Noelle skipped ahead, practically dancing through the snow. There was just something about winter that was so beautiful, seeing everything covered in a sheen of pure white with each individual flake glimmering in the midday sun. And while it was a little past the holidays, many of the houses and businesses of Hometown were still decorated for Christmas, bearing the last vestiges of their festive cheer.
She took a sip from her hot chocolate before looking back at her girlfriend. ``Don't you just love winter?''
Susie snorted and shook her head. ``It's freezing and I'm way too cold-blooded to deal with it.''
``Oh, it's not that bad, it's only like five degrees below freezing today,'' Noelle chided, motioning to the massive Christmas tree set up in front of town hall. ``Just look at how beautiful everything is. It's all colourful and it just...'' She sighed fondly. ``It makes me feel happy to see everything like this, you know?''
``It's only five degrees below freezing, says the monster who gets a natural winter coat,'' Susie jeered though there was no real heat behind her words. In fact, it would seem that Noelle's festive cheer was at least a little bit infectious as she surrendered a thin smile. ``But yeah... it is pretty nice looking.''
Noelle shook her head. ``Honestly, I'm a little surprised that you aren't good with the cold. I thought you would've played hockey growing up or something.''
Susie shrugged. ``Wasn't into sports.''
``What about ice skating? Surely, you must've gone ice skating before.'' Noelle asked.
Susie shook her head once again.
Noelle gasped. ``You've never gone ice skating before?''
``Not once,'' Susie replied.
``Well, we need to go ice skating then,'' Noelle beamed. ``I love skating, it makes me feel so free, just zooming across the ice. It's like... it's like being able to fly.''
Susie looked at her for a moment, saying nothing as she simply shook her head.
``What?'' Noelle asked.
Susie snorted. ``You're really cute when you get excited about something.''
Noelle's cheeks warmed and with that came a warmth within the very tip of her nose as it glowed such a lovely shade of red. She quickly clamped a hand over top of it but it would seem that Susie had seen her shame as she chuckled and walked ahead.
``But sure, I'd love to try out this skating thing,'' Susie said, glancing back at Noelle. ``Do you know any good places?''
Noelle nodded though still kept her hand over top of her face. Unfortunately, getting caught red-nosed did not make it any easier to hide the fact that she'd been caught. In fact, it was a destructive feedback loop of embarrassment and blushing, endlessly cycling into each other and making it nearly impossible to hide her embarrassment.
``They have an outdoor rink set up on the other side of town hall,'' Noelle finally answered. ``And there's a booth next to it which rents ice skates.''
Susie smirked. ``Lead the way, Jingles.''
Noelle did so as she stepped ahead, following the walking path that led around town hall. There were a few other monsters out and about at the moment. Though sadly only a few. Most of the town was probably at work as it was midday on a Tuesday. Still, that was good. It would mean that the rink would be far less crowded than usual.
As they walked, Noelle felt confident enough to remove her hand from her nose. She let out a sigh of relief as she realized that it was no longer going to flashbang someone.
Stupid body and Susie's stupid ability to exploit it.
...
Yeah, you would want Susie to exploit it, wouldn't you?
Noelle clamped her hand over top of her nose once again as it lit up along with her cheeks. The amused snort that came from Susie certainly didn't help with this in the slightest.
``What's on your mind?'' Susie teased.
Noelle tried her best to sound composed though the exasperated sigh that followed certainly didn't help in the slightest. ``Nothing!''
``Uh huh,'' Susie said though her shit eating grin told Noelle that she knew exactly what was going on. ``Did I mention that your ass looks really nice in those jeans.''
``Susie!'' Noelle squealed.
She watched in horror as the red light that radiated from her nose grew so intense that it seemed to bleed through the thin gap between her fingers.
Thankfully, Susie decided to show her a little mercy, not following that comment up with another. Instead, she shoved her hands into her pockets and just followed Noelle. Though her proud little smile lingered behind.
The walk provided Noelle with a chance to calm herself, settling her mind and returning her nose to its normal charcoal black. It didn't take long before they were on the other side of town hall where a sheet of ice had been set up for a temporary rink. There was also a little booth next to it that sold exactly two things: ice skate rentals and hot chocolate.
It would seem that there wasn't another soul on the ice, meaning that the two of them would have the entire rink to themselves. Certainly, this would make teaching Susie the ropes a little less daunting as there wouldn't be any innocent bystanders in the way if she were to accidentally wipe out.
As Noelle approached the rental booth, she recognized the monster on the other side. They were a cheery-looking moose who offered her a big smile and equally massive wave.
``Hey Noelle,'' the moose called.
Noelle grinned, hating that she was completely blanked on their name. ``H-hey, just looking to get two ice skate rentals today.''
``Size ten for you, right?'' the moose knowingly asked before looking at Susie and tilting her chin towards her.
What the fuck? How did they know that and she couldn't even remember their freaking name?
Susie glanced at Noelle. ``Are ice skate sizes the same as shoe sizes?''
Noelle nodded.
Susie looked back at the moose. ``Uh... size fourteen...'' She then sighed and scratched at her chin. ``Mens.''
The moose nodded and turned away, looking through the various shelves of ice skates, finding both of the requested pairs and placing them down upon the counter. Noelle went to reach for her wallet but the moose shook their head and held out a hand to stop her.
``No way that I'm making the daughter of the mayor pay for a rental,'' they said, scoffing. ``Your mom would actually kill me.''
Noelle doubted that very much but wasn't about to look a gift horse in the mouth. ``Well thank you very much...''
Shit, why couldn't she remember their name.
``Thanks Kim,'' Susie interjected.
How did Susie know it!?
Noelle quickly picked up her pair of skates and Susie did so as well. They then made their way over to a set of benches that were set up near the rink. They were made of a sturdy looking wood and had a rubberized path that led from them and to the ice itself. The rubber mats looked well used, cut by at least a hundred different blades.
``Did you know them?'' Noelle asked.
Susie snorted. ``They had a nametag, babe.''
Noelle blinked, feeling her cheeks warm. Thankfully, it wasn't enough to bring her nose along for the ride. ``O-oh.''
``Did you literally not notice it?'' Susie asked, offering an amused smile.
Noelle drew in a breath and sheepishly grinned. ``It uh... it was hidden?''
Susie snorted and shook her head.
Noelle plopped down upon the bench and took off one of her boots, quickly slipping her foot into the ice skate instead. It fit perfectly, so she grabbed the laces, starting to tighten them as well. She ensured that she didn't leave even the slimmest amount of slack as she started to tighten them over and over again.
Susie watched her and tried her best to mimic her actions.
``You want to make sure that these are as tight as possible,'' Noelle explained. ``You don't want there to be any wobbling in your feet while wearing them. Because loose skates have a nasty way of slipping and rolling your ankle which really freaking hurts.''
Susie nodded, offering a little smirk. ``No wobble, got it.''
She grunted as she tied her laces, managing to tighten them by a fair amount before tying them into what seemed to be a pretty hardy knot. Once finished, she lifted her leg and shook it in the air, ensuring that the skate didn't wobble in the slightest.
``Can I make a weird comment?'' Susie asked, pulling off her other boot.
Noelle nodded. ``Go for it.''
Susie slipped her second skate on at the same time as Noelle. ``Is it weird that I'm a little hyped to have literal blade feet?''
Noelle snickered.
``Like this feels like something out of a dumb action movie,'' Susie went on, putting on her best mimic of a movie announcer's voice. ``Arnold Stallone is Blade Feet, a monster genetically modified to be the ultimate apex predator.''
``There was a figure skating movie where that was actually a plot point,'' Noelle commented.
Susie perked up and nodded for her to continue.
``Well, maybe not quite but it was this comedy about two male figure skaters who were supposed to perform a move so dangerous that it could chop off your head if it went wrong,'' Noelle explained, motioning towards the ice. ``I uh... I think I was a little too young to really appreciate it though.''
Susie snorted. ``Did they get their heads cut off?''
``No, it was a comedy,'' Noelle said, rolling her eyes.
She watched as Susie lifted the other skate, confirming that they were both on, nice and tight, just like Noelle had told her. This was good as Noelle was also done, getting to her feet and stepping onto the rubber.
``Did you figure skate?'' Susie asked.
Noelle nodded. ``When I was a kid.''
Susie braced her hands against the bench. ``Were you any good at it?''
She got up as well and wobbled a little, looking nervous as she tried to find her balance. Thankfully, she didn't eat shit as she managed to stand upon the rubber as well.
Noelle took the lead, walking ahead slowly so that Susie could follow her. ``I was! Though I had to give it up once I started high school.''
Susie was looking down at her feet as she carefully made her way across the rubber mat. It was kind of adorable to see how unsure her balance was and the way that she kind of clumsily stumbled ahead.
``Why did you have to give it up?'' she asked, briefly glancing at Noelle before immediately snapping her gaze back down to her own feet.
Noelle sighed. ``Well how do I put this...'' She worked her jaw, searching for the right words. ``Mom wasn't too fond of the fact that I was the only girl on the team who could do a triple axel. So, she pulled me from it so I didn't stand out any more than I already did.'' She snorted. ``Not that any of the other girls seemed to mind.''
Susie seemed confused, looking up and lifting a brow. Though this was only for a moment as she once more forced her gaze upon her unsteady feet as if looking away from them for even a moment would cause her to fall.
Though Noelle didn't really want to elaborate. So, she didn't say anything as she made it to the gate that led onto the ice. She pushed through it and stepped out onto it, feeling her skates touch down upon the smooth surface. It had an immediate and almost liberating effect upon her as she flowed away from the entrance so smoothy, gliding forth and propelling herself forwards with a single blade.
She couldn't help but rumble with joyous laughter, feeling like she was back to her natural environment.
Susie also stepped onto the ice but was nowhere near as confident, kind of wobbling as she slowly skidded forwards. She seemed so unsure of herself and Noelle couldn't help but feel excited at the idea of getting to teach her.
Noelle came to a stop, looking towards her girlfriend. ``So, if you want to move forward then you need to point one blade straight ahead while turning the other sideways and using it to push yourself along. Do you understand?''
She then demonstrated, turning one blade sideways and pushing back upon it a couple of times, using the momentum to propel herself forwards at a pretty decent clip.
``You make it look so easy!'' Susie called.
She seemed nervous but managed to slowly turn one of her blades, using it to push herself forwards. It didn't give her much speed but it was enough to get her moving a little more.
``This is terrifying!'' Susie chided, pinwheeling her arms to keep balance.
Noelle gracefully came over, coming to a stop beside her girlfriend. ``It's like riding a bike! Once you learn how to do it, you'll never forget.''
``Never learned to do that either,'' Susie commented, shaking her head. ``What's wrong with just walking places? Everyone disses walking for some strange reason.''
``Come on,'' Noelle teased, pulling up in front of Susie and turning around so that she was facing her. She then offered both of her hands along with a reassuring smile. ``Take my hands, okay?''
Susie looked at them and very carefully grabbed on, holding Noelle quiet tightly. ``You're... you're going to skate backwards?''
Noelle nodded and slowly pushed back, using the same strategy as before... only in reverse. Though she made sure to keep things to a modest speed, dragging Susie along with her.
``We're... we're moving,'' Susie whispered, seeming quite nervous as she once more looked at her feet. ``We're really moving.''
``Wanna go faster?'' Noelle asked.
There was excitement in Susie's eye as she silently nodded, once more looking at Noelle.
``Then help me out here,'' Noelle said. ``Push when I push, okay?''
She then pressed back upon the ice at the same time that Susie did so. It took only a couple of attempts before they managed to develop a pretty reliable tempo, picking up speed as they moved so gracefully across the ice.
``Holy shit,'' Susie whispered, shaking her head. ``How... how is this even possible?''
``Uh the coefficient of friction between a thin steel blade and a smooth sheet of ice is relatively low meaning that there is practically no resistance between...'' Noelle started before realizing that this explanation might've been a little over the top for Susie. ``Uh... it's kind of like putting a hot knife through butter, easy and smooth.''
``Knife and butter got it,'' Susie said, nodding along.
``Wanna try doing it on your own?'' Noelle asked.
Susie looked unsure as she glanced down at Noelle's hands. Though any indecision was quickly done away with as she simply nodded and drew her own hands back. She took in a deep breath but managed to balance herself upon her skates. Even more than that, she even pushed herself forwards on her own, gliding so effortlessly ahead.
Noelle smirked and quickly spun around, pointing herself forwards and then keeping pace with her girlfriend.
``See, it's easy,'' she said.
Susie nodded and threw off a cocky little smile. ``Not a bad suggestion, Jingles. This is uh... this is pretty fun.''
Noelle hummed and folded her hands behind her back, pushing herself forwards a little faster and putting some distance between herself and Susie. It was hard not to cut loose upon the ice, hard not to feel free as she moved with such grace.
This must've been what a bird felt like whenever it flew through the sky.
And honestly, Noelle...
Well, Noelle kind of missed getting to do something like this. She missed what her mother had taken from her. It was moments like this that she wished that she got to do all of the pretty little moves that she'd done while figure skating back in middle school.
``Hey babe?'' Noelle asked, looking at Susie to save herself from spiraling.
Susie nodded, pushing forwards just the way that Noelle had taught her. ``Yeah?''
``Would you... would you like to see me show off a little?'' Noelle asking, biting her lip. ``You know, show you some of those figure skating moves that I used to do?''
Susie grinned.
``What?'' Noelle asked.
``I just...'' Susie scratched at her chin. ``I just find it kind of cute that you want to try and show off for me. Are you trying to impress me or something?''
Noelle's nose warmed a little. ``S-shut up.''
``You know... you're kind of cute when you blush,'' Susie teased.
Noelle groaned, seeing red blossom in the periphery of her vision. ``I hate you so much.''
``You love me,'' Susie chided, grinning nice and wide.
Noelle sighed. ``I do.''
``But yeah, why don't you show me some of your cool figure skating moves,'' Susie said, gliding towards the boards and using them to stop herself. ``I want to see how cool my girlfriend can be.''
Noelle grinned.
If Susie wanted to see how cool she could be then she was in for a real treat. When it came to figure skating, Noelle Holiday could be pretty freaking cool.
``Well in that case, do you want to see me do a triple axel?'' Noelle asked.
