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Description
The weather's been getting warmer, slowly but steadily, and with each day of sunshine, Hanna gets even more chipper than usual. He hadn't really thought such a thing was possible, but it seems Hanna's constantly surprising him.

Case in point: he returns from his nightly walk to find Hanna already awake, dressed, and staring out the window with an obvious air of barely-contained excitement. The click of the door shutting makes him turn, his grin giant and welcoming as ever. "Amairgin!" (Apparently that's him for today. He'll have to look it up later; he's sure it's some historical figure or other. Hanna's depth of knowledge on that particular subject is another thing that keeps catching him by surprise.)

"I," Hanna says, pulling his attention back to the present, "have got awesome news. Ben called me to switch shifts so I have the DAY OFF, isn'tthatawesome? Look how nice it is outside already!" It's true, the sunrise had been particularly pretty, pinkish purple sky turning to a bright, clear blue. Hanna hops across the bed, clearing the length of the apartment within three steps to end up at his side, still beaming. "So we're going out. It's going to be great! I've got all kinds of plans."

He's very slightly dubious at the thought of what sort of plans Hanna might come up with, but enthusiasm like that really isn't something that can- or should- be discouraged. He likes seeing Hanna happy. And how much trouble could Hanna possibly get himself into in daylight, anyway? "Alright," he says, apparently all the permission Hanna needs to open the door and drag him back out into the world.

+++

Hanna's plans start with a street vendor pretzel ("What? This totally counts as breakfast! It's the first thing I'm eating today, right? So that means it's breakfast."), followed by a walk down to the park. They sit on the grass to watch kids playing soccer while Hanna finishes eating, talking at length about the relative merits of dinosaurs versus dragons between mouthfuls. He listens, amused, occasionally interjecting a point in favor of one side ("There's no proof Utahraptors couldn't breathe fire") or the other ("Pteranodons didn't have fangs, though"), which is more than enough to keep Hanna going on progressively improbable tangents.

They get some odd looks from some of the parents sitting nearby, but he's used to getting looks, and Hanna doesn't seem to notice. So long as it keeps making Hanna grin, he's perfectly content to keep his end of their strange conversations going. The occasional surprised, pleased looks Hanna shoots him are just a particularly nice bonus.

Once the pretzel's gone, and the battle decided semi-definitively for Team Dragon, Hanna stands, dusts grass off his jeans, and puts out a hand to help him up. And then uses that hand to drag him along. "So, I'm not aaallll that sure how you'll like this next part? But I think it'll be good!"

He tries very hard not to find that ominous.

+++

The next part, it turns out, is ice skating. There's a small rink in the park, not very crowded despite the nice weather. He eyes the ice dubiously. Hanna, oblivious, rents two pairs of skates and plops down on a bench to start lacing his on.

"I think..." he says, and Hanna glances up, "I might just watch. I'm not certain I know how, anyway." And the ice would be very damp and hard and unpleasant, if he were to fall. Not good.

Hanna's frowning at him, paused in the middle of tying a lopsided bow. "Aw. Are you sure? Maybe you'd remember once you're out there."

Maybe. That's true. But still... "No, I'm sure. It's alright, I'd rather watch you, anyway. Just try not to.." He gives this a moment's consideration, ignoring the growing smirk on Hanna's face that's threatening to become a full-blown grin. "Be careful," he settles on, passing up the more accurate 'try not to crash into anyone' or less polite 'don't fall on your ass and break anything, please.'

"Try not to be careful? Hm! That's a new one, I'll see what I can do!" Hanna's giggling as he stands and clomps away. He sighs, amused despite himself, and goes to lean on the railing surrounding the rink. At least he'll be nearby to help, if Hanna ends up bleeding.

But somehow, amazingly, Hanna is much more coordinated when balanced on what amount to skinny knives strapped onto boots. He zips around the rink, circling it twice before coming over to the rail, already looking flushed and happy. "Are you sure you don't want to try? I'll help you learn, if you don't remember how."

He can't help but smile at that, which of course makes Hanna very nearly bounce in place- he can practically hear the imaginary tick mark being added to Hanna's mental list. He's a little surprised himself that he doesn't smile more, considering how much time he spends with Hanna. Hanna is the sort of person who prompts smiles. "Maybe in a little while. I don't want to slow you down." He waves out at the nearly empty ice, the perfect playing field for someone to go tearing around in reckless circles at top speed.

Hanna glances over his shoulder, nodding to himself in apparent satisfaction at a day well-planned. When he turns back, though, he's looking worried. "Oh.. But I don't mind! We can keep it slow, that's cool too. It'll be more fun with you anyway."

And he really does seem like he means that. Oh, Hanna. How the boy hadn't already had an eager and devoted fan club following him around before he came along is really beyond him. "I'll join you in a bit. I promise," he adds, when Hanna still looks mulish and inclined to argue. "But have some fun without me first. Even if I remember how, I doubt I'll be able to manage going very fast. And I really do like watching, anyway." It's always interesting to see Hanna do things he's good at, and this seems to be one of them.

"Well.." Hanna tips his head, looking up at him over the tops of his glasses. There's a tiny, amused sort of smile quirking the corner of his lips; he's not sure what that's about. "Okay, I guess. If you're sure. But I'll be back in a little bit! So put your skates on, okay? Oh!" He brightens up, skates a little closer to grab the top of the railing and hoist himself up. "C'mere! I almost forgot."

After a moment of rummaging, Hanna produces his (battered, well-loved) camera from one of the pockets of his coat, holding it up with a flourish. One of the cabinet doors in their tiny kitchen stands as a testament to Hanna's occasional flair for photography, a dozen snapshots (Hanna with himself, Toni, Veser, a particularly irritable Worth, an apparently empty bar stool that had actually been holding Conrad at the time) covering the dirty formica. They make him smile a little every time he sees them, though since it's usually while he's making breakfast he doubts if those have ended up on Hanna's tally.

But he's smiling now, and he knows that one's being added to the list. With Hanna perched on the rail, they're nearly the same height, so it's easy enough to lean in and let Hanna click away. The flash is still blurring his eyes (four pictures in a row- Hanna seems to like taking extras) when Hanna hops down off the rail and pushes the camera into his hands. "You can take pictures too, if you want! Maybe something funny will happen- maybe I'll fall on my butt, haha!" And he's off again.

Hanna doesn't fall, or even come close. A boy of maybe seven does fall, though, trying to keep up with him, and Hanna skates back to help him up, smiling and talking with him, skating backwards to help him get going again. Hanna looks over, gives him a wave and a grin; he waves back, and once Hanna's turned away again the camera goes click, click, click.

+++

He can't just watch all day, he knows. After all, he promised. So he takes a moment to put on his skates, then sit there a moment longer, just looking at them. He's meant to stand on those? This is not seeming like a good idea.

"Amairgin? Oh!" Hanna's back at the rail, badly suppressing a laugh. "You don't look so thrilled. C'mon, if I can do it then you definitely can, right?" This does not exactly have sound logic behind it. But he did promise, and how hard could it be? So he stands, hesitantly, and makes his way over to the door onto the rink, where Hanna's already waiting.

Some part of him had been hoping that he would suddenly remember how to do this as soon as he steps onto the ice, that it would come to him as naturally as it does for Hanna, but it seems that's not to be. He wobbles a little, puts his arms out to balance himself, slides forward a foot or two without meaning to. This.. could be bad.

"Naw, hey, don't make that face. We'll go slow, okay?" Hanna swerves around to get in front of him, grabbing onto his hands to pull him along. He gets the hang of it after a little bit; he doubt he'll be speeding around any time soon, but he's at least in less danger of falling on his face. Hanna could probably let go, but hasn't, and he doesn't see the need to say anything about it.

They're getting looks again- the 'what are they doing' sort, the 'what's with that guy' sort, and another he's not sure he can read so easily. Hanna ends up being the one to interpret for him, albeit inadvertently. "Hey- those girls are checking you out!" He sounds amused, but something in his expression looks wistful. The girls in question are on the other side of the rail, watching and giggling and giving him- or them- plenty of glances.

It's quite possible they're actually looking at Hanna, not him; the two of them are pretty close together, even now that he's nearly skating on his own. And if they're looking at Hanna, he should really encourage him to go chat with them- as far as he's concerned, Hanna deserves any kind of happiness the universe wants to throw at him. But still... "I'm not sure it's me they're interested in," he says, pulling his hands from Hanna's. "But you should go talk to them, if you'd like."

Hanna blinks up at him, surprised, and looks back over at the girls. "Are you sure? They're pretty cute. And they probably wouldn't mind that you're, y'know, dead. Some people don't." He rather doubts that, which apparently shows in his expression. "Some people don't! I don't." Which is true.

"You're a special case, I think. But either way, I'm not interested. It's alright."

Hanna's got that secretive, pleased smile again. "Yeah?" he says, "okay, then." And he reaches out, tangling their fingers together to pull him along again. His surprised look apparently isn't very subtle; Hanna grins at him. "I'm not interested, either! They can look all they want."

+++

They circle the rink a few times without any mishaps, and finally Hanna lets go of his hand, gesturing for him to skate a little on his own. He manages an only slightly wobbly loop around Hanna, coming to a stop (or trying to, anyway- he still slides a little) in front of him. He holds out his arms in a 'ta-da' gesture, and Hanna claps, skating a little closer.

"Awesome job! Best student ever. We'll get you speed skates next time, then you can really kick some ass." Hanna can't quite manage to keep a straight face for that, though, and dissolves into snickers after a moment. "Okay okay sorry, it's not you! You're doing great, seriously, fastest learner I've ever seen. I'm just picturing you playing hockey." Which, fair enough, is indeed very funny. Though maybe not funny enough to warrant Hanna's current level of amusement. "We'd need so much thread to fix you, hahaha!"

"You're laughing over me falling to pieces?" He gives Hanna a prod to the ribs that makes him squeak and jump and then laugh harder. "That isn't very nice at all, you know. Maybe I'll go talk to those girls after all." He means to half-turn away, but it results instead in him slipping backwards, nearly having to flail to keep his balance.

Fortunately, Hanna's got quick reflexes. "Oh- wait!" Hanna's still laughing, even as he grabs his coat to pull him upright and reel him in. "Man, I even got you to tease me, this day is awesome. It's been awesome, right?" This last is said with some degree of seriousness; it makes him pause, considering his answer carefully.

"Yes," he decides at last, "I think that would be an accurate description."

Hanna beams, disentangling a hand from his coat to reach up, settling it on his shoulder instead. "Good," he says, and pulls him down, and kisses him.

It's too brief for him to even react, much less decide how to react. He settles for blinking at Hanna, since whatever he's feeling over this (and he's not sure, yet, exactly what that might be), surprise is definitely a large part of it.

"Oh, um." Hanna grins up at him, a little sheepish, a lot hopeful. "This is a date. Did I forget to mention it? Or.. ask?"

"You did, yes." Hanna's grin falters. His heart doesn't beat anymore, but that expression on Hanna's face still makes something in his chest twinge unhappily. This wasn't anything he had seen coming, but there isn't much he ever sees coming when Hanna's involved- and the spontaneity is part of the fun (even if it's also part of the stress). It seems silly to balk at this, now, when he's gone along for the ride so many other times, and with nowhere near as pleasant a possible outcome.

He hooks a finger through one of Hanna's belt loops to pull him closer. "But the answer's yes. If you're asking now." Hanna looks up again, eyes wide and startled. "I'd love to go out with you. I'm glad you asked."

For a moment Hanna just looks at him, assessing- trying to read something in his expression, apparently, though he can't imagine what. He's sincere, and presumably it shows, so he lets Hanna look. His eventual reward is a slow, thrilled grin, growing huge and bright just like that morning's sunrise. "Yeah? That's cool, cos I've got some great stuff planned for us. I think you'll like it."

"I think so, too," he says, smiling for what seems like the hundredth time today as he leans down to kiss Hanna again.

Description
The weather's been getting warmer, slowly but steadily, and with each day of sunshine, Hanna gets even more chipper than usual. He hadn't really thought such a thing was possible, but it seems Hanna's constantly surprising him.

Case in point: he returns from his nightly walk to find Hanna already awake, dressed, and staring out the window with an obvious air of barely-contained excitement. The click of the door shutting makes him turn, his grin giant and welcoming as ever. "Amairgin!" (Apparently that's him for today. He'll have to look it up later; he's sure it's some historical figure or other. Hanna's depth of knowledge on that particular subject is another thing that keeps catching him by surprise.)

"I," Hanna says, pulling his attention back to the present, "have got awesome news. Ben called me to switch shifts so I have the DAY OFF, isn'tthatawesome? Look how nice it is outside already!" It's true, the sunrise had been particularly pretty, pinkish purple sky turning to a bright, clear blue. Hanna hops across the bed, clearing the length of the apartment within three steps to end up at his side, still beaming. "So we're going out. It's going to be great! I've got all kinds of plans."

He's very slightly dubious at the thought of what sort of plans Hanna might come up with, but enthusiasm like that really isn't something that can- or should- be discouraged. He likes seeing Hanna happy. And how much trouble could Hanna possibly get himself into in daylight, anyway? "Alright," he says, apparently all the permission Hanna needs to open the door and drag him back out into the world.

+++

Hanna's plans start with a street vendor pretzel ("What? This totally counts as breakfast! It's the first thing I'm eating today, right? So that means it's breakfast."), followed by a walk down to the park. They sit on the grass to watch kids playing soccer while Hanna finishes eating, talking at length about the relative merits of dinosaurs versus dragons between mouthfuls. He listens, amused, occasionally interjecting a point in favor of one side ("There's no proof Utahraptors couldn't breathe fire") or the other ("Pteranodons didn't have fangs, though"), which is more than enough to keep Hanna going on progressively improbable tangents.

They get some odd looks from some of the parents sitting nearby, but he's used to getting looks, and Hanna doesn't seem to notice. So long as it keeps making Hanna grin, he's perfectly content to keep his end of their strange conversations going. The occasional surprised, pleased looks Hanna shoots him are just a particularly nice bonus.

Once the pretzel's gone, and the battle decided semi-definitively for Team Dragon, Hanna stands, dusts grass off his jeans, and puts out a hand to help him up. And then uses that hand to drag him along. "So, I'm not aaallll that sure how you'll like this next part? But I think it'll be good!"

He tries very hard not to find that ominous.

+++

The next part, it turns out, is ice skating. There's a small rink in the park, not very crowded despite the nice weather. He eyes the ice dubiously. Hanna, oblivious, rents two pairs of skates and plops down on a bench to start lacing his on.

"I think..." he says, and Hanna glances up, "I might just watch. I'm not certain I know how, anyway." And the ice would be very damp and hard and unpleasant, if he were to fall. Not good.

Hanna's frowning at him, paused in the middle of tying a lopsided bow. "Aw. Are you sure? Maybe you'd remember once you're out there."

Maybe. That's true. But still... "No, I'm sure. It's alright, I'd rather watch you, anyway. Just try not to.." He gives this a moment's consideration, ignoring the growing smirk on Hanna's face that's threatening to become a full-blown grin. "Be careful," he settles on, passing up the more accurate 'try not to crash into anyone' or less polite 'don't fall on your ass and break anything, please.'

"Try not to be careful? Hm! That's a new one, I'll see what I can do!" Hanna's giggling as he stands and clomps away. He sighs, amused despite himself, and goes to lean on the railing surrounding the rink. At least he'll be nearby to help, if Hanna ends up bleeding.

But somehow, amazingly, Hanna is much more coordinated when balanced on what amount to skinny knives strapped onto boots. He zips around the rink, circling it twice before coming over to the rail, already looking flushed and happy. "Are you sure you don't want to try? I'll help you learn, if you don't remember how."

He can't help but smile at that, which of course makes Hanna very nearly bounce in place- he can practically hear the imaginary tick mark being added to Hanna's mental list. He's a little surprised himself that he doesn't smile more, considering how much time he spends with Hanna. Hanna is the sort of person who prompts smiles. "Maybe in a little while. I don't want to slow you down." He waves out at the nearly empty ice, the perfect playing field for someone to go tearing around in reckless circles at top speed.

Hanna glances over his shoulder, nodding to himself in apparent satisfaction at a day well-planned. When he turns back, though, he's looking worried. "Oh.. But I don't mind! We can keep it slow, that's cool too. It'll be more fun with you anyway."

And he really does seem like he means that. Oh, Hanna. How the boy hadn't already had an eager and devoted fan club following him around before he came along is really beyond him. "I'll join you in a bit. I promise," he adds, when Hanna still looks mulish and inclined to argue. "But have some fun without me first. Even if I remember how, I doubt I'll be able to manage going very fast. And I really do like watching, anyway." It's always interesting to see Hanna do things he's good at, and this seems to be one of them.

"Well.." Hanna tips his head, looking up at him over the tops of his glasses. There's a tiny, amused sort of smile quirking the corner of his lips; he's not sure what that's about. "Okay, I guess. If you're sure. But I'll be back in a little bit! So put your skates on, okay? Oh!" He brightens up, skates a little closer to grab the top of the railing and hoist himself up. "C'mere! I almost forgot."

After a moment of rummaging, Hanna produces his (battered, well-loved) camera from one of the pockets of his coat, holding it up with a flourish. One of the cabinet doors in their tiny kitchen stands as a testament to Hanna's occasional flair for photography, a dozen snapshots (Hanna with himself, Toni, Veser, a particularly irritable Worth, an apparently empty bar stool that had actually been holding Conrad at the time) covering the dirty formica. They make him smile a little every time he sees them, though since it's usually while he's making breakfast he doubts if those have ended up on Hanna's tally.

But he's smiling now, and he knows that one's being added to the list. With Hanna perched on the rail, they're nearly the same height, so it's easy enough to lean in and let Hanna click away. The flash is still blurring his eyes (four pictures in a row- Hanna seems to like taking extras) when Hanna hops down off the rail and pushes the camera into his hands. "You can take pictures too, if you want! Maybe something funny will happen- maybe I'll fall on my butt, haha!" And he's off again.

Hanna doesn't fall, or even come close. A boy of maybe seven does fall, though, trying to keep up with him, and Hanna skates back to help him up, smiling and talking with him, skating backwards to help him get going again. Hanna looks over, gives him a wave and a grin; he waves back, and once Hanna's turned away again the camera goes click, click, click.

+++

He can't just watch all day, he knows. After all, he promised. So he takes a moment to put on his skates, then sit there a moment longer, just looking at them. He's meant to stand on those? This is not seeming like a good idea.

"Amairgin? Oh!" Hanna's back at the rail, badly suppressing a laugh. "You don't look so thrilled. C'mon, if I can do it then you definitely can, right?" This does not exactly have sound logic behind it. But he did promise, and how hard could it be? So he stands, hesitantly, and makes his way over to the door onto the rink, where Hanna's already waiting.

Some part of him had been hoping that he would suddenly remember how to do this as soon as he steps onto the ice, that it would come to him as naturally as it does for Hanna, but it seems that's not to be. He wobbles a little, puts his arms out to balance himself, slides forward a foot or two without meaning to. This.. could be bad.

"Naw, hey, don't make that face. We'll go slow, okay?" Hanna swerves around to get in front of him, grabbing onto his hands to pull him along. He gets the hang of it after a little bit; he doubt he'll be speeding around any time soon, but he's at least in less danger of falling on his face. Hanna could probably let go, but hasn't, and he doesn't see the need to say anything about it.

They're getting looks again- the 'what are they doing' sort, the 'what's with that guy' sort, and another he's not sure he can read so easily. Hanna ends up being the one to interpret for him, albeit inadvertently. "Hey- those girls are checking you out!" He sounds amused, but something in his expression looks wistful. The girls in question are on the other side of the rail, watching and giggling and giving him- or them- plenty of glances.

It's quite possible they're actually looking at Hanna, not him; the two of them are pretty close together, even now that he's nearly skating on his own. And if they're looking at Hanna, he should really encourage him to go chat with them- as far as he's concerned, Hanna deserves any kind of happiness the universe wants to throw at him. But still... "I'm not sure it's me they're interested in," he says, pulling his hands from Hanna's. "But you should go talk to them, if you'd like."

Hanna blinks up at him, surprised, and looks back over at the girls. "Are you sure? They're pretty cute. And they probably wouldn't mind that you're, y'know, dead. Some people don't." He rather doubts that, which apparently shows in his expression. "Some people don't! I don't." Which is true.

"You're a special case, I think. But either way, I'm not interested. It's alright."

Hanna's got that secretive, pleased smile again. "Yeah?" he says, "okay, then." And he reaches out, tangling their fingers together to pull him along again. His surprised look apparently isn't very subtle; Hanna grins at him. "I'm not interested, either! They can look all they want."

+++

They circle the rink a few times without any mishaps, and finally Hanna lets go of his hand, gesturing for him to skate a little on his own. He manages an only slightly wobbly loop around Hanna, coming to a stop (or trying to, anyway- he still slides a little) in front of him. He holds out his arms in a 'ta-da' gesture, and Hanna claps, skating a little closer.

"Awesome job! Best student ever. We'll get you speed skates next time, then you can really kick some ass." Hanna can't quite manage to keep a straight face for that, though, and dissolves into snickers after a moment. "Okay okay sorry, it's not you! You're doing great, seriously, fastest learner I've ever seen. I'm just picturing you playing hockey." Which, fair enough, is indeed very funny. Though maybe not funny enough to warrant Hanna's current level of amusement. "We'd need so much thread to fix you, hahaha!"

"You're laughing over me falling to pieces?" He gives Hanna a prod to the ribs that makes him squeak and jump and then laugh harder. "That isn't very nice at all, you know. Maybe I'll go talk to those girls after all." He means to half-turn away, but it results instead in him slipping backwards, nearly having to flail to keep his balance.

Fortunately, Hanna's got quick reflexes. "Oh- wait!" Hanna's still laughing, even as he grabs his coat to pull him upright and reel him in. "Man, I even got you to tease me, this day is awesome. It's been awesome, right?" This last is said with some degree of seriousness; it makes him pause, considering his answer carefully.

"Yes," he decides at last, "I think that would be an accurate description."

Hanna beams, disentangling a hand from his coat to reach up, settling it on his shoulder instead. "Good," he says, and pulls him down, and kisses him.

It's too brief for him to even react, much less decide how to react. He settles for blinking at Hanna, since whatever he's feeling over this (and he's not sure, yet, exactly what that might be), surprise is definitely a large part of it.

"Oh, um." Hanna grins up at him, a little sheepish, a lot hopeful. "This is a date. Did I forget to mention it? Or.. ask?"

"You did, yes." Hanna's grin falters. His heart doesn't beat anymore, but that expression on Hanna's face still makes something in his chest twinge unhappily. This wasn't anything he had seen coming, but there isn't much he ever sees coming when Hanna's involved- and the spontaneity is part of the fun (even if it's also part of the stress). It seems silly to balk at this, now, when he's gone along for the ride so many other times, and with nowhere near as pleasant a possible outcome.

He hooks a finger through one of Hanna's belt loops to pull him closer. "But the answer's yes. If you're asking now." Hanna looks up again, eyes wide and startled. "I'd love to go out with you. I'm glad you asked."

For a moment Hanna just looks at him, assessing- trying to read something in his expression, apparently, though he can't imagine what. He's sincere, and presumably it shows, so he lets Hanna look. His eventual reward is a slow, thrilled grin, growing huge and bright just like that morning's sunrise. "Yeah? That's cool, cos I've got some great stuff planned for us. I think you'll like it."

"I think so, too," he says, smiling for what seems like the hundredth time today as he leans down to kiss Hanna again.