Hello. I'm back with a new fic and I hope you enjoy it!

Merry Christmas!

The cold wind blew through the plaza, kicking up a bit of snow, swirling it around in the air. People littered around the rink either skating on the ice or watching from the sidelines. It was a large rink, running under the overpass. Overhead, there were dozens of coloured fairy lights stringing across the rink, lighting it against the darkening scenery. Maven stood at the edge of the rink, taking in the scene. It was beautiful in his eyes and he wanted nothing more than to jump on the ice and skate. There were more people on the sidelines than on the ice at the moment. Perfect for Thomas, who wasn't as comfortable skating as he was. "Coming?" he asked over his shoulder.

"Uh, yeah. J-Just give me a moment."

Turning, Maven looked down at Thomas. He was sitting on one of the concrete blocks placed around the rink. He had just finished lacing up his skates and was now looking out at the people skating. Maven leaned forwards a bit, examining his face. Thomas's hands were in fists and resting against his knees. His eyes were darting around and his breathing was more rapid. "They're moving so fast. Why are they moving so fast?" he mumbled, finally looking up at Maven.

Shrugging, Maven looked over his shoulder at the skaters. "Shouldn't you know the answer to that?" he asked. "You've been living here all your life." Corvium was the city Thomas lived in, up until five years ago when he moved to Archeon for school. They were here for two weeks, over Christmas, visiting Thomas's family.

The skaters were moving in a circle along the edge of the rink. They reminded him of a school of fish. All moving together, in one direction. His eyes fell on a couple that was passing where he stood. From the brief glimpse he caught of their faces, he saw smiles. Excitement flooded into his veins and had been ever since Thomas told him he was taking him to the outdoor rink earlier today.

"I've only been at this rink twice before when I was younger," he heard. "And I haven't been here in two years."

Feeling a tug on his jacket sleeve, Maven looked back down at Thomas. He tilted his head to the side as he let go and raised his arms to him. "Help me up will you?" Maven sighed and took his hands. He took a moment to make sure he had good balance before pulling him up. Once up, Thomas stumbled forwards, holding him tighter. "Sorry," a nervous smile appeared on Thomas's face. "I haven't worn skates in so long."

"I can tell." Maven waited until Thomas regained his balance before moving away. "Just think of them as rollerblades. I don't understand why you're fine with rollerblading but not skating. They're similar."

"That's my duality," Thomas said, earning a snort from Maven. "And while they are similar, they're also different. Rollerblading is on the ground, skating is on the ice."

"Yes, yes, I know the differences." He took his hand as he moved closer to the rink's edge. Stepping on the ice, he turned to face him fully and held out his free hand to him. Once Thomas took his hand, he pushed away a bit, lightly pulling him. "Come on. I got you." He smiled as Thomas took a step down on the ice. He held still as he stepped the rest of the way on the rink. The hold on his hands tightened and he grimaced, slight pain shooting up his arms. "You're squeezing my hands too hard," he said, attempting to flex his fingers in Thomas's grip.

"Sorry." Thomas loosened his grip on his hands as he slowly moved forwards. "I just don't want to fall." His grip on his hands tightened again as he slipped a little.

He held Thomas as he slipped again, almost falling over due to Thomas pulling him down. Thomas was a decent skater when he was on the ice but getting on and off the ice was when he was the most anxious. According to him, getting on and off the ice was when it was the most slippery. "I know." Once he was sure Thomas was steady, he let go of one of his hands and moved beside him. "But I won't let you fall. You're in the hands of an experienced skater." As they moved with the flow of other skaters, they started one of their favourite pastimes: judging people. Specifically, people's fashion choices.

"He should've worn a different colour. Blue washes him out."

"Those boots and that outfit—I mean it kinda works. Maybe if the boots were a different style…"

"What is that sweater?"

"I think it's intentional. Like, one of those ugly Christmas sweaters that someone bought and then dunked in a vat glitter and threw feathers all over it." Thomas pointed to a man just ahead of them. "Now, look at that man in the Santa hat."

"Oh my fucking god." Maven said, in horror. He almost stopped in absolute disbelief. "Who the hell wears stripes and plaid together like that? And why are there so many neon colours in his outfit? This isn't a rave."

"It looks so chaotic. My eyes hurt looking at him." Thomas said. He adjusted his hat and scarf. "Do you think that's his kids there with him?" he asked, waving his hand towards the group the man was a part of.

Maven followed Thomas' gesturing to see a young boy and a girl a few feet away from the man. The man raised his arm as if he were saying "Wait up." The boy turned to look behind him and quickly turned away when the girl nudged him in the arm. The girl was looking down with her other hand over her face. "Maybe." Maven said. "If they are, they look embarrassed."

"I wouldn't blame them. A few years ago, mom, Leah, and I were at the mall. One of my mom's favourite songs came on and you know what she did?" Thomas shivered. "She just started dancing right there, in the middle of the mall. And not great dancing either." Maven could feel Thomas's cringe. "Believe me when I say Leah and I were mortified. We didn't step foot in that mall for several months."

"Even I'm getting secondhand embarrassment and I wasn't even there."

"Consider yourself lucky." Thomas squeezed his hand. "I'm guessing you don't have any embarrassing parent stories like mine?"

Maven scoffed, rolling his eyes. "My father is an embarrassment." He blew air out of his nose in annoyance. "He's probably drinking himself into a stupor right about now."

They continued watching the man struggle to skate and his possible kids staying a good distance away from him. Just then the man slipped again, this time he fell, falling on his stomach. Thomas laughed, and Maven nearly fell over himself due to Thomas pulling his arm. As they passed the fallen man, he mumbled "The fashion gods struck your ass down because you broke one of the cardinal rules." His tone was as low and quiet as possible so only Maven could hear.

This time it was Maven's turn to laugh and squeezed his hand. "Can you imagine if those exist?" He said. "The world would be a more fashionable place."

"You would love that."

"You know I would."

They skated in silence, side by side, hand in hand. Quiet moments like this, when they weren't talking and just enjoying being next to each other was one of Maven's favourites. It was the first time in a few days that they were alone together for more than a couple of minutes. Swinging their hands between them, he snuck a peek at Thomas. The cold air had turned his nose and cheeks red, and each time he exhaled, a puff of air would escape his lips. Spots of red, green, white, blue, and yellow danced across his face. His eyes shone with delight, darting from the people to the lights, back to the people.

Butterflies flew around in Maven's stomach as his heart beat faster. Thomas looked handsome. It took everything in him not to jump up and make out with him right then and there. Thomas must've sensed Maven's staring because he looked at him. "You're staring," he said. "Are you overtaken by my handsome face?" Thomas's smile was smug.

A laugh escaped Maven as he looked away. "No. What makes you think that was the reason I was staring at you?"

"Because you had that cute, starstruck look on your face."

He felt his cheek being poked and Maven couldn't help the warm feeling that filled him. He turned his head, quickly kissing Thomas's gloved hand before he pulled it away. "I guess you're right."

"Of course I am. Your observation skills are rubbing off on me."

After a few more laps around the rink, where they were talking and laughing, Thomas wanted to stop due to aching feet so they went back to their starting point and got off the ice. Maven watched as Thomas collapsed on the rectangle slab and untied his skates. A loud sigh left him as he dropped the skates and flexed his feet. "Feel better?" Maven asked, listening to Thomas's sighs.

"Much." Thomas tilted his head, eyebrows furrowed. "You're not taking off your skates?" he asked, nudging his skate-clad foot with his foot.

"I want to go out on the ice a little longer." Maven tapped his foot. "If that's okay?" he added. He didn't want to be selfish and make Thomas wait out in the cold if he was feeling tired.

"Nah, that's fine."

"Great!" Maven took off his backpack and handed it to Thomas. "Can you hold this?" He paused for a moment before taking his jacket off. "And this?"

"I'm not a pack mule," Thomas said, taking Maven's jacket and throwing it over his shoulder. "Won't you be cold?"

"I'll be fine." Maven turned and said "I won't take longer than half an hour. Promise." before walking towards the ice.

"Do you want hot chocolate? There's a stall over there."

"No!" Maven called over his shoulder before he stepped on the ice. He turned to wave at Thomas, who smiled as he tossed Maven's bag on his other shoulder. He skated away, backwards before quickly turning to face forwards, to not bump into anyone. Clasping his hands behind his back, he seamlessly rejoined the flow of skaters. It was as if he were in the middle of a school of fish, swimming upstream. If the rink was empty he would be able to do spins and jumps with plenty of room to spare. A puff of air left his lips, disappearing a few seconds later. The cold air was already biting the tips of his ears and nose but he ignored it, in favour of gaining speed.

It had been so long since he last skated. Skating always helped him de-stress, leaving him with the feeling of flying, instead of the drowning feeling he usually felt. Looking down at his feet, he let his mind wander as he turned at the edge of the rink that was farthest from where he started. This would be the second time he missed Christmas with his family, not that he minded much. The first time was a couple of years ago when he was in his second year of university. His anxiety had been through the roof at the time, worrying about exams and being around his family for the holidays due to a fight he had with his father and mother a few weeks earlier. Not to mention, he found out that Anabel and Julian were spending Christmas Day with them, surprisingly. Despite knowing his anxiety was always higher around the holidays, it had been at an all-time high. With exams, his mother pressuring him for straight A's and his father upset over him not joining any sports teams he got overwhelmed. It got to the point that he was having small breakdowns almost every day. The exams had left him too rattled to deal with his family and the big Christmas party they held several days before Christmas. He didn't fancy having a breakdown in front of all the party guests so he stayed. During his holiday stay at the dorms, he met Thomas and started dating him a little over a year later. He was a bit grateful for that dark time otherwise he would've gone home and probably never met Thomas.

His parents hadn't been too thrilled when he told them that he was going to Corvium with Thomas. They barely tolerated him. Maven knew they still held out hope that Thomas was only going to be a fling even though they've been together for three years now. He was working on separating himself from his mother. He didn't need to worry about separating himself from his father since he already was and his father didn't want anything to do with him most of the time. He and Thomas were looking at apartment listings and had been for the past few months, planning to move in together sometime in the new year. He had yet to tell them about it, knowing that it would lead to displeasure, mostly from his mother. He knew his mother would be disappointed. While therapy had helped, there was still a part of him that sought his mother's approval.

And he hated it.

The air sliced through his sweater, chilling his skin underneath. He shivered, crossing his arms over his chest. Rubbing his arms, he mumbled, "That's enough for now." He looked around and spotted Thomas waving at him from the other side of the rink. Smiling to himself, Maven sped up a little, wanting to get back to Thomas and into his jacket. He quickly reached the other side and slowed down, moving to the raised edge of the rink. He stepped off the ice and made his way over to the concrete slab Thomas was sitting on. His jacket was laying across his lap and his bag was at his feet. A large cup was in his hands and he watched as he took a sip from it. "Had fun?" Thomas asked as he dropped beside him. Maven nodded, taking the cup from his hands and brought it to his lips. The hot chocolate was, thankfully, not burning hot but still warm enough that he could feel the heat through his gloves. It warmed his insides as he drank, the sweetness strong on his tongue. He eyed Thomas, who had his hand to his chest in mock shock.

"Excuse me," he said, "didn't you say no when I asked if you wanted a cup?"

"Yes." Maven took another sip before passing the cup back to Thomas. He pulled on his jacket, leaving it unbuttoned.

Thomas took the cup back, looking him up and down. "Some people are so selfish." He took a sip, staring at him over the rim.

Maven laughed, bending to untie his skates. He knew Thomas wasn't upset. They would always share food or drinks, letting the other take from the other's plate or cup. It was an unspoken thing between them.

Once he finished untying his skates, he pulled them off, sighing in relief as his feet were free. He grabbed his boots and slipped them on, relishing the feeling of his feet being back on the ground. Leaning back on his hands, he looked up at the now pitch-black night sky. A string of coloured Christmas lights was just above them, blinking on and off every few seconds. He watched the lights for a few moments in complete calm. He felt lighter than he would have if he were back home in Archeon with his family. The annual Christmas ball that his parents threw was surely in full swing by now. He would've been surrounded by vultures who secretly looked down on him, his father would most likely be getting drunk by the hour, and his mother would be watching his every step, making sure that he was behaving appropriately. Not to mention, the awkward family dinners that were bound to happen.

While they were overwhelming at times, Thomas's family was incredibly welcoming, already seeing him as a part of the family. He nudged Thomas and when he turned, he captured his lips in a kiss. The first thing he thought was that Thomas's lips tasted like chocolate. The second was that he was glad he was here, with him, just the two of them. He felt Thomas smile against his lips, causing him to smile. Pulling away, Maven shifted, resting his head in the crook of Thomas's neck before wrapping his arms around Thomas's arm. Even fewer people were on the ice, now that it was getting late. The lights were still blinking on and off, decorating the ice in multiple colours. The scenery was still beautiful in Maven's eyes and he was at ease, snuggled up against Thomas.