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Ice skating was one of the countless skills - both academic and athletic - Seb's tutors had forced him to learn during his Paldean upbringing, but as it happened, it turned out to be one of the ones he’d actually ended up enjoying. He hadn’t expected there to be much of a winter sports scene when he’d arrived in Hoenn, but he’d been pleasantly surprised to find a handful of small, indoor rinks, in addition to the outdoor one that cropped up in Slateport whenever there was a cold enough winter for it.[break][break]
Recent events had certainly brought with them one of the coldest winters in Hoenn's history, and so, Seb found himself at Slateport's outdoor rink, pleased to zoom about on his own pair of skates, losing himself to the repetitive nature of the activity.[break][break]
Within the first half-hour of his rink reservation, however, Seb's meditative state was broken by a sudden high-pitched, angry yelp. A woman had toppled over onto the ice, directly in front of him, which forced him to quickly change direction so as to avoid crashing into her. Once he'd confirmed that he had successfully avoided her, he skid to a sudden halt, then turned around to glide back over to her.[break][break]
He immediately assessed her for injury, but all he could really tell was that she was both absolutely livid and absolutely stunning. Sleek black hair, flawless porcelain skin, bright amethyst eyes...she was like a bundled-up winter goddess with a scowl that could topple governments.[break][break]
"Are you alright?" He asked, a mix of captivated and concerned. He held out his hand to her, intending to help her up.

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BY GUNSMILE

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The pink blush that spread across her cheeks was a pretty thing indeed, reminiscent of the delicate peonies Seb's mother used to favor. Yet, the woman's tone of voice was anything but delicate. To another man, the contrast between her lovely appearance and her brusque demeanor might come off as incredibly jarring, but Seb merely found himself reluctant to let go of her hand.[break][break]
He did, however, let go of it once she was firmly back on her feet. A strong adherence to propriety had been hammered into him from a young age, but for the first time in what felt like ages, a primal hunger lurked beneath the chivalry. As she flipped her hair with a huff, he found himself itching to run his hands through it. He imagined it must be as soft as the finest silk.[break][break]
His freed hand twitched.[break][break]
Listening to her grumble about damsels, he bowed his head to her in apologetic deference. "Of course you're not," he agreed, grinning. Then he noticed something out of the corner of his eye, and his smile widened. "But perhaps you'd let me buy you a hot chocolate, at least?"

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BY GUNSMILE

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Perfectly content to be done skating for the time being, Seb also traded his skates for sneakers, then accompanied his newfound companion to the short line that had formed outside of the hot chocolate stand. As they waited, he found himself unable to focus on anything else but her...the way she continued to blush cutely, how all of her clothing was color-coordinated and well-made, how she leaned in slightly to address him. Especially that.[break][break]
He was delighted by the undercurrent of flirtatious intrigue in her voice as she probed him for a name. The rest of the night? Did she expect to spend her entire evening with him, then? He found that idea enticing, captivated by her boldness.[break][break]
"Mr. Tall, Dark, and Handsome does indeed have a name," he answered, amused. "Sebastian Lovato, at your service." He bowed his head to her in an act of chivalrous deference; the gesture could have been mocking, were he a different sort of man, but the graceful way he moved betrayed a practiced etiquette. His desire to please her was, indeed, sincere.[break][break]
When it was their turn to order, Seb procured two hot chocolates, paying for both. Picking out an unoccupied bench nearby to the rink, he motioned for the woman to follow him. Once they were seated, steaming cups between gloved hands, he turned to her and asked, "Well? What should I call you, then? Stunning Goddess of the Slateport Ice Rink?" His words were lighthearted, but there was a smolder to his grey gaze as he looked at her.

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BY GUNSMILE

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Seb itched to put his arm around Yumi when she leaned closer to him, the compulsion so strong he actually started to do so, only to divert his arm to the back of the bench at the last second. They'd only just met, after all. All the same, he felt inextricably drawn to her, like some kind of undeniable magnetic force.[break][break]
"No, actually," he admitted truthfully to her inquiry. "I just wanted to spend some more time with you, I guess." He shrugged somewhat nonchalantly, but his eyes continued to betray his desire, drinking her in. She really was beautiful, her features elegant and refined, but far from fragile. She carried herself with an obvious confidence, her self-assurance attractive and her haughtiness amusing. She's nothing like Beatriz, he noted, thinking of his dour, soft-spoken ex-fiancé for the first time in years.[break][break]
When had he moved closer? He could smell her - rich cocoa from the hot chocolate mixed with some kind of floral scent reminiscent of jasmine. Her cheeks were flushed from a combination of the cold and his obvious effect on her. He wasn't a fool, he could see the way she was looking at him too.[break][break]
As if in a daze, Seb set his own untouched hot chocolate down on the bench, then brought his hand to Yumi's cheek. The glove he wore prevented him from being able to feel her porcelain skin, but it hardly mattered. Time slowed down around them, the sounds of the other ice skaters fading away into white noise. With a swift, graceful, and decisive motion, he closed the gap between them and kissed her.[break][break]
She tasted of chocolate and some other sweetness - her taste, unique - and damn, it had been some time since he'd kissed a woman, let alone one he wanted as badly as Yumi. A hunger grew in the pit of his stomach, and the kiss intensified: passionate, devouring. Shifting his body so that he could pull her onto his lap, he accidentally knocked his forgotten hot chocolate onto the ground. The sudden sound of splattered liquid jolted him, causing him to realize that he was kissing a stranger on a bench at a public ice rink.[break][break]
He pulled away abruptly, expression apologetic. "Fuck, I'm sorry," he swore, shame surfacing, though not entirely replacing his lust. His heart thumped in his chest, every nerve in his body telling him to go back to kissing her. "I don't usually...do that sort of thing either, I - "

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BY GUNSMILE

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And just like that, she was kissing him again, pulling him back in, demanding he finish what he'd started. Desire burned away the shame that had surfaced when he'd realized what he'd done, replaced by only one thought, as delicious as the taste of her: she wants me just as badly as I want her.[break][break]
Anyone watching that particular bench next to the Slateport ice rink would see two people locked together in a passionate embrace, hands roaming frustratingly over clothing suddenly too hot and too thick for their liking. The way Yumi boldly threw herself at Seb was intoxicating, and he momentarily forgot that they were in a public place: his fingers toyed with the buttons of her coat, desperate to remove the annoying fabric blocking him from accessing the soft curves of her body.[break][break]
It was the sudden shrieking laughter of children, their shenanigans on the ice rink apparently hilarious, that pulled Seb up from the sea of Yumi he was currently drowning it. Breathing ragged, heart pounding, he forced himself to let go of her. He couldn't help but grin, pleased with the sight of her flushed cheeks, bruised lips, and dazed amethyst eyes. He pushed away thoughts of how she might look in the same context but in a more private location, trying to focus.[break][break]
To his utter disbelief and immense pleasure, what had started as a chance meeting - pure happenstance - was swiftly trending towards what might be one of the best hookups of his life.[break][break]
With that in mind, Seb considered their next move. The rink was less crowded than when they had arrived; the dinner hour was swiftly approaching. Gazing down at Yumi, Seb cleared his throat and said, still somewhat huskily, "Why stop at hot chocolate? Let me buy you dinner too." He did not want their time together to end, and a shared meal would offer them a chance to get to know one another better.[break][break]
What happens after that...[break][break]

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BY GUNSMILE