tzuyu on ice! [natzu]

Chapter 3: Ice Cream

an: sorry for the very slow update i was busy with school but please enjoy!!!

For their fourth ice skating lesson together, Nayeon shows up with a bear beanie and two ice cream cones in her hand. Tzuyu is putting on her skates and looks up to her in confusion, given that Nayeon's favorite past-time consists of complaining about how cold the rink already is.

"What is that?"

"Mint Chocolate ice cream," Nayeon smirks. "Want some?"

Tzuyu's frown deepens. "Who even likes Mint Chocolate ice cream?"

Nayeon's mouth forms a small 'o' shape. "I thought you did."

"Yeah, when I was like fourteen," Tzuyu says, then stares at the other cone in Nayeon's hand with an indecipherable look. One could equate it as a fox looking at its prey. "What flavor is that one?"

"Oh," Nayeon is caught off guard by the question in the middle of her sulking. "Uhm, strawberry."

"Are you going to eat that...?"

Nayeon stares at the rapidly melting green ice cream with indescribable misery, and sighs. "I guess not."

Tzuyu makes a happy sound that is so uncharacteristic that makes everything worth it for a glorious three seconds, until Nayeon has to actually eat the Mint Chocolate one, and then she starts resenting the taller one again.

Tzuyu is stuffing her face with strawberry ice cream, when she looks up at Nayeon with a puzzled look on her face.

"Why did you think that I liked that?" she seems almost offended.

"Okay, first of all, it's not that bad," oh but it is , "Second... I read it in an interview."

Tzuyu actually huffs out a laugh, and the sound catches Nayeon so off guard she stares at her like she grew two heads.

"You read one of my interviews?" she shakes her head, "You must really be desperate for that photoshoot, huh?"

Nayeon chuckles despite herself.

"Yeah, well..." she trails off, staring at the rink, eating her ice cream. After a while, she speaks again. "They were kind of interesting, though."

Tzuyu raises an eyebrow at her. "Really?"

"You have always been very private. It was insightful." It seems Tzuyu doesn't quite know how to react to that, she just scratches the back of her neck and shrugs. Nayeon continues, "You love dogs."

That makes Tzuyu smile.

"Heh... yeah..." Is that a blush creeping up her cheeks? Nayeon's killing it today. "My parents weren't around much... but I always had my dogs. They were the only ones who, even if I failed at the rink, still loved me at the end of the day."

Nayeon turns to face her. Tzuyu's gaze has hardened, her face back to being stone-cold. Nayeon wonders just how Tzuyu survived it all -- the constant pressure, the perfectionist in herself. Even now, as they practice, Nayeon can see traces of that meticulous little girl who wouldn't settle until she was the best, but whose dreams escaped her now. Has Tzuyu made peace with that girl?

She doesn't say anything to that.

Instead, she asks, "What are you studying now?"

Tzuyu turns to face her.

"Culinary studies. Why?"

Nayeon flails her arms around, accidentally spilling Mint Chocolate everywhere. "And you've never cooked me anything?!"