#mice?

Mercy had no problem balancing on skates on or off the ice. Dice, on the other hand… “Whoa!” Dice said, nearly falling on the cold, hard ice for the twelfth time. “I got you, boo,” Mercy said, holding her up. “Yeah, I’m gonna need to hold onto your arm for at least another hour,” Dice giggled. “Not on my watch, Schneider,” Mercy said, doing a t-stop so that Dice could stand upright. “And your passionate love affair with the wall is officially over. Give me a sec?” Mercy took off her jacket and tucked it under her arm. “Aren’t you cold?” Dice exclaimed. “Hell no,” Mercy said, rolling up her sleeves. “I haven’t felt cold since I got my powers.” “And she’s rolling up the sleeves. What’s next, you’re gonna cuff your pants?” Dice laughed. “Well, how else are people gonna know that I’m bisexual?” Mercy asked, kneeling on the ice to cuff her right pant leg. The ice started to melt from under her knee. “Shit,” Mercy said.

Mercy helped Dice learn how to skate, get a steady rhythm as she pushed off with one foot at a time, and she ended up getting almost as fast as Mercy. “How far did you get on your lessons?” Dice asked. “Pretty high on the basics level,” Mercy said. “I was too much of a wuss to do a waltz jump though. But ice dancing, I’d like to try if the whole taekwondo thing falls through. It’s pretty fun to move like this.” “I thought you were a horrible dancer,” Dice said. “Since when have you ever believed any negative thing I’ve said about myself?” Mercy asked. “That’s why I like ya so much. Always making me feel better. Even just feeling normal.” “Well that’s the problem. I’ve heard you sing, and you’re not ear-grating, but you’re selling yourself short when you say you can’t sing. I’ve never seen you dance, no one has, and there’s no evidence of you being a bad dancer.” “Well, turn that around. There’s no evidence that I’m a good dancer.”

Mercy sighed. “And, uh… I don’t dance because Abigail dances better. Just like she skates better, dresses better, looks better, does better in school than I ever did, is more deserving of love and affect—” “Shush,” Dice said, putting a finger to Mercy’s lips. “Shush your beautiful mouth.” Mercy laughed softly, grinning. “Can I have your jacket?” Dice asked. “I’m dying here.” “Sure thing,” Mercy said, handing Dice her jacket. She put it on and smiled as she hugged herself. “Mm, so warm, so Mercy,” she said, the jacket large on her frail body. “So Mercy?” Mercy laughed. “Yes. So Mercy. Much Radiator. Wow. Very warm. Such stylish. Now when can I see you dance?” “Well, right now, they’re playing Ed Sheeran for reasons unknown to the common folk, so if something better comes on, I’ll consider it.”

The DJ eventually threw on “Shut Up and Dance” by WALK THE MOON. “This is a bop, a banger, an absolute jam, even, Merce,” Dice said. “You gotta dance to this.” “Let’s do it,” Mercy said.

She skated circles around Dice, doing spins and twirls, moving her hips and lip synching to the music. Dice had the biggest smile Mercy had ever seen, laughing in enjoyment and whispering “oh my god” over and over. Mercy took Dice’s arm and pulled her close, a hand around her waist as she slid her hand down to Dice’s hand. Mercy led them in the fastest waltz they’d ever done, faster than when they were partners for the waltz in German class, years ago. Dice giggled as she let Mercy essentially pull her to wherever they were going, still lip synching to the song. “Oh my god! Mercy!” Dice squealed. Mercy stopped suddenly and dipped Dice, who shrieked in surprise. “Mercy!” “So can I dance?” “I certainly think so.” “That’s all the input I need.”

Mercy was heating up more, not visibly so, but Dice could feel the warmth radiating from her body. They were so close to each other, and Mercy’s hazel eyes remained fixated on Dice’s pretty brown doe-eyes, smiling so widely that her cheeks and chin formed what Dice referred to as her “face-heart,” because they stuck out so prominently, and were often pink. “Face-heart!” Dice said in a singsong. Mercy laughed heartily, having the most fun she’d had in years.

When the song was over, they took a break for water, hot cocoa, and churros. Dice kept Mercy’s jacket on. “Really threw me in the deep end there, Mercy,” Dice said. “I’m sorry,” Mercy said. “No, I’m glad you did! I had so much fun!”

A notification popped up on Dice’s phone. It read, claudiebear started following radiatorstanfirst. Another notification: claudiebear: Give me one good reason not to tell Mercy this blog exists. “What’s that?” Mercy asked. “Who’s radiatorstanfirst? And why is Claude blackmailing you?” “Uh…” Dice said. “Is that your blog?” Mercy asked. “Oh, I so gotta see this now!”

Mercy opened her phone and looked up the blog.

It was a blog dedicated to the Radiator, run by a few mods, including, yep, Dice. The top three posts were about recent things the Radiator had done, and the most recent was… Yes, the Radiator is beautiful, and I love her with all my heart, but once again, I remind you that fat fetishists are not welcome and will be blocked on sight. -Mod Edie

“Is now a bad time to come out to you as bisexual?” Dice asked. “Oh my god, you’re bi too? That’s great!” Mercy said, wondering if this could really be it.

Mercy scrolled down and found a couple thirst posts. She blushed. “Let’s just skate,” Dice said, standing up and putting her phone away. The subject, it seemed, had been dropped.

Dice and Mercy skated idly a little, but it was clear she was incredibly on edge. Mercy had to know if it was true, did Dice actually have feelings for her? “Halo” by Beyoncé was playing, one of Dice’s favorite songs as of late. Come to think of it… “Dice, we need to talk,” Mercy said, stopping with a hockey stop. “Do you… love me? Like, you have feelings for me?” Dice sighed, turning away from Mercy. “Yes,” she said. “I love you, Mercy, and I… I have for a while. I’m sorry if this looks bad, I really am, but… You! Everything about you, from the girl I met in high school and still get to be in the presence of to this day, to the compassionate, pure-hearted heroine of Speakeasy, and everything in between! You know when I realized?” “When?” Mercy whispered. “After your sister tried to kill you. When you were becoming something completely different, and the first person you revealed that to… it was me. When you took off that robe, all ‘grandmother, it’s me, Anastasia’ style, and you showed me your powers… that’s when I knew. This was the one I wanted.” “Dice… I love you too,” Mercy said with a smile. “I… I have for years now, I… you really think I’m that special? No way, this has gotta be a dream.” “But it isn’t, Mercy,” Dice said, taking her face in her hands. “Would I lie to you?”

Mercy wanted to cry. She smiled, tears blurring her vision, and Dice removed her glasses to thumb the tears away. Some foundation came off on her hands as Mercy sobbed, warming and glowing brightly. “Dice, oh my god…” They moved in closer, eyes closing. Dice pulled Mercy in closer by her tie, not to choke her, never to choke her, but to guide her down to her lips. Mercy brushed some hair out of Dice’s face and wrapped her arm around her waist like it was second nature. At long last, Mercy felt Dice’s soft lips on hers, Dice’s arms sliding around her as easily as ever, and yet… This was all new. A whole new Mercy and Dice, a whole new chapter. Her heart was pounding, and Dice’s fingers brushing against her cheek made her pleasantly shiver. They pulled away, too light-headed from the moment and the lack of oxygen, and they looked at each other, breathless. “You know, it’s funny,” Mercy said. “I can’t feel cold again, but it seems I’m still not immune to shivers down my spine.” “I’m not cold anymore either,” Dice said. “By the way? What did you really wish for?” “You,” Mercy said.

Dice Schneider was her first fan, and her biggest fan.

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