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The chill winter breeze hit both Momo and Ken's faces as they opened the door to the school rooftop. It had been a while since the two had lunch alone, and both of them were in desperate need of one-on-one time. Their rag tag group of alien and ghost hunters kept growing, and sometimes handling everyone felt overwhelming. For the two of them, being alone together was always a treat. They didn't have to worry about what anybody else thought or wanted to say. Ken and Momo could even sit in silence, and they'd both love every moment of it. However with winter break around the corner, the couple had much to talk about.
“I overheard some of my classmates talk about snow,” Ken said casually as he opened his lunch box. “It had me thinking about any winter spirits to be on the lookout for.”
Momo hummed in thought while she also opened her lunch box. “Usually most are found in the mountains,” she replied. “I guess if I were you, and a woman you don't know asks you to hold her baby, don't do it.”
“Thanks for the heads up.”
“What about cryptids?”
“I mean, there's always the yeti. I doubt he'd come to the city. Like your spirits, he's in the mountains.”
“Yetis don't make sense to me.” Momo popped a roll in her mouth, chewed, and swallowed before she continued to speak. “He's been a legend for hundreds of years, right? If he's the only one in existence, shouldn't he be dead?”
“You could say that about Nessie,” added Ken. “There's probably a whole population of yeti that hasn't been found yet.”
“Regardless, let's stay away from the mountains on our winter break.” Momo took a drink of tea from her thermos. “Speaking of winter break, do you have plans?”
Ken pushed his glasses up to his eyes and turned away from his girlfriend. “I'm not sure,” he admitted. “Maybe I'll focus on getting stronger…just in case of a yeti attack.”
“That's all?” Momo pouted. “I thought you'd say you'd want to spend every day with me.”
Ken felt his face burn hotter than usual. “Of course I would love that!” he exclaimed. “It’s just if you already had plans, I wouldn't want to be selfish and take you away from them.”
Momo rolled her eyes. “I do want to hang with Miko and Muko at some time during the break, but not all the time. I can only handle them telling me ‘I told you so’ about us before it starts to piss me off.”
“What about Jiji?”
“Okarun, I want to spend my winter break with you,” she said bluntly.
“I understand that, it's just…” Ken hung his head low and mumbled, “I don't know how much fun I'll be on winter break. I don't know what friends do together, let alone what a date would be like for us. I just don't want you to think I'm boring.”
“You dork,” sighed Momo. “After what we've gone through, there's no way I could consider you boring.” Daringly, Momo reached out to grasp her boyfriend's hand and squeeze it reassuringly. “We could just sit in my room and watch movies, and I'd enjoy it.” She turned her head away from him to hide the blush forming on her cheeks. “As long as it's with you, I don't mind what we do.”
“Surely there's something you'd really like to do,” insisted Ken. “Whatever it is, I'm willing to try it.”
Once Momo finished her lunch, she inched closer to Ken and placed her head on his shoulder. “There is one thing I wanted to do,” Momo admitted as she fluttered her eyes closed. “I can just ask Miko and Muko to go, though. Not sure how much you'd be up for it.”
“I told you, I'd do anything as long as it's with you.”
“Okarun,” she mumbled. “Would you go ice skating with me?”
“Ice skating?” He asked. “Really?”
Momo groaned and removed herself from Ken. “Fine, forget it asked.”
“Wait, wait!” Ken began to wildly fidget and readjust his glasses. “I want to go, but I don't know how to ice skate!”
“I could teach you.”
“Are you sure?”
Momo nodded. “I also think it'll be funny seeing you fall on your ass a few times.”
Now it was Ken's turn to pout. “You don't have to say it like that.”
“You'll still go with me, right?”
“Of, of course!”
Momo smiled. “Good. Let's go this weekend.” Momo scooted back to Okarun once more and cuddled herself into his winter jacket. “It'll be fun, I promise.”
“As long as it's with you,” Ken said bashfully, “anything is fun.”
The couple sat in silence briefly before Momo blurted, “It's still going to be funny seeing you fall on your ass.”
—
Ken tried to take as many deep breaths as he could before deciding to walk past the Torii Gate that would lead to Momo's house. In his hands was a slightly small box that he tried not to bend or leave dents as he attempted to calm his mind. He had spent many days alone with Momo, so why did today feel different? Not to mention they would be out in public, so they wouldn't be alone alone. Perhaps the idea of them being a couple in public is what scared Ken the most. Doubt clouded his mind as he began to think about the multitude of people who could be staring at him and Momo, wondering how someone like him could be with such a cute girl like her? Scenes played out in his head of handsome boys walking up and taking Momo away from him, and all Ken could do was slip and fall on the ice.
He closed his eyes and tried to get a handle on his outrageous thoughts. If Momo were to be taken away, he could just transform and get her back. Perhaps Momo would protest against anyone going after her. She could knock the boy into next week and go running back to him. She'd say something like, “You're the only one for me, Ken Takakura,” and wrap her arms around his neck. Ken started to blush as he remembered just how cool Momo was. He placed his free hand on his cheek and giggled at the thought of Momo running into his arms.
“You okay there, Okarun?”
Ken yelped and leapt a foot back when he noticed Momo getting in his face. The hand that was on his cheek made his way to the rim of his glasses. “Miss Ayase! Good morning!”
Momo groaned and put her hands in her coat pocked. “Again with the Miss Ayase crap. Listen, for the rest of the day, you're going to call me by my first name, got it?”
Ken adjusted his glasses nervously. “Yes Miss Aya…I mean Momo.”
Momo smiled sweetly at Ken, which made his heart flutter. “What's that?” she asked as she pointed to the box in Ken's hands. “Is that a present for me?”
“Oh!” Ken held the small box up and shakingly handed it over to Momo. “Yes. I saw this the other day when I was on my way home and thought you would like it. It's really nothing much If you don't like it, you can always take it back.”
Momo took the box and handled it with care. After all, it was a precious gift from her precious Okarun. With one swift movement, her nails cut the tape that held the box ends together, and slipped the tabs out. She pulled out a pink knitted winter cap with white snowflakes printed on it, and a white pom pom ball on top.
“Like I said!” said Ken, unable to control the pitch of his voice, “It's nothing much. It's just we're going ice skating, so It's going to be cold, and you probably already have a ton of hats, but when I saw this, I kept thinking of how cute it was and that it'd match that sweater you wear at school, and that you'd look really-”
“Cute?”
“Yes!” Ken squeaked.
A chuckle escaped Momo's throat while she put the hat on. “Sure, but I was saying that you're cute right now.”
Ken's intuition of Momo looking cute in the hat was spot on. He swore time came to a hault as he watched her slip it on. He adjusted his glasses just to make sure his vision wasn't tricking him into believing such a sight was real after the flicked the pom pom on the top and smiled. However, Momo was indeed real, cute, and most importantly, going on a date with him. It didn't matter that they were already going steady and have been on dates before. When it came to being with Momo, every date felt like the first date.
“Hey, Okarun!”
Ken snapped out of his trance the moment Momo called him by his nickname and waved her gloved hand in front of his face.
“Earth to Okarun! You ready to go?”
“Oh! Right!”
Momo reahced out and snatched Ken's hand and interlaced her fingers with his. “Then let's get going. We don't want to miss the subway.”
There were a decent amount of people at the skating rink, which led to Ken feeling self-conscious. He wasn't sure how Momo would be able to teach him how to ice skate with so many people coming and going. He was about to mention the amount of people to Momo, but when he turned his head and saw her smiling from ear-to-ear at the skating rink, he closed his mouth. There was no point in complaining when Momo was so happy.
His eyes kept moving between Momo and the skating rink as Momo led him to the counter to rent ice skates for them. Everybody on the rink appeared to know how to skate, including children ten or more years younger than him. He glanced at some of the couples skating together. He analized how they held hands, were smiling, laughing, and gliding smoothly against the ice. He really wanted to be like that with Momo. If there was any motivation for him to become a phenomenal ice skater, this was it. He would even train to be an olympic figure skater for Momo if he had to.
Ken let his imagination run wild once more as he pictured the ice rink as empty, aside from him and Momo. The scene is dark, aside from the spotlight that's on them. Momo is wearing a beautiful, sparkling red dress, and Ken wore a matching tuxedo. There they were in his fantasy, gliding and twirling on the ice while some cheesy love song was playing. Oh how he wished he could twirl Momo on the ice in real life. He'd grab her by the waist, and gently dip her. He'd look right into her eyes, and she'd cup his cheek in her hand before she lifts herself up and plants a passionate kiss on his lips.
“Okarun! What's your deal today?”
Ken snapped back into reality once more. “Sorry! Sorry!”
Momo handed Ken a pair of ice skates. “I get you're nervous since you've never been ice skating before, but it's really not a big deal.”
“Right…”
Ken clung onto the railing of the ice rink for dear life while Momo stood upright on the ice without any sign of losing her balance. She held her hand out to him to take, and while he would have taken her hand at any other moment, he felt the railing was safer for him. His knees shivered while he tried to figure out how to balance on the blades of the skates onto the ice.
“Try to relax, Okarun,” said Momo, softly. “It'll be okay. You can hold onto me with one hand, and the railing with the other.”
“What if I lose my balance and I fall?” he asked. “You'd fall with me, and you could get hurt!”
“Okarun,” Momo sang. “Everyone falls once in their life when ice skating. I've landed on my butt a few times when I was learning. I'm tough. I can handle it.” Momo skated closer to Ken and peeled one of his hands off the railing, and she gripped it tightly with her hand. “Now try to stand up straight.”
Ken gulped, and attempted to pull himself together and follow Momo's instructions. With Momo's hand in his, Ken tried to straighten his legs and back so he could stand. He took deep breaths to try and calm himself down and keep his balance. Even though his legs still shook a bit, he had managed to stand up.
“There you go!” praised Momo. “Now try to take your hand off the railing…”
“Don't let go!” shouted Ken.
“I won't.”
Nervoulsy, Ken loosened his grip on the railing. His hand hovered on the top of it just in case he were to ever lose his balance. He was shaking enough that it was possible, and yet, he managed to keep himself upright. Just as Momo promised, she didn't let go of his hand.
“See? You got this.” Momo skated in front of Ken so she could hold onto both of his hands. “Now you want to push yourself forward to skate. I'll take the lead, and you can focus on keeping your balance.”
Ken nodded hesitantly. He felt he had just understood standing up on skates, and yet he had to immediately learn how to move. He looked down at his feet while Momo began to pull him forward. As he felt his body move, he started to lose his balance once more when he couldn't get the hang of moving his legs in time with Momo's.
“Don't worry about moving your legs,” Momo reminded him. “Just get used to trying to balance while in motion.”
Admittedly, Ken felt embarrassed that he was being dragged around the ice rink like a toddler learning to walk for the first time. However whenever he would look back at Momo's face, and see her smiling, he wasn't embarrassed. While he really wanted to be able to skate and look cool in front of Momo, he truely enjoyed seeing Momo smile. Not once while she pulled Ken around the ice rink did she look annoyed or frustrated with him. Her voice and her smile were soft whenever she looked at him. It was a side that rarely anyone saw, a side meant only for him.
Just being with Momo inspired Ken to do anything. If for some reason he messed up, he knew he would have Momo there to save him. Sometimes he could even do more than what he thought he could do because of Momo. With that newfound bravery, Ken began to bend his knees in an attempt to move his feet and skate properly. His feet wobbled slightly when he felt the blade of the skates hit the ice, but he managed to keep his balance thanks to Momo holding his hands.
“Wow,” he gasped. “I think I'm getting the idea.”
“That's great!” Momo cheered. “Keep pushing yourself forward, okay? Focus on keeping your balance.”
Ken followed Momo's instructions precisely. As long as Momo held onto him, he was able to figure out how to keep his body upright whenever his skate would touch the ice. As Momo pulled him, Ken would push himself forward. After a few attempts, the couple were finally skating in rhythm with one another.
“Okay, ready Okarun?” giggled Momo.
“Ready for what?” he asked.
Without warning, Momo let go of Ken's hands and pushed herself away from him. Almost instantly, Ken began to push himself forward in an uncoordinated and undignified manner, which led to him losing control and balance all at the same time. He had moved too fast that he wasn't even within arm's reach of Momo. He flailed his arms as he tried to get himself balanced once more. Unfortunately, the front tip of his skate hit an ice chunk, and he lunged forward, face first towards the ice. He covered his face with his arms and closed his eyes to brace for impact, only for the feeling of falling to suddenly cease.
Ken opened his eyes and saw he was being held up by Momo's psychokinesis hands. He looked around the rink to see if anyone had noticed his spectacular blunder, only to be pulled back up by something only he and Momo could see. Thankfully for his ego, nobody was paying attention to him. With her powers keeping Ken standing firmly on the ice, Momo quickly made her way over to him. Once she was within arm's reach, she released her powers and proceeded to hold onto Ken with her physical arms.
“Are you okay, Okarun?” asked Momo. “You didn't get hurt, right?”
“N-No,” stuttered Ken. “Thanks for saving me.”
“I wasn't going to let you fall.”
“Hang on. The other day you said you wanted to see me fall on the ice!”
“I said I wanted to see you fall on your ass, not your face.” Momo slighly pulled herself away from Ken, and returned to just holding his hands. “Let’s keep going. This time I won't let go unless you tell me to.”
Ken nodded. He caught his breath and once he was ready, he gave Momo the okay to continue skating. In his head, as long as he was able to hold Momo's hands, perhaps not being able to ice skate all that well wasn't so bad. Momo pulled him around the skating rink for a bit before he gathered the confidence to skate alongside her. His strides were shaky, and he lacked the confidence Momo had, but it was better than nothing. At least he could keep up with her.
“How are you doing, Okarun?” Momo asked after they circled the rink for the first time.
“I'm glad to have you with me,” Ken replied. “I don't think I'd ever go ice skating if not for you.”
“That's what I'm here for,” Momo said with pride. “I'm here to give you experiences your shut in brain could never imagine.”
“Thank you,” Ken said softly. “There's nobody in the entire universe I'd want to share- Miss Ayase, behind you!”
“I thought I told you to call me-” Momo couldn't finish her sentence before she knocked into someone skating behind her.
“Watch it!” the person shouted as they skated away from the two.
Momo attempted to keep her balance in check, only for her to slip and fall onto the ice while pulling Ken down with her. Ken let go of Momo's hands and wrapped his arms around her waist before she made impact with the hard, cold surface. After landing on the ice, the pair slid backward briefly before coming to a stop.
“Oh no!” gasped Ken. “Are you hurt, Momo?”
Momo was silent for a moment before she burst into laughter. “Like I told you, we all fall on our asses when ice skating.”
Ken found Momo's laughter to be infectious. “I guess you're right,” he said while laughing.
“Of course I'm right!”
The pair sat on the cold ice for a brief moment, doing nothing else but looking at one another longingly. The realization that there were other people around them, and probably staring this time, made Ken back off of Momo so she could stand back up. Before he got out of her grasp, Momo wrapped her arms around Ken, pulled him back on top of her, and planted a soft, yet slightly cold kiss on his cheek.
“Okay, now you can get up,” said Momo after pulling herself away from him. “Here, I'll help.”
Ken felt relieved to be walking in his shoes once more. He did enjoy his first outing ice skating with Momo, but nothing would beat being able to keep a firm hold on the ground below him without any fear of falling. The couple held hands on the way back to Momo's house, with Momo also wrapping her arm around Ken's so she could be closer to him.
“So what did you think of ice skating, Okarun?” asked Momo.
“It was kind of scary,” Ken admitted.
“Yeah, but did you have fun?”
Ken lowered his head almost in an attempt to hide his smile. “I did, even though I suck at ice skating.”
“You'll get better the more you do it, just like everything else.”
“Then perhaps,” with his free hand, Ken nervously adjusted his glasses, “if you'd like to, could we go again tomorrow?”
Momo's eyes widened, genuinely surprised at her boyfriend. “So soon?”
“Well, if you don't want to-”
“Of course I do, you dork,” she said affectionately. “I just didn't think you'd want to go again so soon.”
“I just really enjoyed it, because you were with me.”
Momo's face flushed a bright pink and she turned her head away to prevent Ken from seeing just how flustered he made her. She wondered if he on purpose knew the right things to say to her to make her swoon.
“You know,” she said playfully, “you don't have to go ice skating with me as an excuse to hold me. You can do that any time you want.”
“Huh? Hold on, that's not what I-”
Momo laughed once more. “I'm teasing you, Okarun.” Momo purposely bumped into Ken in a playful manner. “Come on, we're almost home. Wanna stay for a bit? We can warm up with hot chocolate and a movie?”
“Oh, sure. What movie were you thinking?”
“Hmm, maybe one about ice skating.”