It was how he skated that first drew Otabek to him. His song was “Shall We Skate” from The King and the Skater. From what Otabek had heard, the musical was banned in Thailand, so by skating to it, Phichit Chulanont was making a powerful political statement.

Brave. Strong. Admirable.

Like Otabek, Phichit came from a country with few skaters, so they both represented their country to the world. Phichit skated with pride for his nation—and to draw interest for new Thai skaters. Not to mention he looked like he was having so much fun on the ice.

In contrast, Otabek's performances were all filled with concentration, determination, and extreme focus. He wasn't anything like the Thai skater, so perhaps that was why he found him so refreshing.

Otabek envied the unique quality of his skating. How he moved as if he were inviting everyone to join him.

But never in Otabek's seventeen years did he expect such an outgoing skater to want anything to do with him.

They were at Skate America in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. All the performances had finished for the short program, and Otabek was taking his time packing up his gear. Skaters milled around him, some chatting excitedly with each other, some existing in their own world. Phichit Chulanont was surrounded by people, as expected.

A twinge of envy shot through Otabek's chest. No one ever talked to him—well, JJ had last year, but he had no interest in befriending that narcissistic man.

Otabek focused his attention on checking his bag. The voices were drifting away as skaters left the room. He would be the last to leave as usual. Ever since Otabek was a child, he'd been taught to say goodbye to people when he left a room—it was the polite thing to do. But he knew if he said that, no one would care, so better to leave last and avoid the awkwardness.

He stood up, ready to make his exit, only to find the Thai skater standing right in front of him. Wide, dark eyes blinked at him, like a curious cat. “You're from Kazakhstan, right?”

Otabek froze, unable to find his voice. An obvious question, so how come he couldn't answer? He must look really stupid right now.

“I'm from Thailand. We small countries should stick together, huh?” Phichit beamed, then held out his hand. “Phichit Chulanont.”

“Otabek Altin,” he managed and shook his hand. The two were almost the same height, Otabek just slightly taller.

“I saw your short program,” Phichit said, his eyes lighting up. “Your quad Salchow was amazing. I can only do the toeloop, but I'm hoping to add more quads next season. Also, your outfit was very interesting. It made me think of a gingerbread man.”

“You actually understood that?”

“Huh?”

“Most people have been calling it a pirate costume, but I don't know how they got that.” Otabek shrugged.

“No way. Those colors are totally gingerbread. Hey, can we take a selfie together?”

Normally Otabek would say he had no interest and walk away, but Phichit was smiling so wide. He looked so happy to be talking to Otabek. No one had ever made him feel like this. Like his attention was desirable. “Sure.”

“Great!” Phichit lifted his phone and leaned in close to Otabek. He made a peace sign and snapped the picture.

Otabek shuffled his feet awkwardly. “How did it come out?”

“Perfect! Thanks so much. I'll see you tomorrow.” Phichit waved and rushed from the room.

Otabek chuckled. What an interesting guy.

…

Bzzzzz! Bzzzz!

Otabek pulled out his phone. Instagram. He forgot he even had the app. The screen popped up, then the picture of him and Phichit.

Below, it read:

Selfie with the handsome Otabek Altin!

The screen faded to black. Handsome? Phichit Chulanont had called him handsome? It was online so that didn't mean anything, right? But if it did...

Otabek tried not to think too much about it. Getting his hopes up would only lead to disappointment. Of course the extroverted Phichit Chulanont had no interest in introverted Otabek. They were as opposite as two could be. Not compatible in any sense of the word.

And yet...Otabek couldn't take his mind off him.

…

Second place at Skate America. Otabek narrowly missed gold. Still, he displayed the Kazakhstan flag with pride while the cameras flashed. To his disappointment, Phichit didn't make the podium, but he'd made fourth place. He still had a chance to make it the Grand Prix Final.

Afterwards, Otabek walked around the arena, his gaze searching, searching, but Phichit was nowhere to be found.

He didn't see him at the exhibition later either. Disappointed, Otabek trudged behind first and third place, Leo de la Iglesia and Guang Hong Ji. The two were chatting animatedly, but Otabek wasn't paying attention. His gaze flitted about the room. Still nothing.

Then Phichit rounded the corner. His eyes lit up and he waved.

Otabek lifted his hand to wave back, only to be interrupted by Leo and Guang Hong excitedly waving and rushing over to hug Phichit.

Too good to be true. He should have known. Otabek made a beeline for the door, and stepped out into the chilly autumn air. He needed to find his coach and—

“Otabek!”

He whirled around to see a breathless Phichit running towards him. “Hi,” Otabek said lamely.

“Hang on.” Phichit panted, hands on his knees, until he caught his breath. Then he straightened up and smiled wide, his cheeks flushed. “Sorry, I waved at you earlier, but I guess you didn't see.”

“Ah, I...” Otabek lifted his hand, then dropped it.

“Oh, so that was a wave!” Phichit exclaimed. “I wasn't sure since you rushed away. Anyways, congrats on taking silver. Your free skate and your exhibition piece were amazing!”

“Thank you.” He wanted to tell Phichit that he did well too, but his throat suddenly went dry. The memory of Phichit's captivating free skate came back into his mind. Phichit had shown the same enthusiasm as in his short program, and their free skate outfits had the same color theme—blue and white.

“So, I was wondering if you wanted to have dinner with me?”

Otabek blinked, not sure he had heard correctly. “Come again?”

Phichit smiled shyly, holding his hands together behind his back. “Dinner. Aren't you hungry? I was thinking about trying a Chinese restaurant near the hotel. They're open late on Sundays.”

Dinner with Phichit? A date? It couldn't be. Why would Phichit ask him out? But from the way he was standing, the flush to his cheeks, the caption on their selfie: the handsome Otabek Altin. Maybe, just maybe it was possible.

Otabek cleared his throat. “I'd love to.”

Phichit beamed. “Great! Is ten okay? I want to go back to the hotel and shower first.”

“Yeah, ten is fine.”

“Perfect! It's the Dragon Moon Cafe two blocks from the hotel. I'll, uh, see you then then.” He chuckled. “Then then. English is so funny sometimes, huh?”

“Yeah.” Otabek couldn't think of what else to say. It didn't matter though because Phichit rushed off a moment later. Otabek decided he might as well go back to his hotel room and shower too. He wanted to change into better clothes at least. Date clothes.

…

Butterflies fluttered in his stomach as Otabek walked to the restaurant. They were half the good kind of butterflies and half the bad. He wanted this date to go well, but he worried he might say the wrong thing or come across disinterested. He'd often been accused of not caring or not seeming like he was enjoying himself. It was all thanks to his difficulties with expressing himself.

He really needed to work on his image. Maybe leather jackets would help? If people thought he was cool, it might help him act that way. Oh well. He'd worry about that later. For now he had to walk up to the host stand and ask the lady if Phichit had already arrived.

After he described Phichit in detail, the hostess directed him to a table behind an elaborate folding screen decorated with flowers.

He rounded the corner...and instantly felt very stupid.

Phichit wasn't alone. Leo and Guang Hong were there too. At a table for four. Of course, they were his friends. Phichit should have told him this was a winners celebration...and not a date.

“Hey, Otabek!” Phichit called and patted the seat next to him.

Otabek sat down, and picked up his menu. He couldn't even look at Phichit. Was it possible to die from embarrassment?

“I'd say we all have a big chance of making it to the Grand Prix Final,” Guang Hong said cheerfully.

There was a pause, then Leo's voice sounded. “But three of us are competing at the Cup of China, so it'll be difficult for us all to get in.”

“If Phichit takes gold, it would be possible.”

Phichit chuckled. “I'll try my best. You two better take silver and bronze though.”

“Of course!” they chimed together.

“Otabek.” Phichit elbowed him.

Otabek lowered his menu to stare at him. “What?”

“Is everything okay?” Phichit looked so concerned. It made Otabek feel bad about his behavior.

He pushed his menu to the corner of the table and attempted a smile. “I'm fine. Just wanted to make sure they had what I wanted.”

“Oh, you can read Chinese?” Guang Hong asked.

“Uh...” Otabek glanced at the menu. It was indeed entirely in Chinese. The English ones were at the other end of the table. Wow. He'd reached a new level of idiocy. “I—I need a smoke break.”

Even though Otabek did not smoke at all, he dashed for the front door before the others could say a word. The cool air was welcome this time. It relaxed him a bit, but it couldn't cure the crushing disappointment in his chest.

Why did he ever think he deserved Phichit's special attention?

He pulled out his phone and looked at their selfie again. Handsome. Did the word really mean nothing? And Phichit's cheeks look a bit flushed in the photo. Was he really not blushing? Otabek couldn't believe how much he had misread the situation.

“Otabek.”

He jumped and glanced over at Phichit, who had managed to appear silently for once. “Ah, sorry. I...I don't smoke actually.”

Phichit nodded. “I figured.” He stepped closer to him and leaned against the restaurant wall. “So, are you going to tell me what's bothering you?”

“It's stupid.”

Phichit's face lost all traces of humor. “I won't think it's stupid. If it's bothering you, it's serious to you. So it's serious to me too.”

Otabek didn't know what to say, so he kept silent.

“...was it my fault?”

“It—” The words got stuck in his throat.

“I'm so sorry. Whatever I did. It was just me being stupid, okay? Tell me what it is and I'll never do it again. Was I talking too much? Not including you enough? Or were you mad that I asked you if you were okay in front of the others?”

“No, none of that.” Otabek was surprised that Phichit was worrying just as much as he was. Even though he wasn't interested in Otabek, he did care about him. That made Otabek feel a little better.

“Then what?”

“I...I thought this was a date.” Otabek looked down at his feet. Would Phichit make fun of him? He was such an idiot.

Phichit burst into laughter.

Otabek about died on the spot. He didn't think Phichit would actually laugh. He dared to glance at Phichit, but he didn't look mocking. He just looked happy. Huh?

“Let me explain myself.” Phichit held up a hand. “This is a date. At least I wanted it to be one. That's why I asked you out.”

“But Guang Hong and Leo...”

“...are together.” Phichit grinned wide. “It's a double date. You've been on those before, right?”

Actually he hadn't. But he was so relieved he could barely process the information. A date. Phichit did ask him out. Phichit liked him. Him. “Why me?” he couldn't help but ask. “I'm basically your total opposite.”

“That's what I like most about you,” Phichit said, grinning. “I can't really explain it, but your quiet, reserved nature carries a certain intensity to it. And the way you skate. My heart was pounding the whole time and I couldn't look away. I knew I had to at least try talking to you. Other skaters said you weren't very friendly, so I thought you might just ignore me, but I got the sense that you were interested in me too.”

“How could you tell?”

Phichit chuckled. “Don't worry. I'm not psychic. I've just gotten really good at reading people. Though, I will say you're quite a challenge. Maybe that's part of why I'm so curious.”

“Do you think I'm handsome?”

“Duh. I even put you were handsome on Instagram. Did you read the caption on our selfie?”

“I did.”

“And you thought I'd lie about that?”

“No. It just...it seemed too good to be true.”

Phichit touched Otabek's arm and stepped closer. “You look so mature, but you're really new to this, aren't you?”

“I'm working on it.”

“I'll help you.” Phichit closed the distance, and kissed Otabek on the lips.

Phichit was warm, his lips soft. Otabek ran his hands across his shoulders and then down to his waist to pull him even closer. A tongue darted into his mouth, and he played around with it.

Phichit chuckled, his breath tickling Otabek's lips. “You're a fast learner.”

...