• apt 01

@－ ❛ s ❜：emrys seong。⁰⁵ "Both feet are the hardest," Caterina whined, her brows pushed together above her eyes as she looked down her feet, trying her best to concentrate on actually getting to the ice without slipping. And it wasn't that she didn't trust Emrys to catch her—she didn't trust herself to fall into him when she slipped. For someone who was normally well-coordinated, it felt like absolute hell trying to steady her body on ice. She felt like she was learning to walk for the first time, and failing rather miserably at it. But Caterina hated backing down from a challenge, and the last thing she wanted was to ruin their date before it even started. So, with another deep breath, she lifted her other foot, quickly placing it on the ice, afraid she'd lose balance if she didn't. She wobbled a little, her legs sliding back and forth in opposite directions—but still, she made it! "That wasn't that bad..."

@－ ❛ ʀ ❜：caterina sun。⁰² "You're not", Emrys confirmed with an impish smile and while he thought it might be a little mean, he didn't clarify that he had taught Tommy's kid how to ice skate, or that he loved to go with hi mum. Normally he would go home over Christmas and go ice skating with her at least three times over the holidays, but this year was different and Emrys couldn't really say that he minded all that much. When Caterina took the first tentative step onto the ice, Emrys skated a little closer so she'd crash into him in case she'd fall forward, ready to catch her just in case she'd lose balance. But he was sure she wouldn't, the first moments on the ice always the hardest ones. As soon as you realized that it wasn't as slippery as you had thought, you were fine. "There you go", he encouraged softly, eyes alight with tender joy. "Hold on to me if you have to. The second foot is always the hardest. You can do it, love."

@－ ❛ s ❜：emrys seong。⁰⁵ Caterina remembered when she learned how to skate. It was in elementary school. There was this after school program that let gifted students—which really meant students with good grades—take lessons in a sport of their choice for once a week for an entire month. She had chosen skating over golf because she wanted to be as graceful as Barbie in the movies she loved watching as a child, only to find that she was clumsy when it came to skating. And it wasn't limited to ice, either. Anything with wheels—roller skates, roller blades, skateboards—were a nightmare for her. Riding a bike was the only thing that she was decent at doing, but that was because everyone knew how to ride a bike. There's a reason why "easy" is correlated to riding a bike. "I'm not the first person you've gone ice skating with?" It was a feeble attempt a joke to lighten the mood, but it wasn't quite enough to ease her nerves. She stared at the ice and her shoes. It was now or never, really, or it would be a waste to go out here at all. "Okay," she mumbled under her breath, lifting one foot off the snow to place it on the ice, her blade already sliding forward and back in small, unbalanced motions.

@－ ❛ ʀ ❜：caterina sun。⁰² Emrys vividly remembered when his mum had taught him how to skate, first with rollerblades and then on ice, her movements graceful and light, as if she had been born to do it. Emrys, a gangly, scrawny teenager, had doubted he'd ever be able to do it without either knocking all of his teeth out or breaking at least every single bone in his body. "You won't", he shook his head, letting himself slide forward a little with a shift of his center of gravity, reaching out for her hands this time instead of simply offering his own. "If you slip I won't let you fall. And you really won't. I promise. I know what I'm doing and I can catch you. You're not the first person I'm going ice skating with, love. Look at me, Caterina." He gave her a smile, loving and filled with nothing but adoration. "I got you. I won't let you get hurt."

@－ ❛ s ❜：emrys seong。⁰⁵ "I got it," she agreed, though she wasn't quite sure if she did. All she was sure of was that she could trust Emrys to not let her fall, his hold on her hand the only thing that could reassure her as she wobbled through the uneven path of snow. When they approached the sheet of wild ice, she practically froze, her eyes wide and her cheeks flushing, embarrassment taking over her features. She was going to slip as soon as she stepped foot on the frozen lake. She definitely was. She could only watch Emrys turn on the ice with incredible grace, her expression pathetically fearful when he told her that it was her turn to go. But she tried. She lifted a foot, but before it could touch the ice, she brought it back to where it was, shaking her head. "Nope. Can't. I'm gonna slip."

@－ ❛ ʀ ❜：caterina sun。⁰² "You got this", Emrys reassured her as they made their way down the slight slope towards the frozen water, his hand firmly holding hers to keep her steady, until he reached the edge of the ice and shot her a glance. "I'm going to let go now so I can get on the ice and then you'll follow, okay?", he grinned, slowly easing his fingers out of her hold - but not without making sure she was steady on her feet - before he took the first, careful step forward, pushing himself away from the shore with the foot that was still on the ground, wobbling only momentarily before he got used to the feeling and turned around, gracefully coming to a stop right in front of her. "Alright, kitten, your turn. You can do this", he said, holding out both hands for her to take again. "I won't let you fall."

@－ ❛ s ❜：emrys seong。⁰⁵ Caterina wasn't very clumsy. She couldn't afford to be. She was a dancer, and dancing relied on grace and control over her body. That wasn't the case here, however. Standing atop her skates made her feel like a fish out of water, or a person walking on feet that weren't her own. The blades were thin underneath the soles of her feet, and it felt like she was walking on two sticks, bound to fall at any second if it weren't for Emrys' supporting hand. These didn't feel like heels at all. She hoped they would, but with the strange distribution in weight relying on the thin blade underneath the middle of each foot, it felt more like stilts. Not that she ever used them before. The uneven ground didn't help at all, either. "Okay," she mumbled under her breath, tightly gripping Emrys' hand, afraid she'd fall.

@－ ❛ ʀ ❜：caterina sun。⁰² "Over my cold, dead body", Emrys shot back almost immediately, his face completely serious even though there was an impish glint to his eyes, his lips pressed together into a firm, white line. He got to his feet when he realized she wanted to stand up, holding out his arms in case she'd fall, knowing that standing on skates felt like trying to walk on stilts for the first time or trying to walk on a swaying boat. "You sure?", he laughed then, grasping her hand even though she had literally just told him she was okay. They would have to walk all the way to the lake from the picnic table after all and knowing the lakeshore as well as he did, Emrys knew that it was far from even, the snow only adding to the danger of falling and breaking a wrist or two. "Let's take it slow. One step at a time. It gets easier as soon as we're on the ice."

@－ ❛ s ❜：emrys seong。⁰⁵ "Even if my laces were properly tied, I'd still hurt myself out there," Caterina commented in jest, eliciting a light chuckle in between her words. She watched as he fixed her shoes with practiced movements, not entirely in awe but admiration, because Emrys didn't hesitate to kneel on the cold, wet snow just to make sure she didn't injure herself out on the ice. It was the little things like this that made her heart flutter with absolute joy. "Yeah, I'm okay." She sighed and, after counting for two seconds, she pushed herself onto her feet, legs wobbling before she found her balance. "I'm okay."

@－ ❛ ʀ ❜：caterina sun。⁰² "Hold up", Emrys muttered as he squatted down in front of her, only to realize that the skates added to his height and so he simply went down on one knee, uncaring about the fact that the snow would get his pants dirty and wet, grasping the ends of the laces to loop them around her ankles once and tying them in front. "If you trip over your laces, you could hurt yourself", he explained then, pushing his finger beneath the laces that ran down the front to loosen them a bit, aware that these skates didn't really fit her all that well. It wouldn't be a problem, though, since it was better to go a size smaller rather than having too much wiggle room, risking injury. "They're going to loosen up as soon as the leather is warmer", he told her as he did the same to her other shoe, repeating the action with quick, practiced movements of his fingers. "If you feel like you're getting a blister, let me know. We might need to adjust the clasp up here", he added then as he pushed said metal clasp shut across the laces, smiling up at her. "Good to go?"

@－ ❛ s ❜：emrys seong。⁰⁵ Caterina trusted him; he definitely knew more than she did when it came to ice skating, but that didn't mean she wasn't sure about the way the skates fit. It wasn't loose nor did it seem to fit perfectly, the way her boots did, but her foot felt so cramped in the shoes it seemed like she did her best to jam her whole foot in it. Which she probably did, but she was too focused on putting them on that she didn't realize she forced her foot inside the shoes. This wasn't her pair of skates, after all. For all she knew, Emrys' friend probably wore a half size smaller than her. Which wasn't too big of an assumption; Caterina was taller than the average girl at five-foot-seven, which meant that she naturally wore bigger shoes than most women. "Wait," she grumbled, refusing to take his hand until she was sure the laces were properly tied. She felt like a child. She chose to ignore the size issue for now. "Are my laces tied properly? Or should I do one more?" She looked at his skates, then down at her feet to compare.

@－ ❛ ʀ ❜：caterina sun。⁰² The thing was, Emrys didn't know if that would ever happen. Ever since he met her, he had been more or less glued to his phone - except for when he was in class - but exams tended to stress him out and sometimes he needed to decompress for a while. And the lake was the perfect place to do that. "Probably not", he told her then, his words easy and light, the shrug he paired them with subtle. "I think I'll always tell you where I am anyway. And it's good if they're tight. Less risk of you being all wobbly. Meaning, you won't fall as easily", he said then, getting to his feet as soon as he had laced the skates properly, making sure he was steady on his feet and they were tight around his ankles. "Come on", he grinned then, holding out both his hands to pull her up from the bench. "It's going to be ready awkward walking down there, but you have to trust me here."

@－ ❛ s ❜：emrys seong。⁰⁵ Caterina barely realized that Emrys had since pulled away from her, the hand that held onto his for as long as they walked suddenly feeling empty. But she didn't mind. Not when she took time to look around, at the leafless trees surrounding the lake, at the piles of snow that looked like clouds around a glass pond. It all glittered beautifully underneath the sunlight, much like diamonds most people would admire in a glass casing at a jewelry store. Caterina never paid much attention to diamonds, but she adored looking at the glittering sight before her as if she just found the rarest gem in the world. She turned to smile at Emrys, eagerly taking the seat beside him to and take off her boots and replace them with the skates that, to her surprise, fit like a glove (if not just a half size too tight). "I hope it doesn't have to come to that," she remarked, bending down to lace the skates. "Not being able to find you. Having to go searching for you. I hope I won't ever have to do that in the future. Gosh. These are kind of tight."

@－ ❛ ʀ ❜：caterina sun。⁰² "Right?", Emrys asked, delighted and sounding like a kid on Christmas morning as he pulled her towards the picnic table and wodden benches a little to their right and close to the slope of the lakefront, cleaning them from the snow with a flick of his wand as soon as he had let go of her hand. He had discovered this place by nothing but accident and even though some of the villagers had told him once that people liked to come ice skate over here as soon as the lake was frozen, Emrys preferred it in the spring. Sitting down at this table and painting the scenery with soft water colors and quick of his pen was one of his favorite pastimes whenever he needed a moment to escape his social anxiety and all the noise in the castle. "I love it here", he announced then, voice light and airy, patting the bench next to himself after sitting down to put on his skates, nimble fingers undoing the laces of his boots. "It's peaceful. If you can't find me, I'm probably here... No signal, solitude. It's... I come here whenever life gets too much for me to handle, you know? That's why I wanted to share it with you."

@－ ❛ s ❜：emrys seong。⁰⁵ Caterina walked alongside him in silence, with nothing left to say, not a single word lingering on her tongue. Her head was empty with any trivial thoughts except for emotion that extended from her heart—a peaceful happiness that powered the evergreen smile on her pretty, pink lips. Her eyes were curved slightly, resembling soft crescents, that twinkled as brightly as the glittering snow beneath their feet. Her cheeks were rosy from the cold, and yet she didn't feel cold at all. She felt warm, actually, and it was not only because she was at constant motion, walking along the uneven path the snow paved for them. "Pretty," she commented once she saw the lake, the scene before her like a painting she saw once or twice in her life. She had never seen such beauty in person. At least, she didn't think so. California did not have frozen lakes like these. Perhaps in the mountains, but she doubted they stayed frozen long enough for her to skate on it. Suddenly, she got nervous. She wondered if it was safe to skate on it, even though Emrys seemed absolutely positive that they could. She looked towards the man beside her, opening once, only to decide against voicing her concern. It would be fine, she reassured herself. Emrys would never dare to put the both of them in an unsafe situation.

@－ ❛ ʀ ❜：caterina sun。⁰² "One day", Emrys confirmed with a nod, falling quiet right after, the silence between them comfortable and easy. The only sounds accompanying them on their way to the frozen little lake behind the village were the snow beneath their feet, the occasional creaking of wood, a twig breaking beneath the heavy weight of snow and ice. It was nice, Emrys thought to himself as they walked and rounded the hill. Nice in a way only people who were comfortable sitting in silence could understand. And it had always been easy for them, no? They didn't need to fill every single second with mindless chatter, content to just be in each other's presence. "And here we go", he announced as he left the path and steered Caterina to the left with a gentle nudge, following a little trail between the trees, revealing the small lake, completely frozen solid and glittering like a thousand diamonds beneath the light of the veiled sun above.

@－ ❛ s ❜：emrys seong。⁰⁵ "Maybe one day," Caterina offered, her smile bright as ever and eyes alight with the kind of happiness that seemed like it only existed in fairytale love stories. It did feel like that sometimes, because Emrys' smile was like the kind of smile a prince charming would have in all of the movies she watched as a kid. And he was like a prince charming, because Caterina felt like he was sweeping her off her feet, taking her on new adventures and trying new things and giving her all these experiences she never had before. She certainly never pictured herself skating on a frozen lake, surrounded by snow that looked like clouds, that shined like crystals underneath the gleaming sun. Not at all. And God, was she enthralled by all of it. So she followed him with a fluttering heart, squeezing his hand with her own.

@－ ❛ ʀ ❜：caterina sun。⁰² He exhaled a laugh at her words, locking his phone and stuffing it into his pocket before he picked up his skates as well, reaching for her hand to lace their fingers together as soon as he straightened up again. "We do look good together", he agreed then as he gently tugged her forward and towards the hill he had pointed out earlier, the path in front of them dipping ever so slightly as they left the last houses behind and the concrete beneath the snow turned into a simple gravel path. "It's kind of sad nobody can take pictures of us while we're ice skating", he mused then, his words puffing off of his lips in a cloud of white, his eyes flickering up towards the sky.

@－ ❛ s ❜：emrys seong。⁰⁵ Caterina's smile grew wider when her eyes fell upon his screen, the picture of the two of them side by side making her heart flutter in her chest again. They looked so happy by each other's side, the smile she had on her face more genuine than it was a pose for the picture, and Emrys' was no different. Her gaze lingered on the screen, particularly at Emrys' face, his smile warm. The picture captured the stars in his eyes perfectly, and the dimples on his cheeks rivaled hers. "We look so good together," she remarked, perhaps a little shyly, before pulling away from him, turning to grab their skates. "Okay, let's go. Can't have you toeless."

@－ ❛ ʀ ❜：caterina sun。⁰² If one were to ask Emrys, the photo came out perfect, despite the slightly blurry background and the washed out colors, their red cheeks a stark contrast to their glowing skin and the white snow. But Caterina looked like a fairytale princess like this, all pearly teeth and happy eyes and Emrys thought to himself that, maybe, he was falling in love with her all over again when he closed this camera app and opened the picture to take a look, angling his screen so she could see. He didn't have words, but he was pretty sure she knew he'd say it was perfect, although it was definitely a lot more obviously a "couple picture" than the one before. Not that he minded. "We should get going... Before it gets too cold. Some movement, you know? Remember the ongoing thing about my toes? We're risking to lose them right now, Cat."

@－ ❛ s ❜：emrys seong。⁰⁵ Caterina absolutely loved winter. In California, that is. Winters in California were more like Autumn, a comfortable coldness that allowed people to layer their clothing, but not cold enough for them to be freezing in their boots. Moving to Scotland for school was something entirely jarring by comparison, because not only were their winters freezing, but as pretty as the snow looked underneath the golden light of the sun, it was a to work with. Going to work was terrible in the winters, especially when she felt like she poured water in her boots. But she didn't complain. She was well aware that she signed up for this, whether she was prepared for it or not. Plus, she had Emrys to keep her warm whenever she felt cold. "Cheese," Caterina laughed as she looked at the camera, the corners of her lips pulled back and upper set of beaming teeth in full display, her cheeks rounded and dimpled, and her eyes curved into light crescent moons.

@－ ❛ ʀ ❜：caterina sun。⁰² "Alright, alright", Emrys conceded with a laugh, leaning his head onto hers briefly when her cheek met his shoulder, the arm he still had around her tightening it's embrace, unwilling to let her go. His feet were starting to get horribly cold and his fingers were already a little numb despite his gloves, but Emrys didn't mind. At all. The day was nice and bright, the sky just overcast enough for the sun not to turn into a lazer pointer on the snow around them, giving everything this subtle, magical glow Emrys loved so much. Sometimes he thought winter might be his favorite season, if not for the cold and the constant feeling of wet socks, no matter how expensive and waterproof his shoes were. "Okay, say cheese", he instructed as he lifted the phone again, the angle the same as before as he smiled at the camera for their second picture, thumb hovering above the screen, waiting for the perfect moment.

@－ ❛ s ❜：emrys seong。⁰⁵ Caterina noticed the color on his cheeks in an instant, but didn't comment on it, knowing what the color came from and knowing what would happen if she told him about it. Emrys was the bolder one between them when it came to taking action, but when compliments came around, he was the first to get embarrassed. She adored it, of course, and there were times when she wanted to reach out and pinch his cheeks because of it. But she refrained, afraid that he'd probably shy away if she did. "No," Caterina stubbornly shook her head, still firm on her believe that Emrys was better equipped to take a picture of the both of them. "I at taking pictures of more than one person. And I like hugging you like this." She brought her other arm around his waist, squeezing him for a moment while laying her cheek on his shoulder. Just for a second.

@－ ❛ ʀ ❜：caterina sun。⁰² "We're just really in synch apparently", Emrys jested softly grinning down at the picture as his fingers tapped away at his screen, setting the photo as his background picture. "You look so bloody cute in this picture", he whispered then, looking up at her again, a sudden rush of color filling his cheeks when he realized she had complimented his jawline. "Okay, smiling one this time", he nodded quickly, too embarrassed to reply to her compliment, his cheeks still a bright red - and he kind of hoped she'd think it was because of the cold and not because he still got a little shy around her. Even after taking off all his clothes and being around her. Which, to be fair, was almost easier than standing in the middle of a snowy road, having his girlfriend commenting about his jaw. "Do you want to take this one?", he asked then, offering her his phone.

@－ ❛ s ❜：emrys seong。⁰⁵ Caterina didn't protest at all. She didn't even need to see the photo. She wasn't vain enough to tell him to delete the picture the picture if she didn't like how /she/ looked in it. In fact, all that mattered to her was the fact that Emrys wanted to have a photo of the both of them in general. It was such a simple thing, and it made her heart flutter wildly in her chest. "You stole my idea," Caterina complained instead, pouting up at him, just for her to grin brightly at the phone when he showed her their picture. So this was how she looked like whenever he kissed her cheek, aware that her response was completely involuntary. Suppose she could mark this as their first candid. "Your jawline looks good," she remarked in jest, reaching out to zoom in on his prominent jaw, that was made sharper when he turned his head and puckered his lips. "But I want another one. With you smiling in it, this time."

@－ ❛ ʀ ❜：caterina sun。⁰² "I'm keeping this one", Emrys decided with a firm nod as he opened the photo he had just taken, his smile bright and carefree and, perhaps, just a tiny bit pleased with himself, what with his silent words or love and sneaky kiss having the exact effect he had hoped for. "Look", he said then, turning his phone so she could see the picture, resting his head against hers as he tugged her even closer, gaze soft as he studied the moment he had just captured. "We should have done that a lot soone", he muttered, holding the phone out for her in case she wanted to take a closer look. "Do you want to take another one? I really like this one, honestly."

@－ ❛ s ❜：emrys seong。⁰⁵ Caterina was patient as Emrys took time to find the perfect angle. She knew perfectly well that it was difficult to find it at the start, unless they were lucky. As Emrys moved the camera around and turned them to find the perfect shot, Caterina looked at the both of them on the small screen. Well, at Emrys. It was obvious that she thought he looked incredibly handsome, but there was something about he way he looked in the screen that made him look more attractive. Maybe it was the lighting, or the fact that he looked taller than her, with her tucked into his side and looking quite small beside him. Or maybe that was just her, foolishly in love with the first man she ever loved. She wouldn't know. She couldn't differentiate. Not especially when Emrys whispered those three words she loved hearing together, right before his lips landed square on his cheek. She didn't realize he was taking the picture then, because she failed to keep her eyes open, naturally closing the eye on the same side of the area of the kiss, while the corners of her lips stretched out upon her cheeks, pearly whites in full display.

@－ ❛ ʀ ❜：caterina sun。⁰² "Cute", Emrys muttered, turning his head so he could press another kiss to her temple - well, actually the hat she was wearing, but who cared? - before he lifted the phone and switched to his camera apl, his other arm wrapping around her back tightly to tuck her into his side neatly. How did people even take couple pictures? As he angled the phone, he turned the both of them around as well, noticing that his raised arm threw a shadow across their faces in a way he didn't like. "Drawing is easier", he commented, finally satisfied with the angle, the background and the lighting - only for his smile to turn a little mischievous. "I love you", he whispered into her ear, this time really kissing her on the cheek, the second his thumb found the right button to take their very first couple photo.

@－ ❛ s ❜：emrys seong。⁰⁵ Caterina couldn't help herself when she saw that Emrys kept his lips pursed even after she pulled back, kissing him once more before she pulled away completely. She could never help herself anymore after that first time they kissed. The first time she ever got kissed. His lips were like a drug for her, a pill of happiness, if you will, and while she didn't need to kiss him to be happy, she certainly felt like sunshines and rainbows whenever she did. When Emrys dropped his pair of skates, she glanced down at the pair she dropped on the ground seconds before embracing him, the layers of snow cushioning their fall. She looked back at him, his outstretched arm inviting her into his embrace, which she gladly took while bringing her own arm around his waist. She gave him a little squeeze, obviously excited to finally be able to capture a moment with him with a photo. Maybe she'll post it on Instagram. Let the whole world know who exactly captured her heart.

@－ ❛ ʀ ❜：caterina sun。⁰² "Well, /I/ don't, but that doesn't mean we can't take pictures. Or /you/ can't take pictures for your Insta or just because you want some", Emrys reminded her gently, his face lighting up like a Christmas tree when she gave him a little peck, his lips staying slightly pursed even after she pulled away again. It was so easy to fall into this and now that they were a couple even more so and suddenly Emrys didn't mind all the cute couple things anymore. He had, with Clarice, feeling like arm candy most of the time - especially after he had seen the photos she posted of him on her social media, mostly for the attention and the "your boyfriend is so hot" kind of comments, really. It had never really been about them. With Caterina, everything was about them. Just them and nothing else. "Alright, come here", he told her then as he dropped the skates into the snow to pull out his phone, holding his other arm out so she could step into his embrace. "Do we want a lot of landscape in the background, love?"