" hold me"
" but I'll fall"

In that arena of tiny waves sat ice as proudly as any seaward ship. Jisung' s breath rises with a jocund vibe to greet the wintry cloud, to become a tiny part of warming up the cold.

between the physical cold of the wintry day and the icy Money-Nexus culture, jisung struggled to keep his core warmth. his shaky hands grasped the only source of warmth, hot chocolate which minho prepared for him.

you see, the couple decided to relieve their stress and take a break from their demanding idol schedule by retreating to a cabin where they could skate and relax. hyunjin knew the owner well, and managed to reserve the boys a comfortable cabin.

trees coated with white danced around in the heavy wind, while snowflakes descended from the sky, raining down softly onto the earth. the winter season brings a variety of adverse weather extremes. they experienced heavy snow, ice accumulation, freezing temperatures and wind chill. however, today was the perfect weather to ski!

it no longer rained hailstones and they no longer had to embrace the harsh coldness. although it was still undeniably freezing, it wasn't as bad as the previous times.

" let's go skiing! "

" but it's c-cold hyungie.. "
jisung was practically a shivering mess, teeth chattering against each other uncontrollably as his body visibly shook underneath the heap of thick blankets. unlike minho, who seemed to be undefeated by the cold weather.

" please hannie.. "
minho whined, landing on top of jisung's shaking body. minho seemed to have mastered the skill of keeping himself warm, burying the younger in his comforting hug, warmth radiating from his chest.

" o-okay! "
jisung instantly regretted leaving his blanket haven, fluffy socks coming in contact with the freezing wooden floor , wincing at the slight stinging sensation of the cold ground, despite the thickness of the socks desperately trying to warm up his feet.

jisung decided to get back at minho for making him get up, pouncing on the older the moment he saw his head emerge from the hallway.

jisung was overwhelmed with relief when minho managed to catch him, instead of letting the boy fall face first into the ground. quickly recovering from the traumatic experience, and started to bark at minho.

" grrr ... "
jisung only appeared as a aggressive looking squirrel in Minho's eyes, cheeks puffed out with a fake glare.
the older grew to understand that jisung would do such unpredictable things such as barking at him or nibbling on Minho's sweater, but barking and jumping onto minho was something he never thought he would experience until today.

" now, let's go get changed okay, little squirrel.. puppy?"
minho tickled jisung's waist, watching his tough facade slowly fade away with each giggle.
jisung latched his arms onto Minho's broad shoulders, pointing towards their shared bedroom, yelling " c-charge ! " at the top of his lungs, with a slight stutter due to his reduced chattering.

minho pretended to drop jisung, watching the younger on his back let out a strangled scream, before running to the room.

" okay! your c-clothes! "
jisung laid out the winter apparel on the sheets, watching as minho placed each article of clothing onto his body. in the end, both minho and jisung were wrapped from head to toe, jisung's nose peeking out of the pastel scarf he wore while minho  looked like a fluffy burrito.

" let's go! i'll put on your skis for you okay? "
minho placed ear muffs on the younger's ears and his own, before rolling jisung on the floor. jisung's chatter was soon replaced with loud fits of giggles, before his coat covered back lightly hit the door.

jisung managed to get up onto the bench, as he awaited for minho to attach the skis. he kicked his feet happily as he saw minho approaching him, returning the wide smile.

Minho's skilled hands managed to help jisung wear the skis without any hassle, and easily did it for himself. the only struggle was that...

the both didn't know how to ski.

jisung helplessly clung onto minho, while minho tried his best to stabilise himself and head out to the snowy area.

the snow was surprisingly easy to pass through, the pair only needed to exert little force to lift up their skis, managing to pass through the snow.

the challenging part was skiing downhill. it was of no surprise that the pair were both equally as afraid of heights, gulping nervously at the height of the hill they would have to ski down.

jisung decided that minho has always been taking care of him so it would only be fair if he were to be the stronger of them two and help his boyfriend.

" hold me. "
jisung intertwined his gloved fingers with minho, making sure to rub soothing circles on the older's knucles, watching his shudder just the slightest.

" but I'll fall.. "

minho was unable to hide his distrust, knowing that both of them would probably tumble down the hill , toppling over each other in the process.

" at l-least we'll fall together.. "
jisung tried to convince minho with his an aegyo-like voice, swinging Minho's hands while trying to persuade the older.

minho decided to risk it, holding jisung's hands in his and leading the both of them to start to ski down the hill. taking small and tiny steps , before letting out a horrified " ahhh " .

the pair managed to ski, only tumbling slightly at the foot of the hill. the pair chucked, as they landed on top of each other.

" at least we fell together! "
jisung laughed as the snowflake tickled his red tipped nose.

" want to go.. again? "

" y-yes! "

the pair went back and forth, up and down the hill, excitedly chasing each other as they became increasingly confident with skiing.

The cold day was all around, yet their  good memories lit a hearth-fire within. A cold winter was their  friend, for it froze the larvae of the pests and foretold of bumper warm season harvests.

their hands that held onto each other  were their  medication, their heart-song and their light, for that is love. love  compacts the senses, and as when stardust so compacted in the universe, a new star is born with its own gravity and radiant light.

even if they fell, they would fall together.

because that's how much

they love each other.

# hey luvs! as promised, more chapters~
take care!!