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[Modern AU]
"I'm gonna be so bad at this..." You said, putting on the ice skates and tying them. "I'm probably gonna fall on top of you or something."
"You'll be fine, I'll guide you," Chongyun assured you, holding out his hand and helping you stand up. "Let's go."
"Ehh..." You smiled nervously as Chongyun held your hand, keeping you steady. "Please don't let me fall flat on my face, that'll hurt."
"I won't," he chuckled, glad you were relying on him for once.
You stepped onto the ice with him and immediately wobbled a bit, sighing in relief after gaining more balance. You used your free hand to grab the railing on the outside of the ice rink, shivering from the cold. Chongyun watched you carefully, ready to catch you if it looked like you were going to fall.
"How are you so good at ice skating? It's unstable..." You exhaled, your breath shaky from the temperature.
"It takes a little practice, that's all," he shrugged.
Chongyun did ice skating competitively, and he offered to teach you. You had barely any interest in the subject, but you agreed because you thought it might've let you get closer to your best friend/crush. Also, it would make him happy.
"This is fine. Is it fine? Probably not, but I'm gonna pretend it is," you rambled, scared of faceplanting on the ice.
Luckily no one else was there. It was the ice rink where Chongyun trained sometimes, and he was good friends with the manager, so the entire place was only occupied the two of you, and it was already eight o'clock at night.
He laughed at your anxious state. He found it cute, actually, "It'll be fine, I promise. Come on."
He slowly led you away from the railing and into the middle of the rink, where you desperately held onto him. The unstable feeling you got made you feel powerless, and it wasn't a pleasant experience. You could only imagine how Chongyun managed to master skating. All you knew was that it took a lot of time.
"Don't laugh at my suffering," you whined.
"I can't help it," he shook his head, skating backwards while holding both your arms. "See? You're doing it."
"Yeah, because you're holding onto me," you retorted.
"Would you rather I let go?"
"No! No, let's not do that, please," you hastily denied.
"That's what I suspected."
He helped you skate around for a bit before you decided to try on your own, but Chongyun stayed very close in case you were to fall. You successfully went for a bit until you accidentally knocked one foot into the other from behind, causing you to trip. However, Chongyun was quick to react and instead of feeling the hard ice against your skin, you felt his jacket.
"H-Huh?"
"I already told you I wouldn't let you hurt yourself, didn't I?" He mentioned.
"Well, y-yeah, but-"
"And did I?"
"No..."
Your face was red because of how close you were to him, but you tried to ignore it. He didn't let you go for a few seconds, though, before he realized he'd been hugging you for too long. He blushed and lessened your physical contact to just hand-holding, in case you didn't want to move alone again.
"Can we take a break? My legs are tired," you requested.
"Of course."
He guided you out of the rink and you both sat on one of the benches. You sighed and Chongyun glanced at you, wondering what was going through your mind. In reality, you couldn't stop thinking of what just happened. Your best friend's concern was growing, though, so he asked about it.
"What are you thinking about?"
"Huh? Oh, nothing!" You answered quickly.
"Are you sure?"
"Yeah."
"Well, how's the skating experience so far?" He queried.
"It's not as bad as I thought it would be, but that's only because you're here," you responded. "I can see why you love skating so much though."
"I'm glad you understand," he smiled purely, melting your heart. "Xingqiu makes fun of me sometimes for how much time I spend here, but I don't really care."
"He does?"
"Yeah. I try not to let it bother me, though. It's what I love to do, nothing anyone says will make me quit."
His words touched your heart so much that tears welled up in your eyes. It seemed like personal advice, even though it wasn't. You had quit what you loved doing a long time ago, only because people said you were terrible at it. It had discouraged you to the point where you chose never to do it again. You told Chongyun about it before, but you figured he'd forgotten.
"You should think the same way too," he added. "It's not too late to start up again on what you left behind."
Your eyes widened as you realized he still remembered that. You wanted to erase that memory from your brain, but you also didn't. It was nice, but embarrassing at the same time. You'd been crying into his chest while he hugged you, giving you some sort of security. While sobbing, you were also explaining how you felt about everything and what the people had said about you. They called you untalented and good for nothing. It became too much, and hearing it broke Chongyun's heart. You never broke down like that again after that.
"I..." You started, trying to say something but not knowing what words you wanted to get out.
You began crying, your hands forming fists as you tried to stop the tears from falling, but they wouldn't halt. You kept quiet, not making a single sound as you stared at your feet, letting the tears fall onto the floor.
"Y/n...?" Chongyun called softly. "Hey, what's wrong?"
"N-Nothing..." You lied.
"You're crying..." He pointed out.
"Shut u-up... I'll be fine..."
"Y/n, tell me what's wrong," he pleaded, wrapping his arms around you and pulling you into his chest.
"Just thinking... About all the things they s-said... Back then..." You replied, sucking in a sharp breath afterward.
"Hey, it's okay. None of them knew what they were talking about. You're a very talented person, Y/n. Don't let others tell you different," Chongyun stated, cupping your face in his hands and making you look into his eyes. "You are perfect, okay?"
"If you say so..." You mumbled, averting your gaze.
"Hm," He hummed. "Let's go skate a bit more. Next time, I'll do whatever you want me to, okay?"
"Okay," you smiled, reaching up to wipe your tears until Chongyun wiped them away for you before letting go of you.
He stood up and held out his hand, "Shall we?"
"We shall," you laughed a bit, feeling more upbeat than before.
Maybe I should try tripping on purpose this time...
