I know this is a day late but I've had a hectic couple of weeks, and I hope it's okay!

Will's POV

They've been dating for almost a year and yet, it feels like ages since they've held hands. It feels like ages since they've walked the streets of the city with a spring in their step and laughter between them and yet, somehow, that makes this moment more special. Nico is pressed up against his side, shivering in the 25-degree air, his jacket thin even though Will had told him to put on something warmer. His cheeks are flushed with the cold but they're split open with his smile, and Will can't help but think about how long it's been since he saw the glitter in Nico's eyes. 

"We should get hot cocoa," Nico says, feet carefully tracing the curb of the sidewalk. There are 8 million people in New York City but even in the bustling streets of the metropolis, Nico is the only one who has ever stood out. "Or maybe we should get matching holiday pajamas. Or we could go ice skating, or to that screening of A Christmas Carol's playing at that little theater near campus." His face is glowing bright; it's been too long since Will saw that, the almost child-like excitement. Finals had killed both of them with ruthless efficiency but now that they're over, they have the thousands of streets of the city to explore and all the time in the world. "Ooh, or maybe-" 

"Hey, Neeks," Will says, pressing a kiss to the top of his head. His skin is cold and almost subconsciously, Nico presses closer to Will to gain warmth. "Maybe let's take this one step at a time, okay?" 

"Fine." Nico sounds disappointed and it breaks Will's heart a little bit, even though he knows there's no possible way of fitting a winter's worth of activities into the span of a night. "Can we get hot cocoa? I'm freezing." He's shaking next to Will, and he regrets not insisting that he wears a jacket. So he pulls him closer, tightening his grip on his shoulders. 

"Told you that you should have worn a heavier jacket," Will says, grinning softly. Nico rolls his eyes, swatting Will on the arm, but the grin is still dancing across his lips. 

"Shut up. You sound like Hazel." 

"Yeah, well, I guess Hazel's pretty smart." Nico throws him a glare and Will laughs, kissing his cheek softly as the bell of the coffee shop jingles above them. 

There's a scent of evergreen in the air as they walk in, a menu hanging on the weathered brick walls. Green plants shoot up from pots in the corners of the room and warm air wraps around them like a hug, and he hears Nico sigh in relief next to him. It's perfect, the vision of a winter date that everyone craves, and Nico is beaming next to him. 

The girl who takes their peppermint hot cocoa orders is cheerier than anyone who has worked in the food industry has even been and once they've paid, they collapse onto faux leather couches next to a window that looks onto the street outside. They can hear conversations just past the walls, blaring car horns, but they're muffled, and Will feels as if they're living in their perfect world. 

"It's so warm in here," Nico says, tucking his feet up to his side and curling up next to Will. He's still shivering lightly, his face still flushed. Will wraps an arm around him. "It's nice." 

"Are you still cold?" Will asks. Nico shrugs, which Will takes as a solid yes. As Nico presses his body closer to Will's, Will puts his hat on Nico, the puffball at the top flopping around limply. It's a little out of place, contrasted to Nico's black fall jacket and pale skin, but it looks cute on him. A little piece of Will that brings out the color in his eyes.

"You don't need to give it to me," Nico says, though the tone of his voice says otherwise. Already he's stopped shivering, the unnatural pink flush from the air turning back to the light blush that's always on his cheeks. Will doesn't need to give Nico his hat, but he wants to. 

"You're in a fall jacket, dumbass, I think you need it a little more than I do," Will says with a smile, pressing a kiss to Nico's forehead. Nico smiles softly, setting his head down on Will's shoulder and bringing his legs up close. There's something so intimate about being so close in a public setting, and even though they've done a lot more, Will has never felt this close to him. 

They get their orders and venture back out onto sidewalks covered in black ice and bustling with people but this time, warmth courses through their veins. The hot cocoa cup keeps their hands from turning to icicles, and their words heat the air between them. Nico doesn't shiver as hard as he did last time, the smile on his face brighter, a bouncy spring in his chest. Any regret at coming out into the cold, bearing the weather and the air, was gone once Will saw that spring. 

They see lights as they get closer to the center of the metropolis. Multi-colored lights shining like a strange type of star, the faint sound of holiday music being played. The sound is tinny from being broadcast over what feels like a thousand people all crammed into the same plot of land, but they can still hear it. Underneath the music but still prominent is the sound of skates slicing into ice, and Will can almost imagine the blades splitting up ice shavings as a hundred people move clockwise around the rink. 

Nico's face is alight with happiness. His normally sulky mood has been raised indefinitely by the twinkling of lights and the general holiday cheer, and he turns to Will with his face shining with happiness. He drains one last drop out of his hot chocolate before tossing the empty cup in the trash before wrapping his arms around Will's shoulders and kissing him hard. He's been dating Nico for almost a year and he's never seen Nico this happy. It's like he's dating an entirely different person. 

Nico glances down at the rink, people pirouetting across the ice on nothing more than thin blades of their skates. It's a picture that you would see on the front of a holiday card and somehow, even though they're smack in the middle of New York City, Will can see one star shining high and bright above the crowd. Nico turns back to Will, a twinkle in his eye and a question on his lips. "Do you want to go dancing?" 

Nico's POV

They rent skates in the warm hut, lacing them tight over their ankles and staggering out to the rink with the blade cutting into the floor. The rink before them is huge, intimidating with the wide expanse of ice and people whipping around the corners as they go what seems like a hundred miles an hour. He can hear the blades slicing at the ice and he glances at Will as Will grabs his hand. He gives it a light squeeze, blue eyes shining at Nico. "You ready to go?" Will asks, still staring down with those bright blue eyes. Nico casts a glance out at the rink; it's overwhelming, with the skaters passing by in a blur. 

"I'm not the best at skating," Nico says with a slight shake in his voice. After all, he was the one who suggested it. And now, he's the one who's going to chicken out. 

"Hey, don't worry about it," Will says, giving Nico's arm a light squeeze. "You'll be fine. Just follow my lead." They step out onto the ice and Nico is shaky at first. The skates feel as if they're going to disappear under Nico's feet, leaving him in a thin pair of socks against the freezing ice. But after a couple of minutes of going at a snail's pace next to Will, clinging to his arm and shaking on the ice, he begins to let go, allow himself to move his legs more than three inches apart, let go of the guard rail with a shaking hand. It's been too long since he's been skating. Too long since he's let himself have fun, let himself feel the crisp air on his face. It's been too long since he's been outside of his dorm, but he thinks he's getting the hang of it. 

Nico doesn't know how long they skate for. Soon, time is no longer measured in minutes but in laps around the rink, how much his face freezes up as the night goes on, how many squeezes Will gives his hand as they skate and they skate and they skate. 

The music plays above them, like an anthem for their skating that pushes them to go faster and faster until ice shavings spit up underneath the metal blades of the skates. Lights flash down on their faces, highlighting their features in hues of green, yellow, red, and blue. It's been months since he's felt this good, and he never wants to stop. Just keep doing circles until his body can't do circles anymore. 

When they get to the point when Nico's feet ache from the skates and his legs feel like jelly they stagger off of the ice, collapsing into chairs that are scattered just outside of the rink, offering a view of people looping around the rink again and again and again. They're both shivering at this point and when Nico grabs Will's hand it's cold, but he doesn't care. The only thing that matters is the feeling of skin on skin, the way their breaths mingle into one cloud of smoke, the wide smile on Will's face. His cheeks are bright red and he swipes at his nose with the sleeve of his jacket, but he still looks beautiful. They've been dating for almost a year and yet, it feels like ages since Nico has been able to truly see his boyfriend.

"Look," Nico says, his voice shaky from the cold and slurred with exhaustion. "The tree." They've been so busy skating until their feet ached he hadn't even noticed it but now that he has a second to sit, it's all he can look at. The tree and Will, anyway. It looks as if someone has splashed it with every color in the world that turns into twinkling rainbow lights stashed in the boughs of the tree. It's massive- bigger than any tree Nico has ever seen and the star at the very top shimmers gold in the night sky. Nico wonders how someone managed to get it up there. Maybe a really big ladder. Or maybe someone was lifted by a machine, brought to the very top to precariously put the star in the perfect spot. 

"It's beautiful," Will says quietly, his voice almost lost in the busyness of the city. He gives Nico's hand a gentle squeeze, and Nico can't help but hope that the tree isn't the only thing that Will finds beautiful that night. When he leans in to kiss Nico, soft and sweet, Nico knows that the tree isn't the only thing Will finds beautiful. It's that thought that reassures Nico, that warms his body far into the cold night, that lifts his heart up in his chest as if it has wings.

Hi guys, I just wanted to remind you all about the writing contest that I'm doing! If you missed my last update or just forgot about it you can either check my last post or my latest announcement to see the details. I'm really excited to read your entries, and I really hope you liked this!

Nina