"So, how do I do this?" Tristan asked Hibiki as he clumsily waddled closer on his skis. He'd been decked out in his new gear, including a grey and green jacket, insulating trousers and gloves, and a woolen hat with a big fluffy ball atop for good measure. Hibiki grinned at him rather amused by his struggles to get near, keeping his hands in his pockets as he casually stood atop his own snowboard.

"It's not funny." Tristan grumbled as he managed to get close without sliding backwards again. His protest didn't help get rid of Hibiki's grin, but he did reach out an arm for him to hold. He grabbed on to it, and held on tight, nearly falling over into his arms.

"Just tell me how I do this." He pleaded, as his skis slowly began to drift away from underneath him again. Feeling himself slide, he grabbed onto Hibiki's other arm. As he was slowly pulled back into a lower and lower angle he realised his mistake. He looked up at Hibiki, in a silent yet mutual understanding of how this would end without intervention.

One of Hibiki's arms wrapped around his back and pulled him in closer. The moment he was vertical again he immediately clamped on into a tight hug so he wouldn't drift off.

"Help." He said, grabbing Hibiki's shoulders to keep himself up. The latter pointed down at his skis, finally freed from his grasp enough to sign a V symbol. Awkwardly he moved his feet, and slowly let go.

"Oh,- that... that actually works." He stammered, as he no longer slid backwards. With a smile, Hibiki took his arms and turned him around so he was no longer facing the wrong way, then effortlessly moved a few yards away. Afraid that without holding on to him he'd slide again, Tristan furiously kept his skis pointed and prayed it was enough to stop him.

Hibiki made a big gesture with both arms vertical and beside one another, signalling for him to keep his skis straight. Anxiously he tried, and let out a scared noise as he moved forward. Very slowly and without any control he drifted down the gentle slope, waving his arms as if he could stop himself by summoning some mythical arcane force.

Instead that force came in the form of Hibiki catching him. Two arms wrapped around him, and he felt Hibiki shift position to catch the impact, sliding with him to prevent both of them from falling over. Remembering what he'd just learnt, he pointed his skis again to prevent himself from moving further. With a nervous smile he looked up at Hibiki, who grinned back and nodded.

Once more he was let go of, and Hibiki moved away again. A bit more eagerly he followed. Glancing up he saw Hibiki hold up both hands telling him to stop. He moved the skis closer together, and slowed down. Not enough to fully stop him, but slow enough that Hibiki could grab him.

"Okay, I can do this." He nodded to himself. Hibiki smiled in return, and gestured down the rest of the children's slope. There were about a hundred yards left, which was twice as much as what they had done thus far. He nodded, but far less confidently.

Yet Hibiki had no mercy for him, letting go and gesturing for him to come along. Carefully he moved again, faster than he had thus far as gravity pulled at him. Scared of going too fast, he alternated between open and closed skis, going at a steady pace. Meanwhile he saw Hibiki effortlessly drift down, and wait for him at the bottom.

It didn't take too long, but it felt like an eternity of having to make picture perfect movements out of fear that he'd go too fast and fall over. Bit by bit he got better at it, managing to ski a little faster in the last half. He pointed his skis and held his arms out, simultaneously trying to stop by himself and grab Hibiki if he couldn't.

Instead he naturally drifted sideways. The momentum kept pushing him further until he was practically horizontal. For a second he balanced on one foot, and then toppled over. With a yelp he hit the snow.

As he untangled his skis and rolled onto his back, he saw Hibiki lean over him. He glanced away, feeling his face flush bright red. Rather than helping him, Hibiki fell too, flopping down beside him onto his back. He gestured upwards with a wide grin.

'Let's go back and try again'

He let out a soft groan. Rather than stick around for his protesting, Hibiki rolled over and got up, holding his hand out. Despite the embarrassment of falling, he grabbed on and allowed him to help. With surprising strength he was hoisted up.

After a tough fight with the ski-lift, which he just barely managed to wrangle into submission, Tristan made it back up again. The same routine followed, of practising stopping and going forward. Despite his obvious lack of both athleticism and agility, Hibiki patiently helped him to get better.

Bit by bit he got the hang of it, until he managed to glide down the entire slope without either falling or grabbing on to Hibiki. With a proud grin he came to a stop, and Hibiki lauded him with a few enthusiastic claps.

Without hesitation Hibiki pointed up at a higher slope, which would give them a better view. He was hesitant to agree, not trusting his abilities quite that much – but with Hibiki close he wouldn't mind giving it a try.

This time he had less issues with the lift, and he got comfortable whilst watching the sun set. Hibiki seemed to have the same idea, and he felt a hand rest on his leg. Although they were in public, it was out of sight enough that he had no issues holding it.

"Are you sure I can do this?" He asked, as he watched the distances between them and the bottom of the mountain increase while they were carried up. A firm squeeze of his hand reassured him, and he looked up at Hibiki. Two kind, dark eyes took him in, and he wondered if he had been looking at him this entire time. A gentle nod and an encouraging smile told him it would be fine. He felt a warm blush rise, and with it came a semblance of confidence in himself. For the remainder of the ride, he stayed quiet and enjoyed the belief that he was able to do this.

Hibiki pulled him aside atop the slope, into a corner secluded by a few small trees. They sat down on the fence poles marking the edges of the slope.

'I used to come here and take everything in. Watch the people having fun. It made me feel better.'

Tristan remained quiet, and nodded slowly. Glancing up, he saw Hibiki stare off into the distance. He smiled and reached in to hand the phone back, hoping that it'd divert his attention. Hibiki tore his gaze away from the scenery, and met him with a faint smile.

'It means a lot to me that you're here. I know you don't like it, but this is the world I live in.'

Once Hibiki was done writing, he laid his hands in his lap and rubbed his fingers to warm them up. Tristan noticed, and despite his worries about being seen, moved in front of him and took both hands in his. Whatever anxiety he had, he wasn't so much of a coward that he'd leave him in the cold.

"It's fine love." He said with a comforting smile, prompting Hibiki to look up at him. "I'd lie if I said I didn't have some issues – but some of that is on me too. I don't want you to think that I don't like being here with you, I genuinely do. So don't worry about it." Caught up in the moment, he let go of whatever concerns he had and snuck a quick kiss onto Hibiki's forehead. The latter gave him a stunned look, which eased into satisfaction. He smiled back, and let go of Hibiki's hands.

Hibiki placed a thumb on his cheek and caressed him in response. Although there were no words involved, he could easily tell the appreciation he wanted to convey. So he nodded that he understood and felt the same.

"We'll have fun today, and then how about tonight we'll have some hot chocolate while I read you a book." Hibiki nodded and put his gloves back on, before hopping up to help him down.

After a long descent, where he alternated between anxiously getting faster and frantically trying to stop himself when it became too fast, Tristan managed to get down the slope. He did feel better at it, and he slowly got more comfortable going a bit faster and moving around. The physics of sliding started to make sense, and he proudly came to a halt a few yards past Hibiki, all by himself. Once more he was rewarded with proud claps.

'Do you want to try a mountain path?'

Hibiki pointed up towards the tall peaks that dominated the sky behind them. Although beautiful, Tristan gulped a little at the thought of traversing them – or plummeting down the side of one. Seeing his trepidation, Hibiki made a pleading gesture, and as scared as he was, he trusted that Hibiki wouldn't make him do anything dangerous. So he agreed.