Chiaki stared at the flat surface of ice that laid before her, anxiety coursing through her body. Since it was their first winter together as a couple, Chiaki wanted to try a bunch of things with Izuru, ice skating being one of them. However, with the way her legs were feeling like jelly, she thought that maybe it wasn't such a good idea.

Izuru on the other hand, took to the ice naturally as if it were made for him. His movements were graceful, like a ballet dancer. This only made Chiaki want to skate even more in order to prove herself, but every time she took a step closer towards the ice, a bad feeling emerged in her stomach and she would immediately go back to where she started.

Izuru noticed that Chiaki was still by the entrance of the ice rink and wondered why she was not skating. He skated over to her to see what was holding her up.

"Aren't you going to skate?" He asked her.

Chiaki shook her head from side to side. "I can't do this after all…"

Her response surprised him.

"Chiaki Nanami, the Super High School Level Gamer, is afraid?" "For someone who has stared defeat in the eye and overcome it, I'm surprised to see you so anxious."

Chiaki met Izuru with a pouty look. "Real life and gaming are two different things! Besides, I've never been ice skating before." She sighed, her gaze falling towards the ground. "Something like this isn't impossible for you. You're amazing at everything."

Izuru tilted her chin upwards gently. "Haven't you always said that things work out if you try?"

"Well…" Chiaki laughed nervously, realizing he was right. "Yeah, I suppose I do say that." "This is a whole another level, though. I'm not the Super High School Level Ice Skater."

"But you are Chiaki Nanami," Izuru added.

"Being me means I should be able to ice skate…?" Chiaki said, confused by what he meant.

Izuru sighed, his patience growing a bit thin. He wanted Chiaki to skate with him, but his words didn't seem to be getting through to her or instilling the confidence he wanted to. He removed Chiaki's hands, which were holding on the sides of the ice rink and began to pull her slowly onto the ice.

Chiaki immediately began to panic. "W-Wait, Izuru! I don't want to do this!"

"Do you remember when we first met?" Izuru asked her, trying to distract her from his actions.

"Huh?" Chiaki looked to him. "O-Of course I do. We were in the same class."

"What was your impression of me?"

Chiaki tilted her head, her pink locks that crowned her face bouncing slightly. "My impression…?" She pondered for a moment and then looked to him in seriousness. "Over 9000!"

Izuru raised an eyebrow. "Is that so?"

Chiaki laughed and shook her head. "You definitely gave off the vibe that you didn't want anything to do with school or anyone." "Even so, Yukizome-sensei wanted me to try and become friends with you. Though it definitely wasn't easy."

At this point, Izuru had managed to bring Chiaki all the way into the ice rink. He kept talking to her in order to distract her as he guided her across the ice. He held her hand the entire time, but after a while, Chiaki started to skate on her own without even realizing it. Izuru no longer had to act as her guide, however, he still skated alongside her just in case she lost her balance or accidentally slipped.

"It really made me upset that one time when you told me that video games were meaningless. I had never been so mad in my entire life." "Video games are my life. They've always been there for me whenever I needed them." "That's what I used to think, but then Yukizome-sensei showed me that it's more fun when you play together with someone else." "I was always used to winning, but I never found someone who could beat me at my own game."

"Why didn't you give up?" Izuru asked.

"There's always an option to continue when you get a game over and I'm not one to give up so easily." "I wanted to know what kind of person you were, how you viewed things and what you were thinking." Chiaki looked to him and smiled. "Besides, we make a good team when it comes to co-op. No one else can back me up like you can."

Izuru felt his heart skip a beat at the compliment. "I see." He skated ahead of her. "You truly are something else."

"I am?"

Izuru nodded, turning around to face her. "We've been skating this entire time and you didn't once lose composure." "That's quite impressive."

"Huh…?" Chiaki then realized she was moving along on the ice and started panicking. She tried to stop but ended up slipping. Thankfully, Izuru caught Chiaki before she landed on the cold surface.

"Was it not enjoyable? You looked like you were having a good time."

Chiaki puffed up her cheeks in anger, her eyes glaring at Izuru. Izuru only looked at her in amusement. It was hard for him to take her seriously when she was upset as it only made her look cute in his eyes. He always enjoyed teasing her and giving her a hard time.

Chiaki sighed. She could never be angry at him.

"Okay… I guess it was a little fun." "Though why didn't you tell me that I was skating on my own?"

"It wouldn't have been interesting," Izuru replied.

Chiaki was confused. "Interesting?"

"You always keep going no matter how difficult the obstacles may seem." "You brought together a whole class that used to be divided." "You managed to befriend me as well as capture my interest." "I wanted to bring out the very thing that surprises me each day that I'm around you." Izuru looked to her, an intense yet serious look in his eyes. "The very thing that makes me fond of you."

Chiaki's could only stare at Izuru, wide-eyed as her cheeks flushed with embarrassment. The way he talked about made her seem like she was some kind of awesome gaming protagonist in one of the various video games that she played, but inside she couldn't help but feel touched. It was a rare occasion that Izuru expressed what he thought or felt about her, but when he did, it made her love him all the more.

Izuru shifted his attention elsewhere. "I suppose my actions were a bit unnecessary. We do not have to skate anymore if you do not-"

Before Izuru could finish his sentence he felt Chiaki's lips on his cheek, giving it a gentle peck. For a moment, he felt paralyzed but then felt warmth course through his body at the affection. He looked over to Chiaki, who only smiled at him warmly, her rosy pink eyes looking at him genuinely.

"I think I'm okay with ice skating if you're with me."

A faint smile made its way onto Izuru's lips as he gently pressed his forehead against hers. He slowly let go off Chiaki and took her hand. The two slowly skated around the ice rink together, talking about various things and enjoying the company of one another.