Cold As Ice

Cold as ice

Genre: fluff, first love, suggestive smut

Cw: FigureSkater!Minho x FigureSkater!Reader, slow(ish) burn, first kiss, he's shy, grumpy x sunshine kinda, rivals to lovers if you really squint, making out, hickies, smutty thoughts

Wc: 11.7k

Summary: Minho finds the icy cage around his heart melting sooner than he thought, and you were the flame

A/N: This was so fun to write I genuinely loved this sm, the song vibe is sparks by coldplay if anyone wants to listen while they're reading like me lol

Minho stood at the entrance of the Olympic ice rink with a newfound excitement for his skating career- his heart racing with a blend of nerves and ecstasy. He felt the cool air hitting his face, the frostiness biting at the moisture on his lips, felt his limbs being pierced with the harsh cold of where he felt most at home, and he knew he belonged.

He had sacrificed the majority of his life to get to this rink, gave up countless hours, missed important life events, and trained vigorously to the point of exhaustion just to stand here and compete for his country. A part of him looks back and wished he could've formed better connections with the people around him, a small twinge pulled at his heart when his peers didn't send him off, but he knew he didn't regret it.

Not when he was the one that got to stand on this ice, when he was the one that was going to represent his country and stand on the podium with a gold medal when all was said and done.

Minho loved being alone on the ice like this, he loved when it was just him and the sound of his blades cutting through the frozen surface- no one watching, no one putting pressure on him to be better. He felt an unparalleled freedom when he was allowed to just skate, to not feel.

The rink was his canvas, each push of his legs painted a picture over the ice that transformed it into proof of his dedication and passion for the sport he had devoted his life to.

The man had graduated from rink to rink in his journey, upgrading with every step of progress- and as Minho flawlessly executed the junior championship routine that had gotten him into the most important rink in his skating world, he marveled in the feel of it all. How much smoother the ice felt under his feet, simply how much more room he had to practice each jump and glide that merged seamlessly with his movements.

In his mind, the arena echoed with applause and the sweet taste of validation that he would get for all the hard work that had led him to this refined moment on the glistening surface.

"First time?" He heard a soft voice call out to him, the sound of another pair of blades gently scratching the surface reaching his ears at the same time.

He looked up and didn't see another figure skater anywhere on the ice.

But he did see an angel.

You glided across the ice so gracefully that it looked like you were floating.

You effortlessly lifted your leg and caught it behind your head, pushing yourself into an upright spin. Minho couldn't help his eyes from scanning across your legs, captivated by the seamless fluidity of your movements. He swallowed the lump in his throat.

Minho had a rule that he wouldn't let himself forget, and that was not to let anyone get in the way of his gold medal. He never bothered to become more than acquaintances with anyone he used to skate with- and the few friends he had outside of the ice eventually grew away from him, intimidated by his all consuming dedication to the sport.

He knew he couldn't break this rule now more than ever, so Minho stayed silent, just observing the mysterious skater from the corners of his eyes. As you continued to skate, each twirl and jump performed with an effortless grace, he came to the realisation that he hadn't found much joy in watching other people skate until right now. Minho remained in his solitary rhythm, maintaining the distance he had carefully cultivated to protect his focus.

As soon as he tore his eyes off of you, it was like you knew that you had lost his attention. Your soft voice, like a gentle breeze, began gliding through the air again, spurring his eyes to look up once more at your routine.

"I remember my first time on this ice too, amazing right?"

Still, he hesitated, torn between the familiar path of solitude and the intriguing possibility of.. no.

"What's your name?"

"Minho."

He may be opposed to making friends but he wasn't impolite, he'd answer if you asked him a direct question.

"Korea, right?"

He nodded.

"I watched your championships."

He hummed, staring down at the fluffy socks that were peeking out of your skates.

Minho already felt uneasy, knowing that you knew his style of skating, had seen his best performance to date, how he reacted to the crowds, yet he remained in the dark about anything to do with you.

The asymmetry of your knowledge of eachother made Minho weary, he felt like you had an advantage over him already.

"I'm Y/n." You announced, extending a hand to him but he didn't take it.

The air was heavy with the unspoken tension that had bubbled up in him from this small interaction.

"Making a friend isn't going to stop you from doing your best, you know?" You offered, your words cutting through the frosty air. Minho looked up, meeting your eyes with a conflicted expression. Despite your gentle encouragement, his  focus on the gold medal remained unwavering. He didn't want just to do his best; he wanted to bring home that prize.

His gaze shifted down to the patch of your country's flag sewn into your jacket, and he pursed his lips, a silent acknowledgment of the reality of the situation, you were here to try and beat him too at the end of the day.

It was ingrained in his mind from a very young age that he didn't need friends in this world. He needed to win. Minho chaneled all of his energy into surpassing his peers instead of conversing with them- he knew their names, and he knew their rankings. He didn't entertain any attempts at training together, lest they all steal his routines and steal his success.

"If I was going to make a friend it wouldn't be with someone I was competing against."

"Suit yourself, Minho," you grinned, "I'll be here if you want company."

He was sure he wouldn't want company, but he gave you a small nod nonetheless and watched as you slipped a pair of earphones in your ears and relocated to the far end of the rink so as not to collide with his space.

He appreciated that.

When he next came, during the more acceptable hours of the next day to be out skating, the ice was teeming with other competitors when he went back. He groaned under his breath, of course he couldn't police the rink, but he hated this.

Now he had to pay attention to his surroundings properly, he didn't get to just skate and lose himself in the silence, he had to watch everything, not just focus on himself.

Now he would feel uncomfortable in his own skin everytime a pair of eyes looked him up and down.

He felt uncomfortably exposed like this.

He felt like his every glide was being watched, examined, picked apart, stolen for other routines, magpied by other coaches.

No, he'd come back later.

He'd come back when he could focus.

There was no use being on the ice like this, not when he could barely keep his eyes straight in from of him; darting his eyes back and forth every two seconds to check for other skaters just in case someone got too close and he would collide-

Minho's fear materialized just then, right as he was thinking about avoiding it, he failed to see you right in front of him. The two of you tangled together in an unexpected embrace, his limbs flailing to keep himself upright amidst his moment of weakness- a stark contrast to the usual upmost precision and control that he prided himself on.

He cleared his throat, a habit that he used to shove the lump of embarrassment that made it hard for him to swallow out of his airway.

"Sorry," he mumbled, his ears tinting in a cherry blush that seemed much more bright on the ice.

"Are you okay?" You asked him, trying to surpress a smile at how his hands squeezed your arms, surprised by the unexpected shift of balance.

He noticed then. That he was still holding on to you tightly, and quickly removed himself, rubbing at his cheek subtly to try and force the blush back down his neck.

Cute.

"I'm okay."

"Be careful," you nodded towards him, skating backwards through the current of people. He watched as they all seemed to contort around you, fitting you into their paths and you didn't even need to look at where they were.

Minho wondered if that was a skill that came with skating around other people. If having friends on the ice allowed him to better suit himself for not skating alone.

When would he ever need that, though?

"Wouldn't want anything getting in the way of your gold medal?"

He heard your voice before he saw your face again, pirouetting around him like a ballerina.

You stopped in front of him, a playful smile tugging at the corners of your lips as you stared up into his stoic expression. It seemed he was as emotionally resilient as the ice.

"Do you speak only when someone's asking you a question?" You quipped, teasingly.

His response was a curt, "no."

You giggled at the irony, and a crack appeared in Minho's rigidly crafted exterior as he pursed his lips into a small smile and let his head flop down to hide it.

You wished he didn't hide it, though, as that split second his face held something more than that blank expression you wanted to chase it- tilt his head back up to see the smile he didn't want to show you.

"Well, you wanna skate?"

He looked to the side and let the anxiety bubble back up through his veins at the sight of all the other people moving past his field of view.

"How can you skate with so many people?"

You shrugged, a casual nonchalance in your response, "habit, I didn't really get to use private rinks a lot."

The admission carried a hint of your own experiences, and you wondered for a brief moment if he was going to open up about his to continue the conversation.

He didn't continue.

Of course not.

"What about you?"

Minho's stoic exterior seemed to reassert itself, mending the cracks as soon as you asked him a question about himself that he deemed suspicious. The question lingered in his air and in his thoughts as he pushed himself along behind you.

You faced him, skating backwards carefully as it you were guiding him through the people, opening up a path for him to start a new journey on the ice.

He watched you smile and greet everyone you skated past like you had known them for years, and maybe you had, he truly couldn't tell. Maybe if he hadn't been so shut off you would've asked about his day so far like you were chatting to an old friend.

Your question was deemed forgotten, but he still mulled it over- thinking about how talented and truly passionate you must've been to get this far without the opportunity to skate in a private rink.

Thinking about how he probably wouldn't have gotten this far without it, most of his love for the sport came with the fact that he could be alone.

Thinking about asking you about your experiences, to dissect how different the two of you were in that regard.

He skated behind you, internally grateful for the path you were clearing for him, but he didn't vocalise his appreciation.

He glided in silence.

In the next week, the man had found himself exhausted with the fridge that came in his dorm and reluctantly reatreated to the canteen. With his tray in hand, he looked around at the semi-filled tables, observing the groups of people, most just competitors from neighbouring countries huddling together.

It felt foreign to him.

But Minho was no stranger to eating alone. With a quiet determination, he selected an empty table and sat down gently, placing his head on his palm as he started to pick at the offerings that had came with his tray. The clatter of cutlery and hum of distant conversations accompanied his solitude, he had done this many times before, but he didn't feel quite as alone until right now.

He thought the rest of these people would be the same as him, closed off and obsessed with success, he didn't think it would be like school all over again- with cliques and small exclusive groups of people that all looked so happy eating together.

Friends.

They were all friends.

Then, a burst of laughter resonated from a nearby table and something stirred in his chest. He glanced up, and as he had expected, it was your table- the pleasant sound of your laughter that disrupted his thoughts.

You met his eye and a quick, strange, panic seized over him- he felt his face heating up and he didn't know why. Minho swiftly averted his gaze and pretended to be engrossed in the intricacies of his half eaten meal, masking the way his pulse spiked when you noticed him looking.

God, that was wrong. That felt wrong.

That felt like something that would get in the way of his gold medal if he entertained it.

Minho's sudden focus was interrupted by the unmistakable sound of a second tray landing on his table. Startled, like a lonely kitten, he looked up with wide eyes to find you standing there at the foot of the bench opposite him.

There was a moment of silence shared between the two of you as surprise flashed across his face, replaced with uncertainty, and then quickly painted back over with his usual plain expression.

"You looked like you could use some company," you shrugged with a casual smile.

Minho hesitated, this new turn of events throwing him for a bit of a loop. It was clear you were going to join him no matter what he did, so he might as well just accept it and try and finish his food as quick as he could.

"I didn't need it."

"Well, now you've got it," you replied with a gentle insistence.

He watched as you sunk down into the chair, resting your elbows on the table and your chin in your intertwined hands as you looked back at him.

The man cleared his throat, blinking rapidly and subtly chewing on the inside of his cheek as he looked back down. His nervous tics betrayed the emotional conflict occurring deep in the back of his mind.

Why were you so insistent on getting him out of his shell?

He wanted to ask, but that would in turn be getting himself out of his shell, so he sat in silence to regain his control- no different to before you were sat across from him.

That lonely feeling from before dissapated though, and for that he was grateful.

From that moment onward, every time Minho would show himself in the canteen- a subtle shift in the dynamic between the two of you took place. No matter which table he chose, no matter how far away from your usual spot he placed himself, you made it a point to come and join him.

Even despite the fact that he ate in silence, you did it opposite him. A small smile etched on your lips spoke louder than any small talk you could've tried to bother him with. You were happy with this arrangement and he couldn't figure out why for the life of him.

He knew he was difficult, knew that his cold and judging exterior that he presented was challenging for everyone around him. He prided himself on his control, the fact that he could navigate the confusing social interactions around him with said coldness, but something about seeing you sat across from him despite it prompted a lump to stir in his throat.

Why were you putting up with his silence?

Did you really have any interest in the thoughts he didn't share with anyone, or was he just a dull challenge? Someone for you to open up and then spare nothing but a morning greeting on the ice when all was said and done?

What if, in the process of sharing himself, you regarded him a puzzle solved and just.. moved on?

Over the weeks, yours and his schedules seemed to blend together seamlessly. The two of you found yourselves on the ice together more often than not, despite Minho's initial attempts to shake you off. He sought the emptiness of the early mornings and the late nights and, so it seemed, did you.

The rink became a shared space for the two of you, and it had gotten so bad that he looked for you when he entered- he would stay far away sure, but he looked for you. He couldn't help but glance around to make sure you were there, sat on the bleachers adjusting your skates or already twirling on the ice, your presence had somehow already become a part of his new routine.

Today, however, you weren't there.

He had gotten so used to skating in tandem with you, seperate routines, and yet intertwined on the frozen canvas as the marks that your skates left threaded together by the time the both of you were finished.

For a moment, a subtle but undeniable pang snagged at Minho's heart.

It wasn't quite sadness, no, more like discomfort.

The ice felt emptier now.

He whipped his head around as he span, his eyes searching the room for your bag or something of yours to quell the weird feeling pooling heavy in the bottom of his legs.

The sound of his blades cutting the ice felt louder now, echoed stronger without the other half of the room being polluted with the sound of yours slicing through his beloved silence.

Did he like it? He didn't know anymore.

What he did know was that he didn't like not knowing where you were.

That need for control reared its head, and some sort of anxiety washed over him like a gentle yet unrelenting wave. This was his routine now, he skated with you, and now you were gone.

His thoughts weren't clear with you gone, and his thoughts weren't clear when you were here- the confusing emotions that stirred restlessly within him made him frown. He almost longed for your presence, longed for the knowledge of your whereabouts, and longed for everything to go back to how it was when he didn't have to worry about distracting things like you.

He wasn't used to confronting problems like this.

When had Minho ever needed to navigate his emotions in order to concentrate?

He could push those down, he usually could ignore it all and just skate. He was having trouble just skating recently and it was bothering him, you were bothering him.

The man huffed to himself, a frustrated acknowledgement of his sudden codependency on your companionship, it struck him as a little amusing despite everything.

He could almost be moved to laugh out loud at the absurdity of it.

Minho found himself walking straight to the canteen when his session was over, the need to ask you where you'd been lingering in his mind- an impulse to understand why you'd disrupted his routine.

However when he arrived, he didn't find you sat at your usual table either. A frown etched into his face as he stood amist the moving current of people, caught between leaving and maybe.. asking?

He sucked in a breath, hesitation pushing through him before he pursed his lips and headed toward your usual table.

"Hey," Minho greeted, masking his small amount of worry with a composed exterior. "Have you seen Y/n around?"

The other skaters looked up, sharing glances between themselves, no doubt they recognised him as the man you always joined, the one who always sat alone. Three men and one other woman sat at your table, he didn't have a faintest clue of any of their names, but he picked up an Australian accent as the one closest to him spoke first.

"Yeah, she took a spill this morning. Went to get checked out by the medical team."

Oh.

You were hurt.

That upset him.

"She'll be back soon though, she didn't want to go, it was just her coach making her check it out."

A wave of relief washed over Minho, his initial concern fading. "Thank you," he replied, nodding at the information.

Minho chewed on the inside of his cheek.

Maybe if he had made more of an effort with these people, with your friends, he wouldn't have been the only one in the dark about your situation. The walls he'd built to isolate himself had isolated you from him, and the realisation made him sigh.

He turned on his heel to leave, losing what little appetite he had in the first place.

Minho's knee bounced up and down with restless energy as he sat on the bleachers the next morning. He took small sips of his hot chocolate, watching the empty ice and the way it glistened in the light- the thought that it was similar to the twinkle in your eyes didn't escape him.

One cup sat untouched next to his thigh, waiting for your arrival.

His gaze flickered to the entrance, wondering when you would appear. When you did, he straightened his back and fixed his posture, clearing his throat of that lump again before he could realise what he was doing. It was a reflexive action, and it wasn't intended to alert you of his presence so abruptly, but you smiled as you fixed your view on him.

Minho watched you approach, climbing up two of the levels to sit beside him silently. The action melted a part of his icy walls, the fact that you were willing to just sit next to him- just share his company.

Your eyes fell to the cup he held in his hands, and then flickered to the one that sat besides him- in between the two of you. As your gaze met his, you grinned knowingly and the warmth from it caught him off guard.

He blinked rapidly, composed facade faltering as he looked at you like a deer caught in headlights- blush tinting his ears. He had to look away.

"It's for you," Minho mumbled, gently pushing the cup towards you slightly as his eyes locked on something far in the corner.

From then on, he brought you a hot chocolate every day just to see that smile again.

Most of the time, and if he would arrive later than you, he would leave it by your bag- opting to watch you from afar when you realised what he'd done. Sometimes he would be bold enough to wait for you and hand it to you himself on the rare occasion he was feeling that confident.

Today you happened to be stood right behind him in the line to the small sponsored cafe that he had buying the drinks from. He didn't know how to navigate this.

He fully intended not to break his routine today, but there was something about having you right there that made him nervous.

Minho kept glancing over his shoulder at you the further down the line he got, and this time you looked back. A coy smile tugged on your lips, as if you knew of his struggle, waiting to see what he would do now that he didn't have the option to drop the drink off from afar.

Control yourself, he thought, this is fine.

He paid for the two hot chocolates still, except only picking one off of the counter when they were done despite the barista calling out for him.

He heard your rushed footsteps from behind, the other drink in hand as you fell into step with him.

"Thank you," you hummed, looking up at his reddish brown hair.

The man spared you a passing nod, playing with the hem of his jacket to steal his focus away from wanting to observe your smile from so close.

"I'll pay you back."

That made him look.

He shook his head, "no need."

"But these are expensive."

He thought back on one of the very first pieces of information he knew about you- that you never got to skate in empty rinks growing up. He assumed that you didn't have the means to book one out or pay for private sessions like he did.

He didn't particularly think the drinks were expensive, but you did and you still wanted to pay him back.

"It's fine."

"Minho.."

His heart skipped when you said his name.

"I'm not going to accept your money no matter what you say, so, you might as well just keep it and stop complaining."

You smiled, and he cocked his head towards you inquisitively.

"I think that's the most you've ever said to me."

He blinked.

You were right.

He cleared his throat of embarrassment yet again, fixing his gaze forward on the journey back to the rink- the guards on his skates tapping gently against the linoleum flooring.

You laughed now, a joyous sound that spread infectiously to his face no matter how much he willed it not to- and he smiled with you.

When the two of you got back to the ice, it was then that Minho noticed you sitting on the bleachers, taking off a pair of trainers to slip on your skates instead and he wondered why you hadn't just worn them on your way like he usually did.

As if you knew why he was watching you, you smiled bashfully, pursing your lips into a pout that he couldn't help but think was cute.

"I lost my guards," you laughed. "I can't damage these blades either."

"You didn't bring back-ups?"

He skated away from the edge of the rink as you shook your head no, joining him on the ice. The distance between the two of you didn't loom so large now that he wanted to gauge in conversation with you.

He couldn't help but smile.

That was stupid.

"The sports shop is only a 15 minute drive away."

"I can't drive," you shrugged.

He could.

Minho kept the information of his driver's license to himself as the two of you began your normal routine of skating together yet apart, but the prospect of offering you help nagged at his brain every time he caught a glimpse of you.

As he glided across his side of the rink, strewing together twirls and spins and jumps into the same routine he'd been practicing since he got here, his mind wandered to you.

He contemplated the simplicity of it.

Would you like me to take you?

He could surely ask, there would be no harm done- the probability of you saying yes far outweighed you saying no, but he still chewed the inside of his cheek in nervousness.

No? Why would I want you to take me?

A shiver shuddered down his spine at the thought of it. If that happened he probably would never open his mouth to you again.

Minho's face almost pressed down against the ice as he skillfully executed a hydroplane, his leg extended straight out with precision. The seamless movement demonstrated his mastery of technique and control as he moved into a spin, hands pressing into the frozen surface, guiding him into a position that bordered on lying horizontally.

He could feel the chill seeping through his clothes- making his face pink as his cheek brushed the ground.

Minho felt a sense of pride as he lifted back up on his feet, his movements seamlessly transitioning from the spin to a standing position. As he glanced up, a small smile played on his lips when he noticed that you had stopped your routine.

Something stirred within him as he realized you were watching, an urge to push himself further, to impress you with his skill on the ice. Despite the logical part of his brain dismissing it as somewhat silly, he quite liked when you looked at him.

Each next move was executed with a precision that showed years of disciplined training, but there was an added flair- a desire to showcase his abilities in a way that went beyond the standard routine.

As he landed his triple lutz, Minho couldn't help but steal a glance in your direction. The sparkle in your eyes fueled a newfound motivation within him. The ice beneath him almost began to melt, just like how yours did when he watched you for the first time with all that awe.

Minho finished the routine, his eyes blinking up at you from across the rink. There was a brief pause, a moment of anticipation where he almost expected you to say something. But he had given you no reason to believe he ever  wanted you to interrupt the silence he loved on the ice so much.

So you stayed quiet, a bitten lip adding a touch of intrigue to your expression, a detail he wished he could've seen up close.

He wondered what thoughts hid behind your eyes as you watched him, what you wanted to say, if there was anything more behind the quiet gaze you directed his way.

The cold air seemed to linger with a different energy as he skated towards you when you headed to the exit.

He watched in silence as you slipped off your skates and started to tie the laces of your trainers instead.

This was his chance, surely.

Just ask.

He was quickly putting on his guards when he had stayed quiet for too long, prompting you to disregard his gaze with a content sigh and head out of the hall with your belongings.

Minho followed behind you, his fingers nervously pulling at the seems of his jacket as he took in a deep breath.

"Y/n," he called.

You looked over your shoulder at him with a curious expression.

"Would you like me to take you?"

The man waited for your response with subtle anticipation, shuffling from skate to skate with an antsy energy. His simple question held a whole lot of meaning that he hoped wasn't lost on you. He hoped you knew how much of a step for him this was.

Somehow, no immediate response was worse than you just rejecting him.

"I can drive," he looked down, watching how the tips of your trainers got closer as you closed the distance between the two of you. "It's no trouble."

The prospect of offering you a ride held a significance deeper than the practicalities. He was opening up to you, or trying, atleast.

You laughed, the sound breaking the tension in the air, and Minho flashed you a fleetingly nervous smile. He couldn't help but wonder what was so amusing.

"I'd like that," you finally responded, a playful glint in your eyes.

He let out a breath, the burden of rejection lifting off of his shoulders as he straightened his posture with a newfound confidence.

You were like a candle flame, gently melting the frozen enclosure he cased himself in. Minho followed behind you, your magnetism pulling him close while you browsed the aisles of the sports shop. The quiet hum of the fluorescent lights and the crisp scent of new sports equipment surrounded the two of you.

"Which do you think?" You smiled, holding up one made of hard plastic and one that was so fluffy he didn't think he could make out where it started and ended.

"Do you need soakers or guards?"

"Guards," you sighed, placing the soaker back down into its pile of soft companions.

As you examined various different types, Minho couldn't help but find a certain comfort in the simplicity of the moment. He discovered a newfound appreciation for your flickering flame that had begun to melt the ice around his shielded heart.

His lips pulled into a downturned smile, picking it straight back up as soon as you moved on to the next miriad of brands and colours to look at.

"There's too many to choose from!"

"What were your old ones like?" He inquired, hiding the white fluffy fabric blade jacket behind his back.

"My old ones were boring."

He hummed with a nod, watching your fingers trace over the different shapes and sizes.

"They were grey, like yours."

"Mine are boring?" Minho raised his eyebrows, a teasing lilt to his tone that spurred you to look up.

"No, they suit you," you quickly added.

He laughed, actually laughed, and the genuine sound caught you off guard. It was pretty, and it made you blush.

You swiftly looked away, focusing so intently on the array of guards like they suddenly held the secrets of the universe. Swapping the white one you held for a baby blue pair, you held it up and pursed your lips.

"I'm gonna get these."

He gently took them from your hand.

"Go look at the skates, I'll pay."

You opened your mouth as if to argue, but he had already started the walk back to the tills before you could even say anything.

As you wandered over to the skates, a subtle warmth settled in your stomach. You could tell that Minho expressed his appreciation through acts of service, showed his feelings through actions instead of vocalising them.

You browsed through the different pairs, admiring the long blades and the pretty details engrained into the leather.

Your skates were white, and Minho's were black.

Binary opposites.

You heard his footsteps behind you quicker than you thought, and softly swivelled to find him holding the small bag with an equally small smile. Despite the differences, there was an undeniable charm to the fact that you were two seperate poles of a magnet.

Because opposites attract.

"Are you ready to go?" He asked, and you nodded, suddenly overcome with a strange sense of bashfulness as you fell into step with him.

He led you out back to where he had parked, placing the bag down in the backseat before sliding behind the steering wheel. Minho fastened his seatbelt, but didn't start the car, his eyes drifting over to where you twiddled your fingers in the passenger seat.

"What made you want to start skating?"

You looked up at the question that broke the silence.

"I like the cold."

The admission hung in the air, and he waited, his gaze unwavering, inviting you to share more if you felt inclined. A question danced in his mind.

He was cold when you first met, is that what drew you to him?

"What about you?"

Your eyes met and it was like the world outside of his car faded.

He was okay.

He was still going to be okay if he let you in.

So he did.

"My parents used to take me to a frozen lake near our house, and I just fell it love with it."

"How old were you?" You hummed.

"About 3, I didn't know a thing about skating, I just knew I wanted to be there."

As he reminisced, a nostalgic smile pulled at his lips.

"And then we moved to Gimpo."

"What happened in Gimpo?" You asked

"I got my first coach," he smiled, a sad sort of smile that made you want to reach over and take his hand. "She said I had so much potential."

The words lingered, carrying a weight that clearly meant a lot to him. You stayed quiet, a reassuring nod spurring him to continue, and sat peacefully.

"She told me not to bother making friends if I wanted to keep it."

So his coach's advice was what had pushed him into his pursuit of loneliness alongside the pursuit for his gold medal. Your heart ached painfully in your chest.

He thought of all the connections he could've had if he knew that it would be like this, like you.

"You've got one now," you smiled at him, and he nodded.

The journey back to the ice rink was a pleasant one, the gentle sound of soft guitar leaking from his speakers. He offered to turn it off when he realised it was in Korean, but you shook your head.

He told you about his 3 cats back home, his love for pudding and jokbal, despite never having tried either of them- you agreed with a smile when he asked you if you liked them.

You knew his favourite colour was mint, and his favourite flavour of ice cream was strawberry, despite the fact that he really did like mint choc chip and he almost couldn't choose. He didn't really have a favourite artist, but his favourite song was '10 out of 10' by a group called 2pm. He couldn't swim and he was afraid of heights.

You knew his birthday and his mbti and the fact that he kind of wanted to be a policeman when he was growing up, but he loved the ice too much. You knew that he had been recorded in the olympic qualifying lines and it was on an episode of nat geo, and no he wasn't going to show you and he really didn't want you to try and look it up because it was embarrassing.

It was like a switch had been pressed on his heart as soon as you made it out of the olympic halls that made him suddenly want to share things with you, and you quite enjoyed the change.

Minho looked at you, waiting at the entrance to the rink for him, his eyebrow subtly raised in a silent question about your intentions.

"You've never skated with a partner before, right?" you inquired, breaking the silence with a question that carried the promise of something new.

He paused for a moment, mulling over your words. Skating had always been just Minho, a realm where he could be free, on his own. The prospect of partnering on the ice was unfamiliar territory.

"No, never," he admitted, a mix of curiosity and uncertainty in his tone. He had never thought of navigating the ice in tandem with another.

"Do you want to?" you asked, your question hanging in the crisp air.

You were asking if he wanted to reshape his entire view on the sport.

Make a friend, skate with a friend, the whole thing didn't seem so daunting when he thought about it like that.

But some sort of truth lingered below the surface, that's not what this was.

Minho hesitated, his gaze flickering from you to the rink. The prospect of stepping into the realm of pairs skating was both alluring and challenging.

After a moment, he nodded, and you took his hand so casually that he wouldn't have even noticed if the touch alone didn't send warmth through his limbs.

Skating with a friend shouldn't make his heart beat this fast.

A simple friendship was not what had bloomed in the middle of all of this, and it was even worse than what he was afraid of in the very beginning when he first heard your voice.

"Do you trust me?" you asked, the question hanging in the air between you as you pulled him along, effortlessly falling into pace with eachother.

Minho looked down at his skates for a moment, contemplating the implications of your inquiry. He had never done this before. Any of it.

He had never changed his routine for anyone, never let anyone in as much as he let you in, and he had certainly never started spending double the amount of money on drinks in the morning just to see you smile.

When he met your eyes again, he didn't have to say a thing to confirm it, but he did anyway.

"I do."

As you both continued to glide together, you let go of his hand and a small pout fell upon his lips, making you giggle. His arm was still outstretched, as if he was chasing the connection from before. With a graceful ease, you gently raised your leg in the air and Minho's surprise was evident as he watched the fluidity of your movements.

When you told him to take your ankle, there was a moment of hesitation in his expression. He took it anyway, the warmth of your nude tights meeting his cold hand, and as he supported your body- he felt you moving back, closer to him.

The man panicked with a bated breath, no choice but to slide his palm further up your leg. He swallowed that lump down again as his hand rested underneath your thigh, holding you almost against him and yet you still glided closer.

The two of you were losing momentum now, and Minho didn't know what else to do, the natural current of the move you were trying to execute with him spurred his hands to grip your waist and pull you to his chest.

So that's what he did.

He swore you must've been able to feel his heart threatening to bang right out of his ribcage- aching to be close to yours.

With you both standing upright, you could continue skating, and yet his hand didn't leave the small of your back.

Minho observed the light wind catching your hair as you both pushed along, and in that moment, he couldn't help but be captivated. The ice held a certain magic when you were on it with him like this. The strands of your hair danced behind you, catching over your ear and shoulder.

His fingers gently moved up to free your hair, tucking it away behind you so it wasn't caught.

Beautiful.

You looked across at him, a spark of spontaneity prompting you to put your hands on his shoulders to ease the two of you into a slow spin, the crisp air around you crackling with tension.

Your eyes fell to Minho's lips, the magnetic pull between you both drawing you closer, slowly, gradually, almost touching. The world around you seemed to blur.

Just as a tender moment was about to unfold, someone pushed through the door to the rink, clanging and making noise, shattering the fragile bubble of intimacy. The intrusion was abrupt, and the spell of the shared spin dissipated in an instant.

As the noise from the cleaner echoed in the rink, you both pulled away, a silent understanding between you that whatever that was had passed.

"You're not supposed to be in here this late," the man called out, "the rink shuts at midnight!"

Minho frowned, a quiet disdain for the man present on his features as he stepped off of the ice and collected his belongings.

He knew that.

He didn't know that so much time had passed already, he swore he only got here at 11pm.

"Sorry," you smiled to the cleaner, "we didn't realise it was that late."

Minho nodded, a quick bow to show his apologies before he was following you out of the same door that had interrupted everything.

Now he was just left with the feel of butterflies dancing around in his stomach with no way out.

"I'll see you tomorrow?" You cocked your head slightly to the left, avoiding his eyes with a bashful smile.

"Yeah."

He didn't see you the next morning, and Minho's first thought was that you had sustained another minor injury. An instant surge of concern propelled him to the canteen as soon as he could to confirm it with your friends. However, to his surprise, you were there, seemingly unharmed. An unexplored emotion rushed through his heart- why wouldn't you tell him you weren't going to be there?

The air around him felt heavy with a mixture of concern and an unexpected tinge of jealousy that he struggled to comprehend. Should he go over? Ask you?

Or just sit alone again, or go back to his dorm and deal with his unstocked fridge?

He didn't have to wonder for long, because you beckoned him over as soon as you noticed him stood amidst the moving people, frozen in uncertainty. Your smile was bright, and all the negativity that clouded his thoughts for a second was washed away in favour of those familiar fluttery butterflies again.

Your friends turned to look at him, and he swallowed down that lump, taking in a breath and heading over to where you were.

"Min, I'm sorry it was my coach, she-"

Min.

His thoughts blanked and he didn't even hear the rest of what you were saying, just settling into the space next to you that you tapped as that nickname you'd just given him fogged his brain.

"It's okay," he smiled politely and small, once he'd registered that everyone on the table was looking to him for his response.

"I am sorry, I should really get your number or something, huh?" You pursed your lips into a guilty grin.

His number, right, yes.

He nodded, his eyes struggling to stay on yours.

"Sorry, um.. these are my friends," you tossed your wrist out to the rest of the table.

He waved awkwardly to them as they introduced themselves, Felix and Joshua, two more figure skaters from Australia and America, Yuqi, a Chinese skater too, and Chris- an ice hockey player self dubbed Australia's best left winger.

Minho felt a wave of unease pour over him again, the second he'd gotten used to being in your company he was thrown into the deep end with 4 new people. He nodded and smiled as they spoke, quickly pulling eachother back into whatever they were talking about before he arrived. They did try to involve him, one of them occasionally would ask him a question or ask him to weigh in on the subject, but he only gave short answers.

He kept taking subtle glances at you beside him, searching for that connection to keep him grounded.

You squeezed his hand under the table, a reassuring gesture that instantly soothed his nerves. He quickly looked down at the unexpected contact before fixing his gaze back on you, a genuine smile graced his lips again, and you intertwined your fingers with his.

Mingling with your friends wasn't that daunting really, he just wasn't used to it.

He quite liked them, actually, and as he started to feel confident enough to say more than a few words every few minutes, he started to feel at ease on your table.

Minho's thumb brushed back and forth over the back of your palm, the teasing smile he sent your way after he started to see that blush on your cheeks added a touch of playfulness to the moment. If anyone else at the table noticed, they didn't say anything.

He started to sit with the 5 of you from then on. No longer did he seek out an empty table, he would come and sit next to you, seamlessly integrating with you all like he had been there from the beginning. Secretly holding your hand under the table became an added bonus that he very much looked forward to.

You exchanged numbers too, and oftentimes he found himself texting you as soon as he got back into his dorm, finding out more about your life, your tastes and favourite things just like you had done to him. The days until the competition dwindled down into the single digits, and the solitude that both you and him shared in the ice during early mornings and late at night became scarce.

Now everyone was on the ice, at all hours of the day, and it set him on edge.

In the middle of the warm down stretches that were part of his nightly routine, his phone buzzed with a notification for him to meet you by the doors of the rink in 5 minutes.

It was already 11 at night, he really should get some sleep- he'd be performing for his entire career in 30 hours, 58 minutes and 25 seconds.

24 seconds..

23 seconds..

Minho slipped on his shoes and a coat, and twisted the lock on his dorm door as he started the cold walk to the rink.

You were there before him, and shot him a small wave and a nervous smile when he stood in front of you.

"Sorry," you breathed in, the look of his fluffy just-showered bangs covering his eyes making him look double the amount of endearing to you as usual.

"Why?"

"Well I.. wanted to see you, properly, but you're clearly ready to sleep."

A smile pulled on Minho's cheeks at your bashful shrug, he had long since stopped trying to hide them around you.

"I don't mind," he spoke gently, the warm air materializing in front of him due to the cold. "I wanted to see you too."

"You did?"

"Of course," he almost scoffed.

You giggled, folding your arms around yourself as you stepped closer to the man.

"What?" He asked, blinking down at you.

"Nothing."

"What's funny?"

"You are, Min."

Min. There it was again.

He smiled, a bashful expression forming on his face as he cleared his throat, looking away momentarily. The redness of his ears almost seemed to shine through his messy hair. He took your hand, intertwining his fingers with yours, and led you towards the exit.

As you walked together, he pulled out his keys and unlocked his car. The invitation didn't hang in the air, because without a second thought you got into the passenger seat.

The quiet intimacy of the moment spoke volumes, but it always had, hadn't it? Just like every other time when you would accept his silence.

He took the driver's seat and the engine hummed to life, as the car pulled away, the world outside seemed to blur into a palette of city lights you could barely focus on.

Sharing silence with Minho had never felt uncomfortable; instead, it was peaceful and calm, as if this is how it was always meant to be. The gentle hum of the car and the soft sound of the tires against the empty roads accompanied the short journey. You took in the view ahead with a gasp as the car pulled up to the top of a hill, the lights twinkling back at you like a miriad of stars.

Minho's deep brown eyes met yours, and a shared appreciation for the beauty in front of you lingered. Though neither of you seemed too occupied with the view of the city.

His fingers tapped against the steering wheel nervously, his other hand leaning on the armrest between your seats.

"This will all be over in just 2 days," he whispered, his adams apple bobbing up and down and you just knew he was trying to get rid of a lump.

"You're not coming back?"

"I am.. are you?"

"Yeah, so don't say things like that."

He nodded with a guilty smile, looking back outside.

"I never thanked you."

Minho furrowed his brows at your words, a hint of confusion flashing across his face as he examined yours for a hint as to what you were going to say next. What could you possibly need to thank him for? In his eyes, you've done more for him than you could ever imagine.

"1 month and 2 days worth of hot chocolates, that's £108, I checked," you started, "and the guards and the soakers, that's atleast £130."

"You did thank me for all of those," he shrugged- like the notion that he had spent that much money on you wasn't anything to draw attention to.

"Min.."

"I think I like it when you call me that," he said, his eyes falling down to the shape that your lips made when they said the nickname you'd given him.

"Min?"

"Yeah, Min."

You laughed and turned in your seat to face him properly. "I think I like you."

He stared up, searching your eyes for any hint of insincerity in your words. The smile faded from his lips into more of a confusion riddled expression, like he couldn't believe you'd ever say those words to him- and you let your head fall with a laugh.

As you looked down at your hands in your lap, Minho's confusion only deepened.

"I like how quiet you are, and I like how much you love to be alone."

He wanted to comment on how that had changed, how you had changed that, but he didn't dare interrupt.

"I like how much you love your cats, and all the pictures you send me," you smiled to yourself, "and I like how you'd rather show instead of tell me how you feel."

You weren't just a small flame, you were his entire sun, and he couldn't believe that you felt like this over someone like him. His breathing stuttered when you looked up again, gradually pulling towards him as you spoke.

"I like skating with you, and I like the tingly feeling I get when I'm around you."

So you did feel it too, the butterflies.

"I like holding your hand under the table, and I like it when your ears go red every time."

He could barely keep his eyes open for more than a second, his face flushed as you grinned.

"And.. I think it's really adorable when you blink so fast," you whispered, just centimetres away from his lips.

He laughed nervously, the sound quietly vibrating between the two of you in the confined space of the car. He looked down, to the side, anywhere away from your eyes because he thought he'd overload with emotion if he did.

He wanted to vocalize how intense this all was, how intense his feelings for you were, but the words seemed to escape him. The weight of emotion didn't sit heavy in his chest like it always had before, ready for him to ignore and shove further down, it danced around his limbs and bloomed in his stomach, making it difficult for him to even sit still.

The uncharted territory of expressing his feelings so boldly, the fact that he even had these consuming feelings, left him momentarily speechless. He took a deep breath and attempted to steady the racing beat of his heart.

"I think.." he started, his voice a quiet whisper, anticipation hanging in the air. "I want to kiss you."

"Then kiss me."

He glanced up then, ironically, because the shared gaze was brief when the two of you finally drifted together, eyes fluttering down as he gently held your cheek- pressing his lips on yours.

It was small, and sweet, and he shyly looked down afterwards.

"That's it?" You asked teasingly, pressing one more peck on his lips to chase it down.

"No."

Show not tell.

That had always been how he navigated his emotions, and he planned to show you exactly how he felt, how much he felt- kissing you like you were his oxygen, like he couldn't live without it, without you.

He pushed forward, his other hand leaving the console in favour of leaning against the headrest of your chair- forcing you backwards. He couldn't be bold with his words, but he could definitely kiss you with the confidence of someone that could.

Your arms wrapped around his neck, threading your fingers through his fluffy hair and Minho felt all giddy inside.

He smiled when you let his tongue in, and a long groan resonated pulled through his throat when your hands fell to his neck, pulling his shoulders, feeling his chest.

You moved away to catch your breath, immediately burying your head in his hair.

"Better?" He laughed, almost out of air- leaning over your body.

The man felt you nod, and he hummed softly, the hand holding your head moving to the edge of the window to hold himself up.

He cleared his throat quietly after a minute or two, "are you okay?"

You giggled, moving away to hold his arm, "why wouldn't I be okay?"

"Well, I just- this is an uncomfortable position and I didn't want to move if you weren't okay.."

"Sit down if you're uncomfortable," you furrowed your brows.

He did, with a pout, but he did.

"I wanted to keep kissing you, so I stayed."

With a click of a seatbelt, you shrugged it off your shoulders, moving over to slide into his lap. You hadn't accounted for the presence of the steering wheel that now dug into your back, disrupting the progression of the moment. A wince and a giggle escaped your lips, and Minho's expression was stuck between minor concern and trying not to smile.

Your looked up to meet his eyes again, and shared laughter echoed throughout the car.

He attempted to adjust the steering wheel first to provide more space, leaning forward and accidentally pushing you further against it. You let out a quiet yelp and he gave up immediately. After a few blank seconds, it was like a lightbulb sparked above his head and he leant sideways this time to pull the lever beside his chair.

Then, he attempted to kick the seat back, but it went too far, and he had to spend a second adjusting it properly, nervous giggles leaking from his throat as he chewed the inside of his cheek in concentration.

The awkwardness of what should've been something intimate and personal just made the moment more special. It may not have been the perfect scripted scene, but the journey to getting where you were right now hadn't been perfect either, and that was what made it uniquely yours.

You smiled and he smiled when the seat found it's rightful place, staring into eachothers eyes for a second before he gently ushered your head forward, his lips coming into contact with your neck.

His fluffy hair tickled your face, but it wasn't nearly enough of a distraction for the feeling of his tongue and teeth gently sucking on your skin.

Everytime you let out a quiet noise of content when he would find a particularly sensitive spot he felt lighter, like he could soon float away and just live up in the clouds where his head seemed to be when he was thinking about you.

"You can't leave any marks or the judges might dock my points."

You pulled back, and he chased your skin slightly, his plush lips falling into a natural pout as he looked up at you like a neglected puppy. Anyone would've thought you'd taken away his favourite chew toy.

A giggle left your mouth and you just rested the side of your head under his chin, listening to the his heart jump into your ear- syncing with the rythm of your own.

The city lights that twinkled outside casted a soft glow inside the darkness of his car, the only sound being the shared breaths and the soft thump of heartbeats. The tranquility was grounding- it's gentle waves washed over the anxiety that had been surfacing within the past few days, the pressure of your coach and the competition and the judges and the audience almost spilling throughout your system.

But Minho took it all away.

Each of his breaths lifted you up and down soothingly, and you could've seen yourself drifting off cuddling with him like this. Your eyelids were getting heavy, and his hands playing with your hair wasn't helping.

"I'd stay like this forever," he whispered, pursing his lips when he pierced the quiet. "But I do have to drive us back."

The two of you didn't see eachother the next day, the last day, busy schedules overruling everything because of the proximity to the biggest performance of your shared careers. Dress rehearsals on the ice and final critics of routines consumed the entire day, but it didn't stop the texting whenever a second of freedom was granted.

You shared complaints and anxious thoughts with him, and he comforted you- carefully concealing the part where he was also feeling more nervous than he had in his entire life in the last few hours of practice he had.

As he took to the ice, Minho couldn't shake the feeling that he could've done more though he executed the spins and glides perfectly. They were perfect, like always, perfect, controlled, precise, but he didn't know what was wrong. It all left a nagging awareness that tugged at the edges of his composure.

Something wasn't perfect.

That gold medal was his, he was sure of it, he couldn't have been more sure of it. Confidence shone through every perfectly executed movement on the ice. He was skating better than he had ever skated in his life. His routine was a masterpiece, meticulously composed of his best moves and most impressive jumps. The improvement he had undergone in the span of a few months since first stepping into this rink was staggering.

Something clung to him, the thought that his anxiety might be because of you.

That's what you had admitted to him over text, you'd just thrown a passing comment out into the world that maybe you were only so nervous because he wasn't there. That you didn't get to hold his hand today, or hug or kiss him, or even see him before you'd be in front of a panel of stern judges.

He'd accepted that too, he definitely knew that he would feel uneasy.

So why was something still nagging at him?

Your coach had decided to put you in a blue dress that hugged your figure, adorned with tassels that swirled around you beautifully. The vibrant color and elegant design had Minho entranced even before you stepped onto the ice. The not so subtle distraction that it would feel nice under his palms lingered in his mind as he watched you.

If he could skate onto that ice right now just to kiss you, tell you how gorgeous you looked in that dress, how the sight took his breath away- and would not be leaving his mind at night, he would.

He'd tell you how good it made your legs look, how it highlighted all the parts of you that he longed to see without the costume.

Fuck that, he'd show you, with his hands and his mouth on yours.

But not right now.

Right now his eyes twinkled like the chipped ice on the metal of his skates as he watched you glide into the middle of the rink like you were floating. The crisp air carried the rhythmic cut of blades on ice to his ears, but his attention was fixed solely on you. Your movements were graceful, and captured every part of him, mind, body, and soul- you had it all. His heart skipped a beat as you spun and twirled and he swore that you were the vision of elegance and freedom.

Stuck at the edge of the rink, he was mesmerized by your skill and beauty. It was as if time stood still, and the world faded away, leaving only the enchanting spectacle before him. The rest of the rink looked colder than usual but the ice underneath your skates looked like it was melting from the warmth of your smile alone.

You finished your routine by heading into a triple axel, his triple axel, the climax of your performance. He held his breath with the audience as you launched into the intricate spin, the ice beneath you transforming into a stage for your artistry.

You landed it well, perfectly even, and he let out that breath he was holding, a smile of relief pulling at his lips.

His coach snapped his fingers for his attention, garnering the turn of his head to look. "Are you ready?"

He nodded, "I am."

"I've never seen you smile at someone else's performance."

Minho blinked rapidly, his ears tinting with a little blush. He was that obvious that even his coach could see.

"It's good to see you coming out of your shell."

"Yeah," he hummed, letting his coach quickly fix his collar. "It is."

He wasn't just coming out of his shell, he was falling in love.

But Minho put his thoughts aside and focused only on what his heart was telling him, stepping onto the ice with a newfound vigour, inspired by the success of your performance. Pride welled up in him as he dived straight into his carefully constructed routine perfectly, not just because of his technical ability but for the emotional resonance that now fueled it.

He had always valued control, but he couldn't control your routine, and he hypothsised that that had been the source of his anxiety. Now, as he glided on the ice, he felt a sense of liberation. The weight of everything filled him, making the experience cathartic. He was no longer a machine skating just for the sake of being alone, now, there was a new sense of artistry to his routine, a different passion thawing through his veins that he hadn't had before.

The ice beneath his skates became a canvas for a different kind of performance, one that was more than just how well he could stick the landing. Minho's movements carried the echoes of newfound connection, and as he embraced the artistic freedom, he realized that you had not threatened his control, you never had. Instead, you had brought his skating to a level where passion and precision coexisted together to create something as beautiful as what bloomed between the two of you.

Passion and precision; two sides of the same coin.

Black and white; binary opposites.

Call it what you wanted, he was truly falling more and more in love with you with every second.

He felt the very last drops of his icy shell melting away when he beamed up at the audience and the judges as he glided past, too fast to find your eyes from wherever you were- but he could feel them.

His performance, his masterpiece, was unfolding perfectly, the wind blew into his hair and the frost bit his cheeks- just how he liked it. Everything was falling into place, all of it, his whole life.

You'd told him that this had all accumulated about 490 hours of skating together from all those early mornings and late nights- you'd worked it out. 490 hours he spent here in this rink with just you, not even counting the rest of the hours where you weren't alone with him.

Hours and days and months of work, his whole life, really. It was all playing out perfectly.

He'd have a gold medal soon, and he'd get himself a girlfriend straight after.

He thought about it while he jumped and glided and twirled, extending his limps into a passionate dance. Thought about asking you out, you saying yes, kissing you again, finally, driving you back up to that spot- hitting that spot inside of you as he made love to you in his backseat, fogging up the windows until you couldn't even see the city lights anymore.

Show not tell, as always.

And he'd show you forever, make love to you forever, as long as you let him, show you how grateful he was that you pushed past that cold exterior and singlehandedly thawed it all away with just the warmth that you carried.

He'd hold your hand and flaunt it to all your friends instead of leaving your intertwined fingers under the table. He'd flaunt it to the whole world if he could, hold it up along with his medal, both equally important.

Minho from 3 months ago would scoff at the notion of anything coming close in significance to his medal, but things change, and change isn't always bad.

What didn't change was the quality of his performance like he'd thought it would.

Minho from 3 months ago knew that technicalities were going to win him his titles. How many turns, how many rotations could he do in the air, could he do it 6 times in one program? He'd be the best skater if he could.

He was almost stiff then.

He kept going, move after move, 3T, 1Eu, 3S, 1Eu, 3S, 1A, and then a hydroplane.

He liked the hydroplane, he put it in all his performances because he just liked the way it looked. It was like his signature, the full side of his head touching the ice as he glided along, it was more artistic than technical like the rest of his moves.

He'd accidentally cut his skin more times than he could imagine perfecting it, and it was ironic, because he didn't value the artistry in the sport before. He valued what the judges would like.

That's what his passion lied in, harbouring his potential, like he had been taught by his very first coach.

Don't make friends, you don't need friends.

If you needed friends it would be the judges.

To make friends with the judges you need to impress them.

Impress them by proving how much better you are, how many more turns you could do, how well you could stick it.

Don't feel it, that's nonsense.

Think it.

Calculate it.

Work it out.

But now as he finished the best routine of his life, he felt it, it was his heart that was guiding him, not his logic or his mind or any calculations.

It was you.

He found you in the audience then, you were beaming across at him- and he was beaming right back, holding that final position to cement the legacy that he was creating for himself.

It will always be you.

A/N: I HOPE IT ISNT TOO OBVIOUS THAT I KNOW NOTHING ABOUT FIGURE SJATING

also I have literally never fully written a slow burn in my entire life cause I feel like I can never make it very slow so I'm sorry if this is too fast paced LMAO

Taglist: @linos-kitten @agi-ppangx @milf-ivy

If you'd like to be added to a taglist, just submit an ask and let me know what for!

1:47 AM | han jisung

genre: crush au, very 18+ suggestive, crush! han jisung x fem! reader

warning(s): very very suggestive! smut adjacent, reader is shy yet horny, allusion to cunninglingus and fingering, pet names (princess, baby)

word count: 622

…

It’s the way that he pushes you on his bed that throbs your core. It’s the way that his lips tenderly kissing your hair and slowly inching their way to your neck. It’s the way that you forbid yourself from getting a taste of Han Jisung yet his charms have some power over you like voodoo magic.

Denial is such a beautiful thing. Every girl on campus has this massive La La Land crush on him. By every girl that also includes you. But no one has to know. You’ve reiterated many times to people how Jisung is not your cup of tea and how you have a different type. Lying could only get you so far and unfortunately, the young man can see through your bullshit.

Now, he’s on top of you. You don’t even remember how you ended up in his place. Blurry in-between details you can’t recall were buried somewhere random in your brain. All you can recall now is the way his hands feel on your skin… and his lips. How you desperately want to feel them on yours.

“Is there something in your mind princess? Would you like to stop?” He stops his kisses to look at you with his pretty eyes. Fuck. You can feel yourself get wetter by the second. He’s such a gentleman. Discreetly, you squeeze your thighs together, hoping to get some friction. Though you try to be subtle with your neediness, Jisung is able to see through you. He looks down on your lap and smirks to himself. Augh goddamnit.

“I-I- Ji- I really want to kiss you,”

His eyes widen and his smirk was replaced with a smile you could melt into. “Why didn’t you say so in the first place baby?”

You stumble upon your words again. “I was-was shy… I don’t. I just didn’t know how to say it.” Now you were really embarrassed. You tilt your head down while looking away from his handsome face. Way to go! He probably thinks you’re a loser now.

Once again he kisses the strands of your hair before tilting up your chin to face him. “Y/N. You can tell me anything that you would like to do,” he whispers, “anything you don’t want to do. Anything princess. You can trust me.”

Such a sweet guy. His words brought butterflies to your stomach. You sit on his lap and you bring your lips close to his. “I really want to kiss you.” You say such words with such assertiveness that he didn’t even hesitate to fulfill your request.

He started out slow and gentle. His soft lips were heaven sent. Yet as heavenly as they were, those devious lips hunger for more. Passion simmers the yearning you have for both of each other, leading for tongues to fight for dominance. You moan as he bit your bottom lip. He tastes like intoxicating wine and you tasted like candy that he will always want to savor.

Both of you pulled away from each other to catch air. By now you know your panties are soaked to the brim. Jisung smiles at you and you marvel at his swollen lips with some red lipstick.

“Wow. You’re amazing,” he says as he kisses your knuckles.

You give him a chase kiss on the cheeks. “No you’re amazing Ji.”

Now it was his turn to be flustered. “Oh hush you.” Red was spreading throughout his cheeks.

You giggle at his reaction before asking, “You know what would be more amazing?”

“Hmm?”

“You eating out my pussy you made so wet.”

His smirk returns once again. “That does sound amazing,” he sighs as his deft fingers make their way under your skirt and between your thighs.

…

A/N: WOAH!!! This is the first time I’ve written anything relatively spicy and so I hope you enjoy! Please don’t hesitate to leave any comments on how I can improve my writing!

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GLASS.

Han x reader. (s)

Synopsis: Han is a photographer who just moved into a new apartment and he couldn’t tell if it was accidental or fate that he saw you through the window of your apartment with his camera. And the next thing he knows, he spends most of his days watching you through his camera lens. (10,5k words)

Author’s note: Just Jisung being a pervy neighbor :)

Keep reading

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Fanfuckingtastic writing advice!!

Beating yourself up about your writing DOES NOT HELP YOU WRITE! Cut that shit out, be nicer to yourself, take breaks, and remember it's a marathon not a sprint and also nobody likes running ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

IT'S A LITTLE FROG I CAN'T BREATHE

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Forbidden fruit

Genre: 18+, smut, angst

Cw: Demon!Minho x Human!FemReader, obsession, ownership, dark themes, toxicity and jealousy, apocalypse, violent thoughts, religious imagery(?), unprotected sex (it's the end of the world, leave them be)

Wc: 4.3k

Summary: Minho shatters the very fabric of reality to claim you as his own.

AN: I have been looking for an excuse to write hot demon minho ugh, thanks so much for this request! (sorry hyunjin)

You were the forbidden fruit all over again, dangling in front of him and tempting him into madness- consuming his entire being. The unattainability of you drove him to the brink of insanity. He watched you up there, enjoying your human life, jealousy coursing through him and dragging him under like an unyielding storm every time you weren't alone.

Minho's obsession with you was an all encompassing force, an unrelenting current that swept through the depths of his existence. Every waking moment became a tapestry woven with thoughts of you, threads of desire intertwining with the fabric of his reality.

But he didn't have you, couldn't have you.

It was cruel, the way everything about you shaped the contours of his world. If you were happy, so was he, and if you were sad- Minho's entire existence threatened crumbling with the guilt he felt from being unable to help.

From the image of your smile to the lingering echoes of your laughter, your presence etched itself in the recesses of his mind.

The demon knew that your soul was destined for somewhere he wasn't able to reach, somewhere celestial and inherently good. The contrast between the ethereal nature of your soul and his tormented one only fueled the flames of his obsession with you. He longed to be close to something so pure, to touch and tangle within something that wasn't tainted and marred like everything around him.

The labyrinth of his emotional state was in chaos, the chains of desire anchoring him to you- and yet cruelly pulling him back when the temptation became too much. He was convinced it must've been another layer of punishment, another layer of eternal suffering for him.

So cruel. Hell was so cruel.

Recently though, a new figure had entered your life, someone who lingered and endured longer than anyone before despite Minho's fury. He watched as your connection deepened, the mere thought of you sharing tender moments with another enlighting a rage that crashed and burned through his insides like the very fires of hell that tortured millions.

Something dark and malevolent stirred within him, an unsettling force that eclipsed his better judgement.

The intense desire to rid your life of your new companion gnawed at his brain, it whispered insidious promises of relief for his torment- a promise that you would be his once he eradicated the competition.

He could make it painless.

Of course he didn't want to, what he wanted was to grip his claws into this new man's heart and throw him deep into the depths of hell- let the flames torture and unravel the fragile sanity of yet another poor human soul while he watched with pride.

But he could make it painless, if it's what you would want.

You would want that.

Your thoughts were too kind to match Minho's desires, and if anything he was driven by a twisted devotion to your happiness more than his own, as long as he was able to indulge in that same happiness by your side.

Some sort of presence lingered around you like an invisible shroud, casting an eery shadow over you.

The feeling had persisted for a while, and sometimes it reached an intensity that made you long for nothing more than isolation. It was as if a weight clung to your every move, a force that stopped the simple act of just living your life freely. At times, the urge to retreat to your room became overwhelming, a desperate attempt to shield yourself from the unseen thing that wrapped around your existence like a fog.

The ominous aura had become a somewhat of a companion, a constant reminder that something sinister lurked in the shadows, waiting to creep out and make itself seen. Although you recognised how eery the presence around you was, it didn't feel harmful- not to you.

You had been accused of fraternising with the devil by a random passerby as you were navigating the busy city one day. He yelled and screamed that you needed an excorsist until he was dragged away for causing a public disturbance, that was the only day that you felt the stares of everyone linger on you no matter where you went.

That's the girl, they'd whisper, the devil worshipper.

You realised that this thing around you could be sensed by other people, and you wondered why not one person other than that fateful stranger had mentioned this threatening aura to you before.

Maybe they all talked behind your back, exchanged words of disdain and whispered that you weren't to be trusted.

Despite everything, the thing was sometimes strangely comforting. A slightly weird reminder that you were never truly alone when you felt it.

It was protection, you felt protected when it weighed down on you.

"Are you there?" Hyunjin smiled, briefly waving a hand in front of your eyes to bring you back to the current events unfolding behind your clouded eyes.

Hyunjin was sweet, he was caring, and he was kind too- an artist, he loved and found the beauty in even the most mundane and dark things of the world. You wondered if that's how he felt about you. That there was beauty in you amidst the darkness that seemed to encapsulate you wherever you went.

But, you found that whenever you put yourself within close proximity of Hyunjin- that aura seemed to intensify, double and triple and grow exponentially until you had to excuse yourself and just get away. That had been a reason for many times that your dates had been cut short.

You could tell it weighed him down too, but he didn't give up so easily like every other prospective romantic partner did.

"Sorry," you shook your head with a tired laugh, "headache."

The man nodded in understanding while he pursed his lips.

"I was thinking.." He started, twiddling his thumbs as his eyes skimmed over the menu for the small cafe that you'd decided to visit with him. "What if we just stayed in? You said you feel okay at home.. right?"

"Yeah, it's bearable at home," you hummed.

It wasn't a terrible idea.

Your home was your safe space after all- where the presence always wanted you to be, you hoped that maybe it would accept this change of plans.

"Alright, let's get out of here."

Minho, consumed by a rage unlike anything he had ever known, felt the surge of emotions clawing at the seams of his being and threatening to shatter him into pieces.

How dare this man invite himself into your home?!

You didn't really want him there, he knew you didn't, why would you?

You had him.

What else could you need?

The intensity of his fury was immeasurable, as if the very fabric of reality strained under the weight of his anger. His otherworldly wrath transcended everything, bypassed the barriers of normal mortal emotion and caused the realms themselves to quiver and shake in response to him.

He needed to get to you.

The manifestation of his anger unraveled the chains keeping him tethered to his torturous residence and echoed throughout all of existence as he shattered the barriers that seperated him and you.

A sea of conflicting feelings surged within him. Amidst the chaos, a perverse sense of catharsis washed over him—a twisted euphoria at the prospect of finally wrenching you away from the celestial clutches that seemed to hold you captive.

You didn't really want heaven, you didn't really want that man.

You wanted him.

He was made for you.

He was what you needed.

He could keep you safe.

Better than any celestial angel.

The notion of claiming you as his own, defying the forces that dictated your destiny, stoked the fire of Minho's unraveling sanity. He supposed it didn't matter anymore, your soul wouldn't be going anywhere. Minho had just unleashed the end of the metaphysical worlds just to get you away from Hyunjin.

Unaware of the arcane chaos erupting in the unseen dimensions, you and the artist made the peaceful journey from the cafe back to your house.

The air was thick with an eery calmness, different to how it usually felt when you were around him- maybe this thing around you finally accepted him. It was like it had finally stopped watching you, turned it's attention to something else and decided to let you live your life.

You should've been happy.

You didn't have to wonder where it had gone for long, because the second you and Hyunjin set foot on your doorstep you knew something was wrong. A sense of unease washed over you, instinctively knowing that it was here- it was inside. The very house itself seemed to pulse with the unseen presence that usually followed you around- stronger than before, something way worse than before.

"Wh-what the fuck?"

Your gaze turned to Hyunjin from over your shoulder, he cowered away in fear- a few steps back from where you were stood, being pulled away by the urge to survive. It was as if whatever was inside that house despised the mere thought of his existence.

The stage was set for a collision of worlds, with your unsuspecting home at the center of the natural versus the supernatural.

"I-I'm sorry I.. I can't- I need to leave, I can't do this."

You could only give him a sad smile as you watched the man practically sprint back the way that the two of you had walked hand in hand.

You didn't blame him.

Turning your attention back to your door, you noticed that with every step further away that the artist took the anger within the house calmed.

As you stepped into your home, hell itself washed over you, a suffocating wave of tension that had you almost gasping for fresh air. Whatever fog that had filled this house seemed to thicken with an unsettling energy, casting shadows that whispered of this presence's desperate actions to claim you.

Standing amidst the darkness of your home, it locked eyes with you.

With eyes as deep and impenetrable as the abyss itself, his gaze, completely black, held an intensity that terrified you- but you couldn't bring yourself to look away.

A strange allure emanated from him.

His wings held an ominous elegance, each feather black and folding into one another, coming together to entwine into his back. They unfolded with a haunting beauty, an extension of his tumultuous existence, and you sucked in a gasp as the span of them reached larger than your entire living room before they fell back behind his figure.

A black tail peaked out from behind his legs, curling around in the air and swashing back and forth- reminding you slightly of a cat who was intrigued.

And then there were the horns emerging from the top of his head with a sinister elegance, definitely not supposed to spark admiration deep in your heart.

Other than those striking features, he looked rather human.

The word "mine" lingered unspoken from him, he didn't have to say it- you could feel it in the very air between the two of you, making your throat constrict because of the pure possession he felt towards you.

"It's you."

Your voice was barely above a whisper, the shock of the situation quickly fading away to a strange feeling of content now that he was finally here.

"I've torn through realms for you, my love, I've shattered reality itself to see you, to keep you alone, for myself."

Minho's voice cut through the tension with an unexpected softness, a gentle and calm tone that resonated withing you like a sirens call. He was beckoning you towards him with a hypnotic sound. It was if everything else was melting away and all that mattered was the manifestation of obsession itself in front of you.

He was the eye of the storm, the calm within whatever chaos that he had unleashed just to get to you.

"Our souls have always been intertwined," Minho murmured with a haunting tenderness, each word a delicate caress that eased your anxiety. He stepped closer, his wings unfurling gently to envelop you in their embrace. The blackness of his eyes looked as if to deepen even further than you thought possible.

"You feel it, don't you?" he continued, the softness in his voice intensifying the magnetic pull between you. The question hung in the air, a subtle acknowledgment of the cosmic forces that bound your fates together. A fate that he had written himself.

You did, you really did.

That's what it was, why despite the almost creepy circumstances you weren't afraid, if anything the feeling you felt instead was more like comfort. The way it had always been, ever since his presence started to weigh on you, all he ever brought you was comfort in the end.

You nodded to him, and he smiled.

His wings ushered you closer to him and it was almost instantly that the ease you just had dissapeared- replaced by an insatiable urge to go further. To touch his soul, tangle within it.

"We were meant to be together you see," Minho raised his hand to hold your cheek. "But your soul isn't like mine."

His gentle touch traced a path over your bottom lip, sending a shiver down your spine. The demon's palm drifted under your jaw, his nails dragging lightly down your neck, and you felt as if you could feel him corrupting your soul with every second your skin was in contact with his.

"Your soul is naive... pure... so very kind," he uttered softly, a murmur that was not unlike an incantation. Pausing to press his hand over your heart, Minho seemed entranced by your soul. "Feels... heavenly."

You could smell him in front of you, it was so strong- a smoky musk, reminiscent of the flames he was constantly enveloped in, mixed with a strange mature floral scent that was similar in a sense to his mysterious beauty.

It was like everything about you was made to draw you in, the very object of your desires stood in front of you- yearning for you himself.

"Your soul wasn't heading to the same place mine was," Minho confessed, his voice carrying the weight of his actions.

As you whispered, "wasn't?" the question hung in the air.

"I couldn't help it," he hummed, the admission tinged with a melancholic melody. "I wanted you with me, but it doesn't matter anymore."

"Doesn't matter anymore?"

Minho's face remained scarily blank, a mask that concealed the weight of a truth he hesitated to unveil. The silence hung in the air as if the very fabric of reality depended on the words he chose.

Of course it didn't, he thought to himself, there was no saving reality now.

Minho hesitated, his gaze flickering away for a moment, a fleeting glimpse of guilt beneath the surface. He didn't want to tell you the world was ending because he was stood before you, anchored by an undying obsession that was worth more than everything.

You were worth more than existence in his eyes.

Instead, he simply uttered, "Nothing matters anymore, except this moment."

In the stillness, Minho's words lingered, creating a surreal atmosphere that felt as if it stopped time itself. As you gazed into his eyes, searching for answers within the depths of his black gaze, the air crackled with energy.

Suddenly, a distant rumble echoed, like the harbinger of a storm- yet the both of you knew it was much more than thunder and lightning that was heading your way. The walls of your home quivered, shadows danced with an eery urgency, and the very ground beneath you seemed to tremble slightly.

With a heavy sigh, Minho took a step closer, leaning his forehead against yours.

"Everything will come to an end," he admitted, his voice a fragile whisper. The revelation hung in the air, a chilling acknowledgment that the world as you knew it was falling apart, and it was because this demon needed you so badly he was willing to risk everything just to have you for a moment.

"Won't you indulge me, in our last moments?"

"I don't even know your name." You whispered, voice barely audible.

You could feel his breath hitting your face, one hand holding your hip, the other your chin, his wings were wrapped around your entire body- you couldn't escape him even if you'd wanted to.

"My name is Minho."

"Minho.."

You tried it out, and it just felt right, as if his name was meant to be spoken from your tongue and no one else's- like no word you had ever said previously was worth your voice.

"Have I not done enough to prove my love?"

"You've done plenty."

"Then let me have you."

The world crumbling around you was enough convincing for you to respond with an almost silent whisper of consent, reaching up to fist his shirt in your palm.

Minho smiled, the urges that had tormented him for so long were finally allowed to come to fruition- his lips pressed against yours. They were soft, despite how he looked, the same as every other part of him.

He was soft and romantic despite the violence he unleashed on every inhabitant of your world and his.

He was soft and calming despite being a demon.

And he kissed you like he'd never gotten close to any semblance of peace before this moment- desperate and needy, his hands and his wings tugging you against him like it was you that was falling apart and not existence itself.

"I want the world to end while we're together," he whispered against you.

"We are together."

He shook his head, gently placing you down on your couch without the same sense of urgency that he'd had seconds before when he was simply kissing you.

Minho hovered above you, connecting your lips once more- this time nothing more than teasing touches here and there as he ghostly touched his hands to the sides of your torso.

"I've waited an eternity to embrace you," the demon nudged his head into your neck, the rounded point of his horn scratching lightly into your scalp. "I want to do it while the world fades around us."

"You're embracing me right now."

You knew what he meant.

Minho frowned into your shoulder, about to lean up until he felt one of your hands wrap around one of his horns- tugging him up to face you instead.

"Kiss me properly," you muttered, both hands now clutching the appendages on his head. "We don't have time for this."

He nodded, biting at your bottom lip until it started to sting and your mouth fell open, letting him push deeper- kiss you harder, sucking at where he had broken your skin.

Minho let out a deep growl that resonated deep within you, past your stomach and somewhere between your legs instead- the noise transcending into some sort of soft purring sound as you squeezed and massaged the tips of his horns.

Minho felt like he was ascending, like his soul was being redeemed just by being so close to you like this- it was addicting, he was addicted to you.

He couldn't get enough, tongues and teeth clashing together as the demon became more desperate to have you, to be one with you and your soul while everything came to an end around you.

Within the chaos, the two of you had ended up naked together- the demon on top of you, pausing for a moment to savour the sight of your body below him.

Your hands travelled across his strong arms, caressing his shoulders and admiring him for the first and last time. He sucked in a breath as your fingers danced over the junction between his wings and shoulder blades, tracing back and forth and curiously observing the texture change between skin and feather.

"Are your wings sensitive?"

Minho nodded.

"In a good way?"

His deep black eyes swirled with lust, confirmation of the latter question.

You gently closed your hands around the spine of them, pushing your head up to capture his lips as you tugged and ripped a strangled gasp from his throat that made you bite your lip.

"What about your tail?"

You reached out, waiting for it to come and coil around your wrist and make itself known from behind him- it was soft and felt the same as his wings, it had a feel that you could've compared to a crushed velvet as it swished between your fingers.

Pulling on it didn't coax the same gasp from his lips, instead a yelp that bled into a moan and hung in the air like a deep dark secret that you had just dug from the depths of his soul.

Minho didn't wait any longer to indulge in you, pushing deep inside until his hips were touching yours- your hands grappling to hold him and anchor yourself down, to stay grounded amidst the pleasure.

Would it be so bad to let yourself float away?

There was a lingering sorrow beneath everything, the knowledge that the end of everything as you knew it was because you existed in the first place, because of the desperate actions of a demon who clearly had never been in his right mind. He was a force that should not have ever been given the power bestowed upon him, should not have ever been given the right to observe the mortal world as a pastime, should not have been given a reason for his existence outside of the supernatural realm.

The love he shared with you was his last ditch attempt to escape the darkness that had been consuming him before you were ever in the picture. You were the one spark that lit his flame, his reason for existing and his reason for ending it all too.

There was a beauty in that.

Something was happening to him, he was overcome by a powerful tsunami of unknowing emotions- the urge to consume you whole, the urge to go further dancing within the fragile snapping strings of his sanity.

What else did he have to lose?

Minho buried his head in your shoulder, listening to the gentle yet desperate moans that he coaxed away from your throat, feeling his throat start to form a choking lump from the guilt of it all as it started to creep up to him and weigh on his conscience.

He was supposed to have you for longer than this.

"M-minho.." You whispered through a hiss, tugging hard on his wings and making him squeeze his eyes tightly shut.

"Y/n," the demon whispered back to you.

He would leave his guilt for afterwards, now- all he wanted was to fulfill what he had been waiting an eternity to feel. You underneath him, wrapped around him, limbs and tongues intertwined until everything ripped away around you. The demon swallowed, his thirst for you unquenchable and taking over his salvageable thoughts, he wanted to be drunk on you.

He had been drunk on you ever since he found you.

Minho's obsession with you hadn't dawned like a gradual sunrise, it was a crashing current of emotion that drowned him in an insatiable longing the second he saw your smiling face.

Instead- the urge to spill inside of you was what gradually rose through his system, causing his muscles to tense and seize up as the warmth and tightness of you brought him closer and closer to a tipping point.

Your hands split, giving him a break from the painful pleasure of how you pulled on his wings. But as your fingers danced across his red hot skin, one hand gripping his right horn and the other wrapping around his tail, his climax dangled above him like a carrot on a stick.

"Love.." He whispered, the end of his annunciation breaking into something of a whimper.

"Please, Minho, don't stop," you almost cried.

He wouldn't, couldn't.

He'd drive himself into torturous overstimulation to make sure that you felt the waves of pleasure lapping every nerve in your body.

"Never."

The demon was thankful that it didn't come to that, feeling your walls constrict and spasm around him after a few more deep thrusts. He swallowed your moans with his tongue, sighing into your neck when you surrendered your body for him to take his high from.

He held you close, so gently and tenderly as he pushed into you over and over- feeling your legs quiver and fold around his waist until he stilled. He fell flat against you, a groan resonating in the bottom of his chest and rumbling through his throat as he buried all of himself within you.

Together, wrapped in eachothers embrace, you and Minho lied at the heart of the unraveling of reality- finding comfort in the final warmth of a twisted twisted love. The bittersweet moment, your last moment, you spent staring into the black oblivion of the demons eyes as the storm played you both into the final silence.

The outside world devolved into the same inky darkness. Minho's grasp tightened around you, and your souls embraced eachother in the infinite expanse of nothingness.

If anything lingered, it was the echoes of his obsession- the reason for everything, the reason for the nothing.

Nothing mattered now, there was nothing left.

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