
"Scarf," he muttered quietly to himself, "... check."
Yes, his scarf, it was a gift from his favorite aunt during the past holiday season and it was the first time he had worn it.
"Gloves," he continued as before, "... check."
With a wide smile, he gazed longingly at the large frozen lake in front of he sat. Yes, sat. He sat and watched the scenery in front of him. The silver-haired-boy was outside and yet he chose to sit just a few feet away from the surface of the ice and decided to spend it immortalizing the scenery into his head.
Yes, it was a wondrously slow day indeed for him until he had looked up again from his peace only to see the happiness had turned into both curiosity, mischievous snickering, and frantic cries of worry. Despite all the noises he could hear there was only one thing that Suga had heard clearly, and it was the voice of his volleyball captain in the ice trying to balance himself.
Suga stood and his belongings fell onto the cold mound he had been sitting on.
"What are you all doing?! Can't you see he needs help?!" The voice that came out of him was in direct contrast to what his angel-like features allowed. With a slick ice slide, not waiting for his raven-haired friend to fall onto the cold hard ice. He caught Daichi as he was about to fall and heaved a little sigh of relief before standing on the ice with his steady rubber soles and helped his friend back on the much less slippery ground.
The crow fully expected to fall over. It was just a matter of how he tried to position himself; whether he wanted to fall flat on his face or his ass. Granted, he couldn't really control how he fell, but he tried his damnedest to shift his weight to turn him around, hoping to use his butt to land. At least in that way, on his back, he wouldn't have to worry about completely smashing his face in.
He managed to do a half-turn before he suddenly felt something grab hold of his body. A turn of his head revealed his aid was his friend Suga. Mentally calling himself an asshole for being so dense, Daichi tried to offer him a smile as he braced himself to be let go during the walk of shame towards the snowy edge of the lake, his ears faintly red from the cold and from his embarrassment. Luckily, his friend had saved him before he really had any reason to be embarrassed.
Stopped, Daichi shivered. Carefully, he stepped onto the edge of the snow, wobbling a little as his balance remained unsteady. "Hey," he called out, head tilted down to watch his steps as his eyes looked up at his team's former setter, then back down to watch his feet. "Hey, thanks!"
Step by step, the crow stood, towering over Suga more than he would've if he hadn't had his skates on. "Appreciate the help, you saved me from a pretty bad fall." he said. "Are you here from to skate as well?" He asked, unsure if Suga was one to skate. The possibility was low, he realized after the fact, because Suga wasn't carrying any skates in his belongings.
Suga looked down and saw that Daichi's was still planted on the ice with his skates. He let out a sigh before saying, "No thank you, I'd rather not try and fall like you did." He laughed nervously.
"Actually, I think I would like to try again." he paused, a little uncertain about his offer. "You should come with me this time. Well anyway, I don't know if you'll learn to skate." He snickered. "But it's pretty fun, if you can get past the fear of falling over." He laughed lightly and let his fist ball in the pocket of his jacket.
It was something new to him, and no one had really taught him how, the chance never occurred. He at least wanted to try. "I don't really know how, I've never been on the ice before, but if you're going to be pushy about it then sure," he said, walking over to the skate rental counter and coming back with his own rented pair.
Finally stepping onto the ice, his feet rather wobbly, he took a fall back into the snow. He wasn't hurt but he paused for a bit before laughing at his clumsiness.
He looked up at Daichi, "How do you keep your balance above the ice?" he asked in between snickers. Somehow, talking to Daichi about anything other than volleyball, was rather pleasant.
Before Daichi had time to process Suga's answer, he had already gone out without any tips from him. Naturally, his friend came tumbling down, landing squarely on the snow. At the very least, he was laughing, which in turn made Daichi join in. "Haha, well it helps if you get used to standing upright on the blades before charging out," he said, bending down to offer a hand to help his teammate up. "Your center of gravity is a little off now, so you need to get used to it. Just try standing still for a bit, then try to lift a foot, and switch. It's a different feeling from walking," he explained, stepping out then onto the ice.
Before Daichi had time to process Suga's answer, he had already gone out without any tips from him. Naturally, his friend came tumbling down, landing squarely on the snow. At the very least, he was laughing, which in turn made Daichi join in. "Haha, well it helps if you get used to standing upright on the blades before charging out," he said, bending down to offer a hand to help his teammate up. "Your center of gravity is a little off now, so you need to get used to it. Just try standing still for a bit, then try to lift a foot, and switch. It's a different feeling from walking," he explained, stepping out then onto the ice.
"Once you feel comfortable lifting each foot up, you can start to push forward. It's like... putting a small bit of force forward whenever you set your foot down," he continued, demonstrating for his friend. He lifted his right foot, and pressed it down and forward, realizing he also pushed down with his left to keep him from going back. "You'll keep your other foot behind you steady so you don't slide back," he added, going through the motion. He slid a few steps away, then turned around, his body wobbling faintly as he hadn't gotten quite used to turning so sharply yet. "See? You're just going to be in constant motion. And to stop," he said, tilting his right foot inward to grate against the ice and slow down, "you tilt one foot inward, and let the blade cut into the ice. It'll slow you down a little shakily, so brace yourself when you do it."
He looked over at Suga, hoping he'd caught everything he had said. In reality, he probably wasn't the best teacher, a mere amateur himself if he could call himself that. Still, Daichi figured he was good enough at first aid, and Suga seemed more than happy to keep things safe. If something happened, between the two of them, he was sure they could handle it.
"Ready? Try coming out over here," he said, only a few paces farther in than Suga.
Listening to Daichi's words, Suga slowly stepped onto the ice, still knees steadily shaking, the blades below his feet firmly planted on the ground before she could stand up. His smile was evident as he had managed to balance himself in the skates, how he would do the moment he slides off along the ice was a different story and one he wished would turn out well.
He was cautious now, lightly lifting his right foot up and quickly gliding onto the ice only to lose balance again and drop on the floor with his knees and his forearm as a cushion. He let out the breath he had never noticed he had held the moment he started to try and glide.
"I'm going to try again," he confirmed both himself and Daichi.
He watched as Suga followed his advice, hands placed casually on his hips. His legs a little shaky, Daichi thought he looked a bit like a young doe first learning to walk. He wondered, then, if that was how he had looked too the first time he ever set foot on the ice. Smiling, Daichi wondered if he still looked that way at times. Certainly, he looked like something still figuring the whole ice skating thing. He might have thought that knowing how to roller skate would help him -- he did that often enough, and with quite a bit more grace if he were honest. But no, there wasn't terribly much overlap in the two. The forward motion was all that came to the crow's mind, and even that had a different feel to it if he really got down do it.
Mulling the idea of practicing to ice skate more even after the trip was over, Daichi gasped faintly as Suga came falling down again, his hands leaping from his hips as he pushed forward to try and assist him. "Oh, shit," he mumbled, bending at his waist to try and offer a hand to help him up. He half-worried that Suga would start to cry, or that he'd somehow become flustered at the whole thing. Ice skating wasn't the easiest of things to learn. But, the look on Suga's face seemed devoid of any frustrations. None, at least, that suggested he didn't want to continue trying.
Suga said as much, his voice clearly audible and firm. "Sounds good," he responded back, straightening his posture. "Uh, here, reach out to my hand this time. It'll help you keep balance," he suggested, reaching out with his right hand.
"So just hold on a little and move out to start us both? Move your feet slowly, and try to push forward with me," he explained as he helped Sugaup, starting to guide them forward. At the back of his mind, Daichi thought of his sister, and of how all his instructions so far felt very much like he was talking to her. As an older brother, Daichi assumed he was his most comfortable in moments like this, where he took lead and patiently waited for someone to catch up to his pace.
Suga nodded as he listened and slowly but surely tried his best to do exactly as Daichi had said. still quite wobbly, he slowly got the hang of moving his feet along with his captain's lead. Holding his hand he realized late that this was the first time he had come this close with Daichi. His face, focused on the ice as both their skates glided along the surface. He was happy, learning how to skate was fun and he had met with someone he liked, one who was gentle and kind.
The almost silent hisses of the ice as both of their blades danced on top of it and the sound of the Daichi's voice was the only things that he had focused on. Him, being bundled up in his scarf made the cold winds that passed them by almost non-existent. He smiled and flushed red.
He angled his hand inward, hoping to indicate their need to start sloping in to follow the trace of the lake's curve. Turns were easy, it seemed, especially as they had such a wide curve to follow. Luckily, there weren't many speedsters around, otherwise, Daichi would have had to look over his shoulder, paying little attention to his for fear of being run over by an ambitious daredevil. There were only a few skaters around though, performing tricks and spinning like tops, but they seemed to gravitate toward the middle, inner circle of the lake, perhaps leaving the outsides open specifically for newbies.
They didn't have such worries as Suga. Neither did Daichi, though, and for that he couldn't help but feel a little glad. There was a noise similar to a playful howl nearby, prompting the Daichi to look out over Suga's head. A few kids were throwing themselves along the ground, rolling like run-away logs down the snowy slopes. He grinned at the sight, only then looking down at his companion and noticing Suga's red complexion. His smile faded as he looked at her, feet instinctively slowing. "Are you alright?" Daichi asked, eyebrow quirked inquisitively at the his skating partner. He looked like he was heating up underneath his scarf, though Emil had similar layers, and he wasn't nearly as warm as he seemed. Maybe it was the activity.. "We can take a break if you need. Look," he said, pointing around with his free hand. "We've almost gone a full circle around. You should be proud - you haven't fallen again since we actually started moving. That's a lot better than my first time. Mine was more like me bouncing from one end of a rink to another -- mostly on my butt," he joked, laughing through his words as he recalled his first time fondly.
To Suga, Daichi's eyes were pretty. He could feel the warmth rush to his face as he thought of it. Listening to his skating teacher's words he said in a hasty jitter, "U'm f-fine, a-h-haha, I just thought I might have taken up too much of you time and it may have b-bored y-you or something."
And in an almost silent voice that slurred fast, "YoureyesareveryprettyandIlikeyou."
Daichi stared at Suga and let out a small low laugh.
"You're pretty." The taller replied and continued to skate with his partner. Maybe this was the confession they both did not expect. "I like you too."