Hanni can't believe she agreed to this again.
She doesn't remember the last time she saw this big of a crowd, other than the national championship.
The end of the year ice skating championships took place a week after the swim national championships. The brunette agreed to performing a solo and a pair with her brother, showing her face to the ice skating world again after years when she suddenly disappeared from it.
If she had the choice all over again, she'd still pick swim-because without it, she wouldn't have met Minji, the people who she can call her brothers and sisters.
Everyone is excited to see the Pham prodigies back on the rink and Hanni is surprised that people still remember them.
She wears a sky blue bodices with a skirt, her dark hair slightly curled and messy. She waits for her brother to finish up dressing and makeup. Until then, the brunette will have to perform her solo first.
While tying up her skates, she slips on Merino wool over them. Hanni solely keeps her head down to avoid the huge crowd sitting around the rink. She knows that her teammates are in the crowd, ready to take photos and videos of her to turn her into a cherry red tomato.
She warmed up a bit before having to get ready and has been working with Rei to help her get back into what it felt like to be skating in front of an audience again. It isn't like she hadn't skate in a while, she actually did pretty often, as it still was another sense of escape. Although, she isn't certain that it'd be something in the profession range.
But doing this means a lot to her.
It proves that she's strong enough to touch back on a chapter that she struggled to flip to for so long. Hanni glossed over it so many times but it still somehow managed to give her a paper cut everytime she does. It's a reminder that it's memories destined to stay forever.
It's something she knew she had to face sooner or later, and now that she is, it doesn't feel so bad. There's people who helped her overcome those many fears.
Sitting up, she takes a breath, hearing the announcement for the halftime performance.
"I can do this." The brunette encourages herself, fixing her hair.
The staff member gives her a thumbs up, a sign for Hanni to approach the rink. The brunette bows her head in gratitude, walking over to the the door.
It suddenly goes silent, allowing for the announcer to speak into the mic. "Please welcome the first halftime performer, Hanni Pham." The announcer speaks and Minjeong is waiting in position in the middle of the rink.
The light dims and there's a spotlight on the brunette. She hears the subtle clicking of cameras as the silence takes over her.
The music begins playing, Hanni letting her body form a scooping motion from her shoulder. She opens up her body, soon skating around the rink. The brunette breathes carefully, switching directions as she gains momentum.
She takes off her left foot, the inside edge of her skate, lifting herself into the air, her first spin being a Salchow Jump. It's a quick motion before she lands on the right outside edge of the pick, extending her leg up and backwards.
She lands gracefully, earning a few claps before she begins freely skating around the rink. There's many turns, switching of direction she does, with a certain artistry she remembers being reminded that nobody could recreate.
The music is gentle, compared to her stage name. But winter can be gentle or harsh as she's learned.
Hanni's surprised at her ability to be able to control her flow of moment while skating around the rink in high speed.
She skates a bit, swaying her head to the music. Spinning the counterclockwise, Hanni takes off the outside edge, leaping into a back camel spin. She does multiple of them, 3 in a row before she lifts her leg to glide a bit.
Her flexibility remains to Hanni's surprise, and it allows for her to pull the very skills she used to continuously practice until her legs gave up on her.
Hanni chose 'So this is love', wanting to dedicate it to the first she realized she had fallen for a certain raven.
Somewhere in the crowd, Hanni knows Minji is watching. It's the reason why she's able to express herself on the rink, the overwhelming feeling of falling in love is to be express with confusion and shock.
The routine was choreographed by herself, over the few months she was getting back into her skates. The feelings were there, but she wasn't sure if it was worth being drawn on the clipboard.
The song is lulling, but the audience has yet to know that her movements express wholesomeness, whenever she lands each jump into a spin. Constant switching to the inside and outside of her skates is too familiar-like she never left the ice skating world.
Hanni begins building speed for a moment of the song, at the height of it, she goes into a forward spin, soon spinning faster and faster. As she does, she pulls up her back leg into a bielleman spin. Her legs is held above her head as she spins gracefully, earning impress cheers from the crowd.
She releases her leg, taking a deep breath while gently gliding across the rink. Her arms move fluently, edging closer toward the edge of the rink to extend her hand out majestically.
Th brunette skates toward the middle, jumping into the air and tucking her arms tightly in to suddenly perform an axel. Her spin is clean and tight, and it gives her more rotation in order to make it look like she spun more times in one jump than she actually did. She lands on the opposite leg than what she jumped off on.
Skating with a little bit of risk and performing jumps in the climax of each point gave her the nickname, Winter. She had so many aspect to her skating personality, and it makes Hanni wonder.
The song slows down, prompting for the end of the song. As it does, Hanni lowers her body, a scratch spin being decided to end her performance. The audience clap as she continues spinning faster and faster.
The song comes to the end and Hanni is extending her hand toward a certain area in the front of her.
A loud roar echoed in the building, the lights turning back on and flowers immediately being thrown into the rink. Hanni smiles and bows in all areas of the audience section.
----------
She hopes Coach Lisa and Jihan are watching.
She may have closed an important chapter in her life that she continuously looks back upon. But it's a chapter she needs to close fully. It'll still be there, but now, it doesn't have anymore power over Hanni.
Because the upcoming chapters look promising.
----------
Jake performed his solo and the brunette joined him soon after. Hanni can say that she enjoyed skating. She's not afraid anymore.
Changed into comfortable clothes, Hanni walks back to car with her mother and grandmother.
It was a surprise to see her grandmother in the stands, and Hanni cried when she saw her waiting beside her mother after she was down. Jake was shocked too, being the first one to give their grandmother a hug.
Hanni volunteered to drive them back home, wanting to spend a bit more time with her grandmother.
As she's driving, Hanni talks like she's never talked before. Even her mother finds it incredible.
Her grandmother adjusts herself in her seat. "So, Rosie told me you're officially first in the city and 4th in the country. I'm very proud of you." Gyeonghui says.
The brunette smiles, remembering everything that's happened in the past few days. It all still seems unreal to her.
"Thank you, grandmother. I still haven't even processed the fact that we won the championship." Hanni chuckles, turning the wheel.
Hanni still finds it unbelievable actually-there's a feeling that sends quick sparks of excitement through her body, reminding her that she has complete everything Sophomore Hanni wanted to complete.
She deserved to win, Hanni always reminds herself.
Her mother clears her throat.
Gyeonghui snaps her fingers. "You never told me the lovely Kim was your girlfriend? I remember when you used to get annoyed at her for being too pretty." Her grandmother chuckles.
Hanni gawks, facing her grandmother at a red light. "You met Minji?" She asks, paying attention back to the road.
Gyeonghui shakes her head. "I've always known her, me and her grandmother are friends. We always knew you two were good for each other. We just needed you two to realize it." Gyeonghui tucks her hands politely into her lap as they approach the house.
The brunette parks into the driveway, unlocking the doors. She lets her mother and grandmother out, opening her door. "I'll come visit you soon, Grandmother. Thank you for watching me perform." She smiles, standing out of car to give Gyeonghui a tight hug.
Gyeonghui hugs her, rubbing the brunette's back fondly. "No problem PhamPham, give me a call when you can." She pulls back to pinch Hanni's cheeks.
The brunette nods enthusiastically. "I will!" Hanni turns to face her mother. "I'll see you soon, mom." She gives Rosé a hug, repeatedly kissing her mother's cheek.
Rosé chuckles before shooing her away. "Drive safely, I love you!" She waves before walking into the house.
Hanni enters her car, shutting her door shut.
----------
(Minji's special POV)
University is utterly exhausting.
Minji's not sure why she chose the major she did. She enjoys biology-just not the amount of critical thinking it requires.
She takes a deep breath, typing away on her laptop. The cafe is the only place where she can truly focus, not worrying about her friends somehow convincing her to hang out at the mall again.
She's almost done, well..... almost done enough to call it a day. The staff workers hardly bother her anymore, knowing she visited the cafe everyday to do her work. Most students did, but she's a regular, has warmed up to the staff that staying there long hours until the closing time at 8pm doesn't seem like a big deal anymore.
Minji's phone vibrates a few times, causing for the raven to glance at her lock screen-a photo of her and Hanni. Her screen brightens at each vibration of a message.
[Hanni]: hey, im going to be coming back a little late today. you're going home around 6pm today right?
Minji lifts her phone, swiping up to begin replying.
[Minji]: yeah, It's 4 so you'll be coming around 5?
[Hanni]: yeah, i need to pick up some stuff. Do you want anything?
The raven smiles at her girlfriend's consideration. She doesn't hesitate to respond.
[Minji]: my favorite take out and maybe a tub of oreo ice cream? 😁
[Hanni]: okkkk, I'll see you later
[Hanni]: don't stay in the cafe too long, I'll miss you
[Hanni]: love you❤️
[Hanni]: love you too, han. I'll be done in a bit
She places her phone down with determination to finish her work. It's time like this where Minji finds herself grateful for the brunette because if it wasn't for the brunette and her sweet thoughtful messages, Minji would've given up on many assignments and projects.
Words of gratitude escape from her lips when a worker asks if she wanted a refill of water. She isn't very much of a caffeine person, it never helps her focus either way. Often did she catch herself off guard when she had a bit of caffeine in her system.
However, she can get away with a small cup of iced coffee. But not in the cold winter.
Her eyes occasionally glance outside the window, seeing snow slowly fall onto the ground. It makes her feel nice because the view is beautiful, complimenting with the warmth that sits in the cafe.
It's one more hour of clicking through multiple tabs and typing in her laptop before she lets out a sigh and closes her laptop.
Luckily, she's finished earlier than the time she thought she would be and finds herself slugging her backpack over her shoulder. As soon as she meets the cold air, she curses under her breath for not listening to Bahiyyih about layering up.
Her car isn't far, so she makes haste to walk to the parking lot before it started to snow even more. When she makes it in the car, Minji lets out a tired sigh, throwing her bag into the passenger seat and starting the car.
Her head rests on the steering wheel for a bit, in an attempt to compose herself after a long day. At least this time, she doesn't have to go to work or swim and could finally stay home with Hanni.
The raven keeps her head on the steering wheel while the car warms up a bit. The car hums, causing Minji to lift her head to check who had possibly messaged her.
[Hanni]: Please drive safely, the roads are a bit difficult to drive on, okay? See you soon, love you baby.
Minji huffs, already wanting to be in the brunette's arms. She takes a deep breath, setting her phone down so she begin driving.
She makes sure she's careful, driving slowly on the road.
It takes a bit for Hanni to get home. The brunette texted her saying that she'd be getting home later than she usually did because she had to pick up some stuff. Minji simply responded for her to drive safely since it was snowing.
She waits on the couch, blanket spread over her legs as she watches a dating show she's been interested in for a while now. It's enough to distract her from the fact that she has nobody to snuggle into in the cold weather.
Her phone continuously lights up everytime she taps her phone to either check for any messages or the time. It's gets dark by the time the episode Minji was watching finishes.
The raven lets out a sigh, clicking on the next episode. Her phone dings a few minutes into the episode.
[Hanni]: Uh hi babe do you mind opening the door? My hands are a little bit full to grab my keys
Minji chuckles before standing up to walk toward the door and opening it. When she opens the door, Hanni is soaked, a bunch of bags in her hands.
The raven sports a look of amuse, moving aside to let Hanni in. "So this is why you took so long to get here?" She asks, following the brunette into the kitchen and more concerned about the fact that the brunette's wet.
Hanni lets out a heave, setting all the bags onto the counter. She takes off her jacket and kicks off her shoes. "Don't look inside the bags yet!" She screams with panic when the raven goes to look inside them.
Minji blinks, lifting her hands in surrender. "Why?" She turns to Hanni, crossing her arms.
Arms gently squeeze her own. "Trust me, okay? Just wait for me then you can look inside, it's a surprise." Hanni smiles cheekily.
The raven nods slowly, gears of understanding clicking in her head. She's soon leans in to connect their lips together but frowns when Hanni dodges her. "Why won't you kiss me?"
Hanni backs away, walking backwards toward their room. "I need to take a shower first because I literally smell like really cold rain water." She jokes, Minji rolling her eyes at her.
The door shuts close, prompting Minji to sit back onto the couch and enjoy her show a bit longer. Her heart feels warm knowing Hanni went out of her way to surprise her with whatever she's planned.
After a while, Hanni comes out of the room, refreshed and cozy in their matching PJs the raven bought them.
Minji hops off the couch, excitedly walking toward the counter. "Can I look now?" She asks the brunette, fingers already tucking under the bags hook to pull open.
The brunette chuckles, nodding.
Minji pulls out the items one by one, finding mostly ingredients. "What are these for?"
Hanni makes her way to the other side of the island, pulling out bows and huge mixing spoons. "We-" She grabs the bag of flour. "Are going to be making a few things for Christmas. We'll have one for ourself, and the rest will be for the congratulatory party" She explains.
The raven smiles and takes out the rest of the items, silently pushing them toward the brunette. "What are we making?" Minji slides on the wood toward the brunette.
Hanni reaches over to help the raven pull up her long sleeves. After, she pulls up her own long sleeves before reaching for the things she needs.
"We're making a few pies, Oreo, gingerbread and Apple cinnamon pie." The brunette turns her body to preheat the oven.
They need to make the Oreo crumble pieces first, so Minji pulls out their food processor. She puts the first pack of Oreos into the processor, adjusting where they are so they can fit properly. Minji puts an S blade in before shutting the processors and starting it.
While the raven does that, Hanni skims through the recipe, making sure they're doing everything correctly. The next step's ingredients wait in front of them as Minji finished up with the processor, pouring the crumbs into a small bowl.
They have more Oreos just in case the current amount of crumbs aren't enough. Hanni reaches for the bowl, lifting up a bag of sugar to pour onto the crumbs. She pours about a cup into the bowl. Then, Minji pours the amount of butter they need before the brunette allows her to mix it.
Hanni pulls out a foil shaped dish for the pie. "Once you're done, you can press it into the dish and then we'll let the crust bake for a bit. While we wait, we can prepare the filling. You can choose which one to do, the processor or making Oreo chunks." The brunette grabs the rest of the Oreos and pulls out the chopping board.
Minji nods, continuing to mix the mixture of butter, oreos and sugar. "Hey Alexa, play Christmas music." The raven instructs and music begins filling their kitchen.
They enjoy baking, not afraid of being a little messy. Hanni knew how much the raven wanted to spend time like this and made sure it'd happened no matter how busy they became.
Ever since their break started, there were things that they still had to tend to Hanni spends long days at the university, working constantly on her projects or swimming. The days she has off are spent at a new tech location, where she excels the most. Sometimes they'd both come home late, both exhausted and ready to fall into each other's arms.
However, their winter break started and Minji only goes to the cafe to study or finish up assignments as it's the place she's able to focus on her work. She likes getting things done earlier so she wouldn't have to worry about it later, leaving space for other things to pile up on her.
The brunette only had to check up at work, and apparently, it took longer than she expected so Minji then expected her to come late.
When the two pies is in the oven, baking, they take their time in making their own pie.
Hanni dips her finger in the leftover whip cream, a reasonable amount on her finger. The raven is prepping the last pie dish, oblivious to the fact that the brunette is preparing to catch her off guard.
The brunette reaches to smudge whip cream all over Minji's lips, startling the raven a bit. Hanni giggles when the raven playfully glares at her. The brunette takes it as a chance to lift up her phone, snickering as she snaps a few pictures.
"You look ridiculous." Hanni teases her.
Minji makes a noise that sounds like a whine, still looking at the girl. "Wipe it off." She warns Hanni.
Hanni wiggles her eyebrow, her smile full of teasing that the raven can't really be mad at her. Although, the raven realizes Hanni is having too much fun knowing that Minji can't reach for a tissue due to her hands being full of cinnamon syrup.
When the brunette simply stands beside the raven, not making any moves to grab a tissue to wipe the whip cream off, an idea lights in Minji's head.
Minji leans toward the brunette, capturing her lips in an especially sweet kiss. It's long and the raven almost finds herself lost in Hanni before she remembers what she's supposed to be doing.
The raven slowly pulls away, her eyes fluttering open to catch Hanni's reaction. She can't help but giggle when the brunette's mouth is covered in whip cream.
The brunette licks her lips, wiping her hand across her mouth to clean up the rest of the mess Minji left on her lips. "You little rascal." Hanni laughs.
Minji chuckles, moving to place the last pie to sit in the oven. When she turns back around, she sees Hanni covered in more whip cream.
Hanni grins widely, causing for the raven to let out a sigh before she laughs.
"A kissing monster, that's what you are." The raven grabs a tissue to wipe the brunette's face, holding Hanni's chin carefully.
She wipes Hanni's face, not seeing the fond gaze the brunette is giving her. Once Minji is done, she catches Hanni's eyes, her shoulders relaxing that she finds herself falling in love all over again.
There's still a bit of whip cream left on the top of Hanni's lips.
Minji doesn't hesitate to kiss it off.
----------
After having their fillings of pie and stuffing the rest in the fridge, Hanni joins the raven in indulging in a dating show watching.... no matter how much Hanni grumbles about how frustrated she gets at the obliviousness that occurs every episode.
"For me? Please?" Minji offers her wide cute eyes that she knows the brunette gives into everytime.
The brunette makes an unamused face. "Minji, as much as I love you, I really can't go through another episode of these couples being paired terribly." She groans, covering her eyes dramatically.
Minji pecks the brunette's lips a few times slowly, muttering 'please' in between. She tugs a bit on Hanni's arm.
Hanni lets out a sigh. "......Fine." She mumbles.
The raven grins, leaning into Hanni's side as they turn to the tv. Minji presses play, her head leaning onto the brunette's shoulder, their legs tangled under the blanket. It makes the raven feel fuzzy, being able to cuddle with Hanni on Christmas Eve.
There's no other place she rather be.
----------
Although, Hanni never really does a good job paying attention to the tv.
Because the raven finds arms wrapped around her waist and lips pressing against her temple and cheek all throughout the episode. Hanni argues that it's because she looks too precious not to pepper with kisses.
Minji's focused on the tv, feeling the other side of the couch dip as Hanni moves toward her. "Han, pay attention." She tells the brunette.
Hanni playfully rolls her eyes and leans down to let her head rest onto the edge of the couch. The warmth the raven had disappears in a blink.
At least the brunette's paying attention-right. That's what Minji wants. But then 1 episode without Hanni pressed up against her side turns into 3. As much as the raven doesn't want to admit, Hanni ever zoning out on a dating reality show comes with consequences.
The raven goes to grab something from the kitchen, walks back over, and crawls over Hanni to lay on top of the girl.
The brunette lets her find a comfortable position before Minji finds her head resting on top of the brunette's chest. Minji sighs, pulling the blanket over them and glad to be finally done with the day.
Fingers gently scratch at her scalp, taking in Hanni's scent. Minji notices the brunette's extended quietness, due to the the show they're watching still taking her full attention.
Minji hasn't seen her girlfriend all day, and does not like losing her attention to dating reality shows.
She lifts herself from Hanni's chest, pressing her lips gently against the brunette's jaw. "Babe." She mumbles in between.
Hanni hums in response, not taking her attention from the tv.
Minji huffs, keeping her lips against the brunette's skin. She isn't going to lose to the TV-she refuses.
The brunette's hand glides down her back unconsciously. Minji simply pouts, upset about Hanni not paying attention to her.
Minji cups Hanni's cheeks, pecking her all over her face where she can, knowing the brunette won't be able to resist reciprocating.
And she's correct because Hanni turns to face her, eyes curious to tend to Minji's needs. "Yes, baby? I'm sorry, I wasn't paying attention." Hanni's voice is gentle as she fully wraps her arms around Minji's frame.
(Despite being the one telling Hanni to pay attention.)
TV- 0 Minji-1
Minji grins so cheekily that the brunette laughs. "You weren't paying attention to me and i didn't mean for you to fully ignore me to watch the show." She whines.
Hanni brushes a strand of hair from her face, looking up at her fondly. "Well, you have my full attention now." She smiles gently that the raven can't help but capture her lips.
Kissing Hanni more after a long day of not seeing her places sparks in Minji's stomach. Of course, the raven tastes a bit of the apple cinnamon pie they had a bit earlier.
The brunette pulls back to plant continuous pecks against Minji's lips. "I love you. I love you so much." Hanni says between each peck.
Minji giggles, giggles because of the way the brunette's lips brush gently against her's, the way Hanni's lips feel soft against her's and the way she feels that feeling in her stomach she gets whenever she's in at least a 5 foot radius of the brunette.
She's a bit head over heels.
They soon find themselves lost in each other. Pecks soon turn into long, slow, kisses. The tv plays lowly in the background and Minji can care less, not when the brunette engulfs her lips with a fervor unknown.
And in a blink, the tv is off, the lights dark as Minji lifts her up. Their lips don't part for one moment as the brunette lets her legs lock around the raven's waist, her arms resting lightly over Minji's shoulders. One hand plays lightly under the layers of Minji's black hair.
Hanni's heart thumps in her ears, and she has to pull away a bit just to catch her breath. The raven takes the chance to bring them to her bedroom.
Their eyes never waver as Minji carefully sets her onto the mattress, crawling over to lay her weight slightly over the brunette's body.
Hanni gives Minji her full attention, gazes at her like she holds her whole world. They don't need to speak-they understand each other just by looking into each other's eyes.
The brunette's eyes display so many different emotions that Minji's simply in awe. She's unable to apprehend the reasons why Hanni feels so much for her, Minji's unable to make sense of it.
In the way Hanni makes Minji's stomach pool with one look.
The brunette looks endearing, and Minji finds her breath hitching when Hanni's bangs cover her eyes slightly.
Minji's fingers gently run through brown strands, pulling Hanni impeccably closer.
Hanni is careful of her breathing, but soon opens her mouth to say something. It's low, barely a whisper but the raven hears it.
"I'm yours." Is all the brunette says.
The hand in Hanni's hair momentarily pauses, her heart speeding up even more.
On Christmas Eve, it's cold, freezing even. Outside, the raindrops pour every then and there. Hanni's body pressed against her's claims the goosebumps that result from the cold. The brunette's warm, everything is warm about Hanni and it radiates evidently to Minji.
Minji sees sincerity in Hanni's eyes, as she searches for another answer other than what the brunette's said a few seconds before. But she finds nothing but sincerity.
"You're mine?" Minji asks, feeling the lump in her throat go down.
The brunette breathes slowly as she presses their foreheads together. "Yes. As long as you allow me to be." Hanni responds with no waver in her voice-no hesitation.
Minji takes in Hanni's majestic Gucci scent as their nose bumps. It's fascinating as to how easy it is for the brunette to take her breath away with every little thing she does.
The raven closes the gap between them, her fingers tenderly digging into the layers of Hanni's hair again. There's a different spark this time.
Hanni reciprocates, following the rhythm the raven's set. The raven pours out everything and she wants to cry at how carefully Hanni takes care of her, the brunette's fingers tapping gently under her shirt, against bare skin at her side.
She loves Hanni wholeheartedly, loves the thought of doing everything with Hanni, loves the thought of sleeping beside each other, arms around her waist and front pressed into her back as the brunette protects her from all the fears that sometimes comes to haunt Minji at night.
She loves the way their legs tangle beautifully under the blanket, loves the way their fingers perfectly enclose the gaps in between their hands. Minji adores the way Hanni gazes at her, whispering words of comfort. She liked the way Hanni's head fits in between the crook of her neck, soft breaths pattering against her neck.
She loves the way Hanni's stubborn at times, determined and hardworking. She loves the flaws the brunette dislikes, loves telling Hanni that she's everything to her.
Minji loves everything about Hanni, sometimes she can't believe that a girl like the brunette exists in her very arms, loves her more than she can imagine.
The words sit comfortably on her tongue as she parts just slightly away from Hanni's lips. "I'm yours as well. I will be there by your side for how ever long you need me to be. My partner in crime, my everything, the love of my life." Minji whispers, smiling in between.
Hanni smiles as well, even if they're slightly parted, the raven can feel it tickling. "My everything. I love you." The brunette breathes.
Minji's heart flutters, and there was truly something in the water.
Love.
The End.
Notes:
And that's it, Something in the water is finally completed. Thank you all of you. For sticking around, for leaving comments and for voting for this story. You're the best. Let me know what you thought!