Chapter Text
The ice rink glistened with artificial light and the reflections of skaters, skid marks crossing the frozen plate. Alhaitham crossed his arms, trying to conserve warmth, grumbling in discontent at the noise surrounding him. Nilou, standing beside him in a winter dress and wool-lined tights, frowned.
“Perhaps I should’ve told you to wear warm clothes,” she admitted, staring at his sleeveless top. His arms were already paling, bitten by the chill.
Haitham grimaced as a child, screaming and crying, was pulled from the ring by their parent. If only he had brought both headphones. Unfortunately, he still had to listen to his company. Was it too late to leave? “I’ll survive.” he huffed. “But a warning would’ve been nice. For more than just the temperature.”
“Sorry, but I promise we’ll be out of here in just a moment. Hang in there, okay?” Nilou flashed him a small smile. It wasn’t very reassuring, considering her eyebrows were creased in worry. He doubted it was a worry over him. After all, she kept scanning the rink they were standing just outside of, as though she was searching for someone. He was the least of her concerns.
He sighed, but leaned against the railing and waited for Nilou to find what - or who, if he was correct - she was looking for. All the skaters looked the same to him. He focused his mind instead on what she could’ve possibly brought him here to see - “a surprise” was all she called it. Awfully suspicious.
“Kaveh!” Nilou suddenly shouted across the rink, startling Haitham but also catching his attention. “Over here!” He turned towards where she was looking.
And his brain stopped.
Pale and delicate. Sleek and elegant. Long blonde hair tied back in a high ponytail. A hairtie with a small blue feather on it. A slim, strawberry-shaped physique. Strong legs. A dark gray full body leotard, clenching tight against his skin.
The stranger was skating up to them, his movements swift and natural, pushing against the ice in quick strokes. His shoes matched his leotard, which also had small gold gemstones in the shape of diamonds across his chest and shoulders: dark gray with shiny gold laces and polished blades.
Eventually, he was against the railing. Haitham hadn’t even blinked, taking in the beauty of this newfound peer. Nilou turned to him as though his composure hadn’t just been flipped on its head, an innocent, toothy smile on her face. “I’d like to introduce you two,” she chirped. She turned back to the blonde. “Kaveh, this is Alhaitham.” Back to Haitham. “And Haitham, this is Kaveh. He’s an old friend of mine from high school.”
Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. He should say something. He really needed to say something. But what the hell would he say? What would sound natural? Smooth? He hadn’t even observed this new person to see what his personality was, what made him laugh. What if he messed up?
“Um. You’re pretty.” he blurted.
To Haitham’s surprise, Kaveh smiled. His smile was cute as hell. Fuck. He was really doomed, wasn’t he?
Kaveh leaned over the railing with impressive balance, right towards Haitham. “Thank you,” he purred. His voice was sharp but blunted, full of emotion. Nothing like the monotone of Haitham’s voice. He’d never hoped more that opposites really do attract.
Kaveh held out his hand. It took Haitham a couple seconds to realize he wanted a handshake. He took Kaveh’s hand firmly, shaking it, hoping it seemed natural. Kaveh’s skin was soft and cold. “You should wear gloves.”
The ice skater chuckled. “I forgot them today,” he confessed. “Frostbite is scared of me.”
Haitham frowned. Without another word, he lifted his other hand and covered Kaveh’s within his grasp. He looked a bit startled. “Frostbite isn’t scared of anyone.” Haitham explained flatly. He could feel the warmth of his hands seeping into the frozen hand of Kaveh.
Nilou laughed beside him, startling him a bit. It’s like everything else had faded. He gave her a questioning look. “Nothing,” she shrugged hurriedly but disingenuously. “You’re both so adorable.”
Haitham quickly let go of Kaveh, blushing furiously at being called adorable. “Well, I think it’s time we get going.” he grumbled, crossing his arms again. Kaveh’s smile faltered a bit.
Though she looked a bit confused, Nilou nodded. “Alright, let’s go.”
Haitham began following her out before realizing that Kaveh wasn’t following. Instead, he had returned to the center of the rink, spinning and twirling in that stunning way. “He’s not coming with us?” Haitham asked, unable to hide the disappointment in his voice.
“I hadn’t made plans for us to go out anywhere. He’s very dedicated to his practice. Why, did you want to talk with him more?~” Nilou teased, very obviously having caught on.
Haitham shrugged, looking away from her. “I mean… he just seemed nice…” he muttered.
Nilou laughed again. “He’s usually here around this time every weekday. Or, at least, he was in high school. Now that we’re in college, his schedule might’ve changed. Maybe he finally got a job.”
Right. It was the first day of college. Well, the day they moved in, at least. They had just been going out to explore town, but he supposed she probably saw Kaveh through a window or something and knew he’d be here.
“I’d better go finish unpacking in my dorm now.” Haitham sighed, not really wanting to. But it was getting late and he needed to finish preparing himself. Nilou nodded as they walked back to the dorm building.
Haitham couldn’t stop thinking about that stupid sunshine blonde that he could’ve sworn had been scraping an A in the ice as they left.