Over the next few days, the temperature had gone from bearable to below freezing, forcing many people to stay indoors until the temperature went back up to something more acceptable. Once they did, many discovered the snow had thickened up enough to sled, make snowmen or forts, and, of course, have snowball fights. One of the major things that had happened was that the lake had frozen over.

Among some of the first people to notice this was Nytin. He had visited the clearing a few times on his own and noticed the lake had become solid, and due to the dropping temperatures, the ice had thickened up enough to the point he believed it was safe enough to ice skate on. He didn't quite understand why, but his first thought was to tell Avery about it, so he did exactly that. He stopped at the entrance of Avery's apartment, a sense of dread washing over him as he realized that he'd have to take the elevator to get up to her apartment.

Nytin took a step back; he wanted to see Avery but did not want to take the elevator to do so. He looked around for an alternative and found the fire escape, which he had previously used to visit her apartment. He hesitated briefly before beginning to climb up it. He got a few stares from other people walking by but brushed it off and continued to climb up until he reached Avery's bedroom window. Nytin let out a deep breath and checked himself over before knocking on the window a few times. He waited patiently for a few seconds before the window slowly opened.

Avery was surprised, to say the least, when she heard someone knocking at her window, much more so when she was met with a person in front of her. She quickly recognized the person as Nytin and looked up to face his blurry silhouette.

Nytin smiled sheepishly and spoke, "I, um, I didn't want to use the elevator."

Avery was silent before she began laughing lightly. "So you went up my fire escape again?" She opened the window more to let Nytin come in.

Nytin couldn't help but let out a soft chuckle, kicking the wall to rid himself of as much snow as possible before hopping into Avery's apartment. "Yes, it wasn't too bad… I only slipped a little..." He trailed off and then remembered what he had actually come there for, "Before I forget, I noticed that the lake was thick enough to skate on. I was wondering if you’d like to go ice skating with me again."

He hadn't expected Avery to grab his hands excitedly, "I'd love to go! Since it's so open, I won't have to worry about running into anything." Avery moved back a little, practically bouncing on her heels, "When did you want to go? Today?"

Nytin watched her move around excitedly and couldn't help but become a bit excited himself, "If you'd like to go today, then yes. They have a stand for rental skates ready...” He trailed off for a moment as if he were thinking, "We could invite Amirah and Blaire as well if you'd like."

He quickly realized that his act of courtesy in inviting others close to Avery was a mistake. He found himself wanting to go alone with Avery, just the two of them, having fun for the day. Nytin internally slapped himself for having such selfish thoughts and looked at Avery, who was thinking to herself. Finally, she answered after a few seconds.

"I don't think they have work today, sure!" She looked around his room, "Let me get ready, and we can call them to meet up here. We can get a ride from them so we don’t have to walk so far."

Nytin smiled, "Alright. I'll wait downstairs while you get ready. Could I make myself some tea while I wait?"

Avery waved her hand at him while looking through her closet. She had to get oddly close to her clothes to see what she had, "Help yourself to whatever is in the kitchen. I have some cupcakes if you want those too." She grabbed a long-sleeved shirt from her closet, looking at Nytin, "Just make sure you put everything back where it was before so I can find it later."

Nytin hummed, "Of course, and thank you. I won't make a mess." He went downstairs and began making himself some tea. It took him a few seconds to figure out how to work Avery's electric kettle, but once he did, he was good to go.

He made himself a cup of tea, making sure to return everything where it belonged, and sat down on the couch, sipping on it quietly. He heard Avery making a bit of noise upstairs while she got dressed and could only wonder what she was going to wear.

Finally, Avery came down and walked up to Nytin, doing a small twirl, "Well, how do I look? Does everything match? Nothing inside-out or backward?"

Nytin chuckled as she spun, "I'd say all is in order. You look nice." Avery had put on a white hoodie with a black coat on top of it and black skinny jeans, perhaps not the warmest of choices, but Avery had an abnormal tolerance to the cold.

Avery smiled up at Nytin and said, "Thank you. I'd say you look nice, too, but I can't see you." She laughed a little, "But I'm sure you look great anyway."

Nytin smiled at the compliment, "Why thank you." He brought his cup to his lips and sipped his tea, "I'll wash this, and we can start heading down now if you'd like."

Avery nodded, and once Nytin was finished with his tea, he stood up and walked over to the sink to wash the dishes. Yet, Avery stopped him in his tracks before he even got a chance to roll up his sleeves, "I can do the dishes." She spoke with a small smile stretched across her lips, but it dropped as Nytin moved her gently out of the way.

"I'll do them. I made them dirty, after all." He was firm on his decision, and Avery had no choice but to move back as Nytin washed his dishes. She gave a small 'alright' and moved to her phone, seemingly texting. Once Nytin finished, he dried his hands and looked down at Avery, "Are you ready?"

He couldn't help but smile as Avery nodded excitedly, "Yeah! Amirah and Blaire said they could go. They're going to pick us up. They should be here soon since they just passed by."

Nytin hummed softly. He couldn't help feeling slightly disappointed, but he quickly shook the feeling away. "Shall we head downstairs then?"

Avery nodded, "Yup!" She moved to lead the way to the door, and that was the moment Nytin realized he didn't want to go on the elevator. He paused and gently tapped Avery's shoulder to get her attention.

"I'm going to..." He cleared his throat. "Go down the fire…escape." The confusion was clear on Avery's face for a few seconds before she realized why Nytin wanted to go down the fire escape. She couldn't help but laugh quietly, covering her mouth and trying to hide her face as it turned red. Nytin simply rolled his eyes and walked away from Avery so he wouldn’t laugh as well, "Laugh all you want...you’ll soon get your karma."

Avery laughed harder and walked out of her apartment, leaving Nytin to smile to himself while he walked to the window. He leaned out the window and looked around. There weren't many people around, so he stepped back into the apartment while closing the window, and in the blink of an eye, he vanished, reappearing in a nearby alleyway. He dusted himself off and leisurely walked his way to the front doors.

Avery, on the other hand, had to wait quite a bit for the elevator to get to her floor. Once she made it outside of the building, she was shocked to see Nytins’ silhouette there, awaiting her arrival. Nytin's voice lazily rang out, “It was about time you decided to show up. I’ve been here for quite some time now.” 

The two stared at each other for a few seconds before Nytin broke out into soft laughter. He tried to keep himself quiet, putting a closed hand over his lips and looking away from Avery, who seemed dumbstruck. Nytin began walking away, and Avery quickly followed him. “How did you get down here so fast? Are you even human?”

Nytin smiled and glanced down at Avery. "No. Actually, I'm a being sent down from the heavens that can vanish and reappear at will so I may assist anyone in dire need in an instant.”

The two couldn't help but laugh a bit more, and Avery gently shoved Nytin to the side, “That was so specific. Are you really some kind of mythical being?”

Nytin sighed and shook his head, "Unfortunately, I'm just a mortal, but if I were a god, the first thing I'd do is help you get your sight back.” He nudged Avery playfully on the arm, “Would you allow me to do that for you?”

“Of course! It means I get to really see your smile…I feel like it's really nice."

Nytin found himself speechless. He smiled wide and slowly covered his mouth with his hand. "Oh, well, um…" He stared at the ground and couldn't understand why he felt so flustered, but luckily for him, a car pulled in front of the two, and ginger hair filled their vision.

"Hey! Get in!" Blaire's voice rang out, and she grinned widely at them, flagging them down.

Avery and Nytin quickly got into the car, and Nytin sighed in satisfaction at the warm air hitting his face, "That feels nice." He laid back in his seat lazily, taking up quite a bit of space.

Avery plopped down next to him and moved forward to smile up at Amirah and Blaire, "Are you two ready?"

Blaire answered first, "Hell yeah, I am! This year, I'm not going to fall and bust my ass! Just you wait!" She was clearly much more excited than her girlfriend, who giggled and began driving.

"I'm excited to go to the bakery after." Amirah chirped, "They have hot chocolate and brownies." She hummed in delight, "I can't wait!"

The three chatted along the way happily while Nytin dozed off in the backseat with his arms across his chest. His head fell slightly as Amirah made a turn, which caught Avery's attention. She moved closer to Nytin, trying to inspect him without getting uncomfortably close. She snapped her fingers a few times and laughed softly, “He fell asleep so fast." She mused, and without thinking, she gently poked Nytin's cheek.

Nytin didn't move besides mumbling something that Avery didn't understand. She couldn't help but giggle and gently move his head into a more comfortable position. Blaire watched this quietly and finally spoke up, "What are you doing to that poor man?"

Avery's cheeks turned pink as she looked over at Blaire while laughing softly, "I'm making him more comfortable. He’s gotta be tired or something. We've only been in the car for like... I dunno, five minutes?"

Amirah piped up, "You might be right. He did look a little tired, but he looked like that last time. Maybe he's got a resting…tired face." She shrugged, "You should wake him up, though. We're here."

Blaire quickly turned around, her eyes sparkling, "I'm going to get there first!"

Before anyone could object, she was out of the car, dashing towards the skate rental stand as if she were an oversized puppy.

Amirah couldn't help but laugh, "Wait for me!" She followed her girlfriend happily, slower than her but much more graceful. Suddenly, she stopped and turned back, tossing Avery the keys and saying, "Lock it!" before running off again.

Avery fumbled around as she felt the keys hit her chest, almost dropping them on the floor of the car. She was left alone with Nytin, who was still peacefully asleep. She smiled and gently nudged him, "Nytin, wake up."

She waited for a response but didn't get one, so she leaned close to his ear and whispered, "Nytin, I bought you some fruit tarts."

Nytin's eyes fluttered open, and he slowly sat up, “Really?” His voice was soft; clearly, he was more tired than he appeared, "When? Wait, are we at the park?"

The hopefulness in Nytin's voice made Avery feel terrible for lying. She moved back with an apologetic smile and said, "I don't actually have any sweets with me, but yes, we're at the park."

"Oh…" Nytin didn't hesitate a moment longer and opened the door, "Well, we can get those later. For now, let's go have fun." He smiled and held out his hand to help Avery get out of the car.

Avery took Nytin's hand, and the two ensured the car was locked before walking together towards the skate stand. Nytin stepped forward as Amirah brought her wallet out, "I can pay for all of us since I suggested we come here."

Amirah was slightly apprehensive about the offer, "Are you sure? It's fifteen for the skates."

Nytin nodded, "I promise it's alright." He handed over a very odd-looking card. It was black and embroidered with gold patterns all around. All it had was the chip, questionable symbols where the numbers usually went, and his name. Oddly enough, he didn't appear to have a last name. Nytin turned to the worker and said, "Four pairs of skates... I'm not sure about the size, though... besides hers and mine." He slightly motioned to Avery, who didn’t notice as she leaned back on her heels, waiting for someone to tell her where to go.

He told the attendant their shoe sizes before Amirah and Blaire went and told the attendant theirs. Nytin quickly put his skates on before turning to Avery, kneeling on one knee and helping her tie her own. He quietly did so before looking up at Avery and asking, "Does it feel secure?"

Avery moved her feet around, tapping them lightly on the ground, "Yeah, they don't feel like they're going anywhere, thank you." 

Nytin smiled. "Of course." He stood, offering Avery his hand, "Do you need help getting to the ice?" 

He felt his smile grow as Avery took his hand, "If that's fine with you, then yes, please." 

Nytin pulled Avery upwards but miscalculated. He had forgotten just how light she was, causing Avery's legs to buckle under her, sending her falling forward. Nytin quickly caught Avery, holding her against himself, but he found that they were in a rather odd position. Avery had her face in Nytin's chest while he held Avery up by her waist and arm. 

Avery slowly looked up at Nytin and felt her stomach twist in embarrassment. Her heart felt caught in her throat. 

Nytin seemed at a loss but spoke up first, "Are you alright, Starshine?" 

Avery quickly regained her composure, moving back, "Oh! Yeah! I'm okay. Thank you." 

She heard Nytin let out a breath before speaking again, "That's good. Come, follow me to the ice."

The two quietly made their way to the lake, towards where Amirah and Blaire were skating freely, holding on to each other for support. Nytin put himself on the ice first before allowing Avery to come onto it, "Careful. This may feel a bit different from the artificial one we visited." 

Avery nodded and stood on the ice for a few moments, moving her feet to get a good feel of the ice, "I think I got it- woah!" She almost fell, but Nytin was there to hold her up. She couldn't help but laugh a little, "Okay, maybe I don't have it that well, and thank you again."

Nytin simply smiled, "Of course. Here, let's try those little steps again until you have your balance.”

The two began to practice, and Nytin showed Avery the basics once more until she remembered how to skate. After skating with Nytin for a while, she felt comfortable enough to skate on her own. Avery looked up at Nytin, moving her hand up and poking his shoulder to get his attention. "Nytin, I think I can try on my own now.”