His breath billowed out into the evening sky, the vapour clipped by a few rays of the sun, which sank into the clouds that hugged the snow-laden mountain tops. Peach and golden hues vanished up into the dark blue sky, as a faint few stars had begun to shimmer along the horizon.

"It's absolutely stunning." He muttered softly, his gaze lost into the depths of sunset. Hibiki's fingers pushed in-between his, and they fit perfectly even if the thick gloves made it physically difficult. For a moment his eyes met Hibiki's, and he smiled.

A gentle tug pulled him along, as they slowly began drifting down the mountainside. He didn't mind holding his hand, most people had already left for dinner, and he had practised with Hibiki all through the afternoon which had earned him some affection. Besides, it had all led up to this moment, to the top of his first real slope, so he wanted to feel happy.

As they picked up speed, his fingers slipped out of Hibiki's grasp. He missed the feeling, but didn't need him. The mountainside was gentle: the incline was shallow, and the turns spilled and flowed into the valley with ease.

He took a deep breath while relaxing his pose, which helped to get rid of the last of his nerves. Hibiki stuck right beside him, nonchalantly sliding along on his snowboard with his hands in his pocket and a smile on his face.

Before he could say or do anything, Hibiki picked up more speed, and began sliding from side to side while staying around the same elevation he was at, to show him how it was done. The anxiety set in again now he had to do more than just stay straight, but Hibiki made it look easy, and fun. So he began to traverse the incline more naturally, following the bends.

After a few times of stiffening up in fear as he veered towards the edges of the slope, or went too fast for comfort, it finally began to feel good. He let out a bout of nervous laughter, and took a few deep breaths, but then smiled at Hibiki who'd stayed close to him all the way through. A heart gesture was thrown his way, and he wasn't sure whether it was meant for him alone, or the moment in its entirety; but he loved it either way.

The sun had fallen behind the mountains a few turns into the slope, and twilight painted everything in ethereal blue. Stars were scattered along the sky, infinite yet somehow distant. Black pine trees began to appear along the edges, and the dark treeline, jutting out like jagged, pitch black teeth, waited eagerly below to swallow them whole.

The cold crept in, but after all the exercise Tristan welcomed the cool and deep breaths. It felt like he could finally take a real breath again, every corner of his lungs tingling from the frost – corners he wasn't sure his anxiety, nor his asthma, had ever let him use fully. It made his mind clear; as if the turbulent waters he had been continuously drowning in eased and he could finally see there was more above the surface. That not everything in the world was difficult and frightening, only the part he had been in.

He looked at Hibiki, who was in front of him, as they slid into the shadow of the trees. He followed him, even when he wasn't sure where exactly they were going. It would be fine, he still trusted that the slope he'd picked wasn't too difficult. And if it turned out to be, then at least he was by his side.

Despite not knowing where they were heading, and being new at all of this, he leant forward to pick up speed. Bit by bit he caught up, and then zoomed past Hibiki as he was slaloming unsuspectingly. Even though he knew he wasn't, for a moment he could grin and pretend he was better at skiing than Hibiki. He grinned and threw a glance back, and even in the dark he could recognise his cheeks puffing up. But then he realised he was going fast, and had to turn.

As he cautiously tried to make it through the corner, he caught Hibiki sliding into view on the inside of the bend. With a cheery gesture of his hand he encouraged him to keep going. So he did, even though he was nervous he picked up more speed.

Somehow the next bend was easier when he was faster. Hibiki humoured him being ahead, but he could hear that he was right behind him. With more enthusiasm he threw himself into the next turn, taking it closer than he had with the previous few. His body and the skis finally worked together, and the turns were smooth and quick. Not perfect, but he had found the flow.

And just as he began to enjoy it, they reached the end of the slope. The last turn veered into a soft and welcoming incline, one that allowed him to slowly lose his speed and still be safe – which was necessary since he wasn't confident in his ability to stop without falling over. Hibiki slid up right beside him and then threw himself into a full stop.

"Show-off." He said with a wide grin.

Hibiki stuck his tongue out at him as a retort.

Still excited from everything, he threw his arms around Hibiki and pulled him in for a hug.

"That was brilliant." He beamed, whilst Hibiki enthusiastically buried himself into his arms, hopping a little closer on his snowboard. "I loved that."

As he let go, Hibiki grinned and nodded. Whereas he calmed down now it was over, it appeared that Hibiki only got more energy. He bopped up and down, unable to tell him how much he'd enjoyed it but certainly able to express it through bouncing. It was adorable.

He felt the sudden urge to kiss him. He lifted his hand to hold him still. But there were people around, and their end of the slope was brightly lit. He hesitated, and awkwardly pulled away.

"I, er,-" There was no way to talk himself out of it, as Hibiki had obviously seen what he was doing. But rather than judge him, the latter just laid a finger against his lips and smiled to say that he'd pretend it hadn't happened. Although he still felt embarrassed, at the very least it made him happy that Hibiki respected him enough not to make a big deal out of it.

A bit deflated he took off his skis. It took Hibiki longer to take off the snowboard, as he had to fully undo the bindings. Although he hadn't been able to kiss him, reaching out a hand to help him up was something he could do. It made Hibiki grin, and he smiled too despite being disappointed in himself that he had hesitated.

Before he could think about it too long, Hibiki tugged him towards the edge of the piste, to where Kazuo was waiting for their return. The man bowed towards them, with his usual grace – except that he had to hold still the camera strapped around his neck. Hibiki pointed at it.

"I was taking pictures of the sunset." Kazuo explained, and he saw a rare glimpse of a genuine smile. Hibiki grinned back, and then pointed at the two of them.

"Shall I take a picture of both of you?" The man asked to confirm, holding the camera up. Immediately Hibiki nodded. Before he could stop him, Hibiki had grabbed his waist and pulled him in closer. Although it was a bit sudden, he did like it.

"Hmm, if we had more light it would look better. Would you perhaps stand over there?" Kazuo pointed towards a series of pine trees that were illuminated by the harsh white light from the construction lamps surrounding the piste. They both agreed and moved over; Hibiki was a bit quicker than him since he had to juggle his skis. Even though he was right behind him, Hibiki gestured enthusiastically for him to come over faster. It didn't matter either way, as Kazuo was walking over at his own pace.

Like before, Hibiki grabbed his waist, and in turn he put an arm around Hibiki's shoulder. The latter leant in fully, and grinned widely – it made him smile too, even though he was a little bit uncomfortable with being right in view, and captured on camera.

Hibiki clearly didn't share his concerns, kissing him on the cheek in the midst of Kazuo photographing them. He felt a blush come up, and wasn't able to hide that he liked the kiss despite all his hang-ups.

At the very least he could take his revenge by quickly darting his hand down and tickling Hibiki's side. Immediately he squirmed, trying to push his hand away but the posing made that difficult. Laughter bubbled up, and he let go as he didn't want to be cruel about it.

Instead of frowning like he had expected him to do, Hibiki continued to laugh, holding on tight to him as he seemed genuinely happy. It made him smile wider too, well aware that they had to look like idiots – but joyful ones.

That's not so bad to have a picture of, right?