Pao
Once they had all their stuff he gave her a bright smile as well, then blinked. Clearly he hadn't thought that far ahead, so he took a second before shaking his head. "Nah, they usually have lockers. They can hold it for us...let's at least check it out?" Because it was another one of those things he wanted her to at least try out.

Aria
She gave him a soft smile, and a big cheek kiss, though it took some work for her to do, with the big dinosaur in her arms. "Yeah. We'll make it work, I'm sure. I believe that between the two of us, we can make anything we really want or need work." She tilted her head, eyes glittering at him from behind her glasses. "We're good together, after all."

She tried not to chuckle when it became clear he hadn't thought of that, and said "If they can find a space to keep our stuff out of the rain, and the reach of grabby kids, then that sounds good... I doubt Big Dino here will fit in a locker."

Pao
The way she fumbled with the giant dinosaur was adorable, but he smiled quite wide when she managed the cheek kiss despite it getting in the way a little. "We're the best, yep," he said as they started heading for the ice skating rink. He was pretty excited about that, actually, considering it'd been a long, long time since he last got on the ice. He wasn't an expert by any means, but he had a good time whenever he went skating before. It was a good winter-y sport that didn't cost too much money.

"They might shove him under the front counter, I think it's also kinda a storage thing sometimes?"

Aria
"All right..." She said, following him to the rink, her free arm tight around the plush, in a protective way. She was not going to let anyone grab it, as made apparent by when some little kid did what little kids do and tried to get a hand on it... She turned enough to keep her toy out of the kid's hand, and kept walking, ignoring the whining of the brat as she went.

Finally, they made it to the skate rink, and the short line at the entrance... It was not exactly a popular time, what with it being work hours.

Pao
He tucked her in close as they went and got in line, thoroughly amused at the way she protected her plushie from the little kid passing by. He didn't say anything, though, just chuckled and leaned over to give her a kiss once they were already waiting in line. Once they were up front he chatted up the guy behind the register again, and asked.

The guy was nice and took their things, exchanging it all for a locker number and giving them directions on where to pay to actually get inside. After some more thanks Rhys took her hand and they went along and got tickets, got their skates and soon enough were heading to find a place to sit and get their skates on.

Aria
She followed along, willingly, and when the guy running the locker room took their things, she gave him a grateful smile, before turning her attention back to Rhys. She hung onto his hand, a little nervous about how stupid she might look, and potential for falling on her a**, but she still was more than willing to follow him in.

She hmm'd thoughtfully, sitting down and slipping the skates onto her feet. It felt a little strange, not like the shoes she was used to. They seemed to be a lot stiffer, and a lot tighter, around her ankles. She attempted to stand up, biting her lips nervously as her ankles wobbled in and out. It felt really strange, standing on this thin line of metal.

Pao
Rather than strange, for him it felt familiar. The nostalgic kind of familiar, and he slipped into his without any issues and got up, beaming at her. "You okay?" he asked, noting how she looked unsteady and uncomfortable. "You can hold my hand the hold time, I promise it's not that hard once you get the hang of it."

With that he reached for her hands so she could walk without worrying about falling over. And even if she did fall over he was right there to catch her, so he hoped that eased her nerves just a bit. They made it to the rink's edge and he let her go so he could get on the ice before turning and offering her a hand again. "C'mon, slow and easy..."

Aria
"Yeah, I'm ok... It just feels really weird. It makes high freaking heels seem tame..." She said, trying not to let her ankles tilt inwards too much, because that would hurt, she could tell that much already. She clung to his hands a bit, following him slowly to the ice, grateful for his support.

She leaned on the wall while he moved onto the ice, seeing how he did it. She bit her lip again, then took his hand, gripping it tightly as she stepped onto the very slippery ice. There was a moment where her eyes went huge, as her foot threatened to go out from under her, but between his hand and her still clutching the wall with her free hand, she managed not to fall. She slowly got her second foot onto the ice, and said "Ok... now what?"

Pao
He watched her, amusement mixed in with the love in his gaze. "You got it," he murmured as she slowly got on the ice; she looked a bit silly, clinging to him and to the wall, but he understood exactly why. "Now," he started to say as he reached out his other hand. "Take my hand, and we'll go slow. Just think of this like a little workout in the gym, alright? Core tight, chest and head up, so no staring at your feet. Knees bent, try to keep your weight on the balls of your feet..."

He repeated the instructions as he started them going, slow as promised so she could get her bearings, maybe even get comfortable.

Aria
She was gnawing a little at her lower lip, as she listened into his words. To keep herself from staring at her feet, and to help her remember to keep her head up, she was staring pretty intensely into his face, her hand taking his and holding onto it like a lifeline. She didn't care if she looked silly, desperate, or otherwise... This was kind of scary, even if she wanted to do it. She slowly took some deep breaths, trying to calm her nerves, and followed his instructions on how to hold her body.

It felt strange, it really did, but she followed after him, and slowly, very slowly, she began to figure out the basic balance on the ice, at least. She wasn't sure she could move forwards on her own, because he hadn't explained that move yet, but she could at least sort of stand.

Pao
When she seemed solid enough just standing on the ice, he smiled and went on with teaching her the next part, which was how to glide on her own, and of course how to stop. Again, when it seemed like she was confident enough he let just one of her hands go and maneuvered himself so he was beside her.

"And if you fall just get your hands off the ice as fast as you can," he said, already readying her for it just in case, "and use closed fists to get up. Protects your fingers, 'cause sharps blades and all. Got it?"

Aria
She followed his instructions, slowly gaining the confidence to move her feet as he was showing her, and to skate semi-on her own. When he let go of the hand, though, she almost panicked, afraid of how this would go without him holding her hands through it. And then she mentally slapped herself, and gave herself a quick internal 'You are a strong woman and need to be able to do things without a man holding your hands the whole time!' lecture.

Luckily she managed to catch what he said regarding falling, and the fingers issues. "Ah... Yeah. I do not want to know what one of these could do to my fingers... Good advice, thank you baby..."

Pao
"'Course, babe," he said softly as he skated alongside her. They were about halfway around the rink already and she seemed to pick it up quickly, he was tempted to let go of her other hand, too, but he held on for just a little bit longer. By his observation she'd always been a quick learner, and he imagined it would be the same with ice skating.

"You think you got it?" he asked, double-checking. "If you are just let go of my hand, alright? Slowly, just real easy...no need to rush or anything..."

Aria
She kept skating at his side, grateful for his warmth and closeness, feeling like she was succeeding at this because he was helping her... Despite that internal lecture she'd just given herself. His words, however, had her glancing at him out of the corner of her eyes. Part of her wanted to be self-dependent and say 'yes!' and let go, to prove she'd gotten it. The other part wanted to not let go at all, for any number of reasons.

She gnawed at her lip again, thinking for a good minute, before she let go, slowly and nervously. She began to move on her own, and seemed to be doing all right... And some one swooshed past, startling her, and she did the classic new skater's stumble, before spinning out across the ice, landing on her a** against the wall after a moment. She got her hands up, fast, but just sat there for a long moment, because the fall had knocked the wind out of her, then she slowly and carefully began to work her way back up, trying not to swear.

Pao
He cheered while gliding along, careful to not overtake her so he could still keep an eye on her until she really got the hang of it. Of course, the kids weren't paying attention so they zoomed past her without a care in the world and caused her to ultimately fall. He didn't care if kids were around, he loudly muttered, "********' a*****e kids...and their ********' lazy a** parents. Pieces of s**t, I swear..."

He quickly glided over and came to a stop beside her, frowning as he offered her a hand up. "You okay?"

Aria
She blinked at his swearing, and took his hand, appreciating the extra assistance. Getting up off of ice was harder then she'd expected, and she hadn't expected it to be easy. When she finally got her balance back, she carefully leaned up to kiss his cheek in thanks, then said "Yeah, I think so. Butt says it objects to the hardness of the ice, but that'll fade quickly enough."

Her eyes went soft as she thought for a moment about how adorable his protectiveness was. It felt good, and strange, and she enjoyed it. "I'm gonna try again, though." She gently let go of his hand, and managed to get herself moving. She was slow and careful, but managed to make it back to their starting point on her own.

Pao
He helped her up and looked her over, clearly still peeved at the kids and worried for her. The kiss calmed him down a bit, and he smirked at her butt protesting the ice. "Those little shits are gonna have hell to pay, at least in karma, if your fine a** is all bruised up when we get home."

He brushed off some ice he saw on her jacket before nodding and letting her go off to skate on her own. Fall or not, best way to learn was by doing so he glided along close behind her, his worry gradually fading. When she made it to their starting point he cheered, smile huge and full of pride. "Keep going, babe!" he called, too happy to pay any attention to some little kids passing by and snickering.

Aria
She went red at his comment on her a** being fine, and had to control the urge to pull her coat over it even more. He was allowed, but she suddenly wondered if someone who overheard might stare.

And she wasn't used to feeling shy about that, either. Before, she'd just have laughed and ignored staring. Now, she didn't want anyone but him looking, or she felt subconscious. It was bizarre.

She glanced back and beamed at him when he cheered, then kept moving. She managed another full circle and a half before she slipped, purely out of the ice being slippery and she wasn't used to it. She didn't go down as hard, and she laughed it off, shaking her head and using the wall this time to get herself up, feeling the need to show she could still take care of herself to herself.

Pao
Rhys stayed close behind her, still beaming as she made it around nearly twice before falling again. She fell on her own so despite being worried he did chuckle as he skated over, stopping just in front of her once she was back on her feet again.

"Still good?" he asked, sliding closer until he had her pinned to the wall. "Or you need a little pick-me-up?"

Aria
She looked a bit startled when he pinned her, then smiled up at him. "Mmm I'm good, but a pick me up won't hurt. I think I've another round or two in me, then I'll be done... This is tiring in entirely new ways, baby."

Pao
He "mmm'd" and nodded, slowly leaning in and giving her that pick-me-up in the form of a very loving, if tame because out in the open in public, kiss. "It is tiring, but fun, right?"

Aria
She kissed him back and chuckled softly, her eyes watching his face. "Kinda, yeah? I think I'll like it better once I'm more comfortable with it. Now it's kind of scary but a bit fun." She smiled a little more, then said "Let's see how I do in the next lap or two, ok?" As a gentle hint to let her slip free.

Pao
"Sure," he said, pushing off the wall and sliding back slowly so she was free to start skating on her own. "We gotta do one lap together though, alright? But I'm gonna skate a little, too." He glanced over in the direction they would be going. It was only a few people, really, and their kids, so not too congested, and he felt comfortable enough with the idea of peeling his eyes off of her once he made the note.

"Cool?"

Aria
"Alright, babe. If I need to get off the ice before you're done, I'll watch you. Don't rush on my account." She moved away from the wall, and gave him a smile that was full of love, then she began to move with care, making her way along the ice, getting caught up in the way it kind of felt like flying. By the end of that lap, she had decided she definitely wanted to try this again in the future, and began the next, eyes bright.

Pao
"Okay," he replied, giving her a loving smile right back before turning and zooming off. He wasn't an expert by any means, but he was fast, only slowing down as he passed her so she wouldn't get surprised and suddenly wind up on her butt again.

He lapped her a few times though, each time turning and skating backwards for a few seconds so he could check on her before turning back around and zooming off to do his own thing for a second. It was fun and he missed it somewhat, though his memories on the ice were still limited to a few times every few years, when he had some spare change during the winter season.

Aria
She watched him go, her eyes brilliant with admiration for him, and his skill, every chance she could. She didn't focus too hard on him, though, since she was still not feeling balanced enough to do that herself. She kept going, and made it through the next lap.

When she got to the gate, she gave him a curious look, as he'd mentioned wanting to do one more together, if she'd understood him right, and she definitely knew this was going to be her last lap. She felt the strain.

Pao
He saw her pause at the gate and hurried over, breathing a bit heavy as he glided to a stop just beside her. "About done, love?"

Aria
She nodded and reached to give his hand a squeeze. "I have one last lap in me, then I need to rest. You said you wanted to do one more lap together...?" She sounded unsure, in case she had misunderstood.

Pao
"Yep!"

He took her hand and gently pulled her over to him, softly kissing her before sliding away. "Just one lap, and then we'll go. I'm just about done, I think. It's tiring when you're as rusty as I am, too." Carefully he got them moving, a slow but steady pace running along the wall so they were out of the way of the speedsters.

Aria
"All right!" She gave a happy hum as she kissed him back, and then followed him along the rink, letting him set the pace, and their path. "D'you think there are other places we can go skating? I wonder if there's places that do it at night. Can you imagine, like, skating under the stars?" She didn't have any ideas, but she could imagine people dancing on the ice, too, with little lights or something.

She refocused as she almost stumbled over a small chipped spot.

Pao
"There might be," he said, giving her hand a little squeeze when she nearly stumbled. "Not sure if it's around here, but if we get assigned to an outpost near another frozen lake, there's that option..." It was riskier, of course, given they wouldn't be familiar with the lake and the potential spots for thin ice and such concerns. "But probably other frozen winter type cities would have rinks like this too, not just New York. We could look it up?"

Aria
"Yeah that sounds good." She gave his hand a thank you squeeze in turn, and stayed close, but not so close she'd tangle up with him. "Man, though, those people who do this professional, like the ice dancers..." She'd managed to catch a few glimpses of that on tv from the Olympics in the past, by hiding in the hall by the doorway. "I don't know HOW they do this without getting themselves sliced to pieces! It's amazing."

Pao
"I kinda think hockey players have it tougher than the dancers," he said, glancing over to check on her. She seemed alright, a safe distance away that they wouldn't screw each other up somehow but close enough that he could help her in case she did stumble a little. "The aggression and all that, plus more skates on the ice and more risk of losing fingers."

He shuddered at the thought, grateful that nothing he did risked the loss of appendages, not counting, of course, what he did for a living now.

Aria
"I never saw any hockey but I suppose, yeah, that makes some kinda sense. Still, the way the Dancers move on the ice!" She sounded amazed. "Jumping and spinning, and lifting each other. I can't imagine how one would do that without breaking lots of bones. But then, I'm just barely getting how to balance here... And they probably start learning really ******** young."

She heard an annoyed 'REALLY' from some nearby mom-type with her toddler, and flushed that she'd slipped, especially after gently pointing it out to Rhys. She'd been so careful so far! "Ah... sorry!" She called out, her cheeks staying red.

Pao
The annoyed 'really' got him to turn and scowl at the Angry Mom, and even though Seren apologized he couldn't help himself. "Yes, ********' really," he shot back, and rather loudly, before picking up the pace. These stuck-up, "proper" types really just...

"Anyway," he grumbled, glancing back to see the Angry Mom fuming. "I've never seen hockey either, but yeah I get you. The dancing's more impressive, and nicer to look at too, I think."

Aria
Seren blushed at Rhys' reaction, though she didn't reprimand him or object... It sort of made her feel good, like he was defending her, even when it had been her error. She eeped a little as he picked up the pace, though she fought to keep up with him, her eyes wide.

"Ah... Yeah... That... certainly... Sounds logical." She was working harder to go as fast as he was, because the ice DID unnerve her still a bit.

Pao
It wasn't long before he noticed she was struggling so he slowed down again, glad to be some distance from where a small cluster of kids and potential Angry Moms were. They were nearing the entrance already so it wasn't that huge a deal, though.

"Yeah..." he mused, smiling as they finally made it back to the entrance. He stepped aside so she could had room to get off the ice, but he was beaming again. "You made it! How's it feel, babe?"

Aria
Her expression showed gratitude when he slowed down, and at the sight of the approaching entrance. The speed had definitely sapped the last of her energy for the moment. She followed him out, and had to use the wall for a moment to catch her breath.

She then hobbled back to the bench, in that awkward Ice Skate on Land walk, and their shoes, as she answered him. "It was mostly fun... but man I am exhausted. I think... maybe we should go drop stuff off at the apartment, take a nap, then get late lunch, then go shopping?" She dropped onto the bench, and began to work the skates off. "Unless you're hungry now, then we can eat... go drop stuff off, and shop? Maybe I'll be refreshed after some food."

Pao
Rhys followed her out, tired but not quite as tired as she seemed to be. Which was amusing to him but he only smiled, a little surprised because she didn't seem the sort to tire so easily...at least not back at Deus. He gave her suggestions some thought as he slipped out of his skates and back into his normal shoes.

"Nap and late lunch work for me," he eventually answered, "gotta watch the time though, maybe? Not sure what time the shops here close." At that he got up and offered her his hand again, a warm smile on his face. "We can check on our way back to the apartment, probably? If we can't sneak a nap in, dropping things off is still a good idea."

Aria
She finished switching her shoes, and stood, taking his hand happily. She carried her skates back to turn them in, and said "Yeah, ok, let's stop and see about timing." She had never done anything quite like this before, and the nervousness she'd had on top of it had drained her. It was like running, but way harder, because it was running while balancing on tiny scary knives that could cut a person pretty badly.

But it had still been fun.

They walked back to the front desk and got their stuff. "Let's get back to the Underground station then."

Pao
"Sure."

With that they made their way back out of the rink, him keeping a watchful eye on her as they went because she seemed particularly exhausted after the skating. Some rest would probably do her good, so as they sat in the subway on the ride back he gave her a nudge. "Power nap, babe, I know where our stop is. I can just wake you when we get there."

Aria
She blinked up at him, then gave him a bright, warm smile, before she snuggled into him, hugging her giant dinosaur plush close. She used his shoulder as a pillow, and let her eyes close. She really had used a lot more energy then she had thought, and she was soon out like a light against him, though not deep enough to make any sort of noises in her sleep. She did, however, nuzzle him a little.

Pao
He shot her a warm smile as well and settled into his seat so she could get comfortable, and sure enough she was snoozing within a couple of minutes. An older woman and some other girls around were smiling at them, much to his discomfort, but whenever he felt her nuzzle into him he couldn't help but smile that small, shy smile of his.

When they were almost to their stop though, he leaned over and gave her a soft kiss on the forehead. "Babe, we're almost there."

Aria
She blinked slowly, stirring at the kiss and gave a soft sigh. She was still feeling tired, but the nap had definitely given her the energy to, at the least, walk back to the apartment without feeling like she was gonna trip in her exhaustion. She yawned a little, covering her mouth with one hand, then straightened up, popping her back a bit. "Mmm all right..." When they got to their stop, she stood and headed out, her hand sliding back into his. She kept an eye out for shop signs, but there weren't as many here, as this was a primarily residential section of the city.

When they made it back to the apartment, she walked over to the small couch, and put the plush on it, before flopping down and laying her head on him. "Mmmm let's see about hours online, since we didn't get a good look out there..." But she didn't drag her phone out, she just looked comfortable.

Pao
The brunette chuckled as he watched her flop on the couch, pulling out his phone to snap a quick photo before following her and settling down on the floor beside her. "Online, sure," he murmured, again pulling out his phone so he could look up times. She seemed more tired than usual, and it wasn't a big thing to look stuff up in her stead.

"So what shops were we looking to visit?"

Aria
She made a face at him, after he took the photo, a teasing face, then smiled at him as he settled besides her. "Thanks, baby. I appreciate it." She reached over and brushed her fingers along his face, eyes full of love for him, and how much thoughtfulness he showed her every god damn day. It was amazing at times.

His question had her looking thoughtful. "Well, I was thinking a basic grocery store, where we can get shelf stable staples and some snacks to keep around... and um..." She went a little red faced. "Other necessities. Also, I need to visit a women's underthings store." She was redder still. "Preferably one with better quality then mother ******** Wal-Mart, which is where I used to have to go to get my stuff."

Pao
"No problem, babe," he said, looking up from his phone briefly and giving her a smile. When she reached over he again leaned into her touch slightly, a content hum escaping him before he started looking up these shops. He stopped at her second point and looked up, curious about why she'd go red over the word "necessities."

"Necessities like what?"

Aria
She looked at him, and stared for a long moment, then said, in a tone of embarrassment, "Women's supplies, babe." She looked up at the ceiling after that, her cheeks still red. She had been raised with the idea that one did not talk about this sort of stuff, and so she was feeling very awkward over it, and would rather not at spell it out at all.

She did, however, keep caressing him, this time by running her fingers through his soft hair.

Pao
When she said it, it still took a second for things to click and it was his turn to blush ever so slightly. "Gotcha," he replied slowly, "okay. So..."

He went silent and searched for a store that sold those as well as a lingerie store, because he was doing the search and she couldn't stop him. "Everything looks like it closes about 9pm, love," he said, a bit more relaxed now because her fingers through his hair was surprisingly soothing. "We have time to nap and eat?"

Aria
She half glanced at him out of the corner of her eyes when he said gotcha, and caught the blush. Yeah, he definitely figured it out, and she was glad she didn't need to spell it out. She wasn't sure either of them could handle it right now.

Eventually, maybe, they'd get used to it, but for now... They were still new in much of this.

She had almost drifted off, letting her fingers comb through his hair on auto, when he finally spoke. "Ah? Ahhhhhh I think... if we take a short nap, yeah. Maybe a half hour, forty-five minutes? Set an alarm?" She paused, then said "Rrrr need to move to the bed, or we can't really snuggle. Rrr moving." She managed to make herself get up, however, and started towards the bed.

Pao
"Short nap sounds good," he said as he moved to stand, smirking as he watched her struggle to get up. When she did though, on the way to the bedroom he scooped her up and carried her the rest of the way, gently laying her down on the bed once they got there.

"Snuggling sounds good too," said the brunette as he joined her after setting an alarm for forty-five minutes later, "thanks for moving, love." With that he pulled her close, arms around her as he snuggled in. A nap did sound amazing, especially now that they were cuddled up and comfortable in bed.

Aria
She just was not used to being carried around the way he did, but it always made her beam up at him, every time. She snuggled into the bed when he lay her down, kicking her shoes off, her arms held out to him for when he joined her.

She sighed happily and cuddled into him, her eyes closing and she murmured "Of course..." As she drifted off to sleep in his arms.

Pao
He drifted off to sleep soon after her, happy and comfortable and content.