not really, but he would be the first person to admit that you were right when you said lightning is like figure skating. he stood on the floor, gripping the walls of the rink and very much not wanting to step onto the ice. begrudgingly, he gripped your outstretched hands and stepped onto the ice. you laughed at his lack of enthusiasm and noticed that he was standing on the toe picks instead of the blades.
"don't laugh at me," haru muttered with a slight glare.
you bit the inside of your cheek, nodding at his request. "ok, sorry..." soon after, you burst into another fit of laughter, and much to haru's annoyance, makoto joined you. as you dragged him along the ice slowly, you tried to teach him how to skate on his own, which surprisingly led to a lot less falls than you expected.
"you make this look easier than it is," he stated, awkwardly shuffling along the ice. you shrugged, adjusting the jacket you wore over the top of a plain shirt. "i feel like i'm gonna die at any given moment."
"you get used to it eventually," you said, slowly letting go of his hand. somehow, haru didn't notice the lack of warmth and continued to edge his way around the rink. you didn't want to be rude, but you weren't enjoying the slow pace. thankfully, you'd reached the entrance of the rink, so you could help haru off the ice. "want another lesson sometime or you good?" you teased, setting his skates to the side for you to return after your own practice.
"i'll see."
makoto's lips tugged upwards at his friend's response. "you did well for a first try," he commented.
"he's right, you didn't fall as much as i thought you would," you added. "i'm surprised, not gonna lie." for whatever reason, haru took mild offense to this.
"did you think i would be falling every 10 seconds?" he asked monotonously, putting his shoes back on.
"maybe." haru huffed in annoyance, looking away with slightly red cheeks. you laughed at his reaction. "you're so cute," you complimented, adding to the redness in his cheeks. although the cold didn't help.
"i'm not cute."
makoto watched the 2 interact with interest. he'd never seen someone who'd only known haru for a short amount of time get along with him so well, let alone have chemistry with him. "how long have you been doing figure skating?" he asked, sending you into a mini existential crisis.
"shit, uh... since i was 6?" as you thought about it more, the closer you were to cringing. not because of what you were like when you first started skating, but because of how long ago that seemed. "i've been doing this for 11 years?" you asked yourself, staring in disbelief.
"it's ok, haru and i have been swimming for around the same time, though we were a bit on and off," makoto reassured.
"it feels like i've simultaneously been skating for 2 years and since i was conceptualised in my mother's womb," you admitted, eliciting an awkward chuckle from the green-eyed boy who wasn't expecting your bluntness. "this won't help me, but i'm gonna skate this off, so if you guys wanna sit and watch, cool, if you want to go home and lay in bed while pondering your existence, understandable."
haru's eyes followed you as you returned to the ice, doing a couple laps before pulling out your phone and connecting it to the speakers, balancing it on the ledge of the walls surrounding the rink. as music echoed through the building, he sat in a trance, his gaze following your figure around the ice while chills ran across his skin.
"free..." he mumbled, catching makoto's attention. his friend looked at him, taking in the expression that was rarely displayed on haru's face. makoto's eyes returned to you, gliding along the ice with the same grace and elegance he saw when haru swam freestyle. while reliving memories of haru's swimming, he saw parallels between haru and yourself, and the more he thought about it, the more grateful he was that they'd met.
the look of admiration that remained on the dark-haired boy's face helped to dissolve any concerns of him being alone in life and reassured makoto that it would no longer just be the 2 of them.
