Chapter Text
Aaron's phone rang, Andrew's name flashing across the screen. He fumbled to answer it, fingers almost numb from the cold. “Did you find them?”
“I just got them into the car,” Andrew answered. “Meet me back at the house.”
Earlier that night, Ichirou had called to wish Kevin and Neil a happy New Year. Kevin had panicked and left, and Neil had followed to calm him down and bring him back. An hour later they still hadn't returned, and the twins realised the car was still in the driveway. Kevin's phone went straight to voicemail, and when they tried Neil's they found it left carelessly on the kitchen counter. So they'd set out, Andrew in the car and Aaron on foot, figuring the two couldn't have gotten far. That had been an hour and a half ago.
When Aaron got back to the house he found Andrew hauling a sluggish Neil out of the passenger seat. “Get Kevin,” he grunted, gesturing to the back seat.
Aaron pulled the door open and found Kevin slumped over, but when he touched his shoulder the striker slowly blinked up at him. He managed to get Kevin into the house, asking a few questions to check his responsiveness on the way in. Kevin wasn’t quite up to forming words, but he could nod and seemed to follow what Aaron was saying, which seemed like a good sign. They found Andrew in Nicky's room, helping Neil take off his boots. Aaron sat Kevin down next to Neil at the end of the bed and tried to remember what he'd learned in his first aid course the year before.
“We need to get them out of these clothes,” he told Andrew, pulling at Kevin’s laces. His brother glared at him but he pressed on. “They're cold and damp, they'll only make things worse. I can look away if you're worried about Neil's modesty or whatever, but he can't stay in those. We need to warm them up gradually, blankets would work but—” he hesitated.
“What.”
Aaron forced himself to continue, trying to be clinical. “Body heat works best,” he admitted. “We should each lie down with one of them, it's the fastest and safest way to warm them up.”
“Fine,” Andrew said, blank-faced. “I'll take Neil upstairs and you can stay here with Kevin. What do I need to look out for?”
“Check his fingers and toes when you strip him down,” Aaron told him, pulling off Kevin's second boot. “If the skin is white, blue, purple, or black we need to treat for frostbite and probably go to the hospital. Otherwise, they'll probably be tired but as long as they're both warming up it's fine for them to sleep. I'll give Abby a call too and check if there's anything else we should be doing.”
Andrew stood from where he had finished removing Neil's boots and coat. He walked to the door of the bedroom and by the sounds of it, threw all the boots and coats towards the mat at the front door. When he got back he pulled Neil up and started to lead him out of the room, but Neil’s body clearly wasn’t catching up quick enough for Andrew. He ran out of patience before they even got to the door and scooped Neil up in his arms, carrying him towards the stairs. For a moment Aaron had a vivid flashback to the first time they took Neil to Columbia, when he got himself knocked out and Andrew had to carry him to the car and into the house in much the same way.
Suddenly Kevin shivered violently, and Aaron remembered that he had his own matters to deal with. He was pretty sure the shivering was a good sign.
“You with me?” he asked.
“Y-yeah,” Kevin stuttered. “S-so c-c-c-cold.”
“I know, I’m going to try to help you with that,” Aaron told him. “We need to get your damp shirt and jeans off, okay? They’re making you colder.”
Aaron helped Kevin out of his shirt and then tugged him up off the bed, but Kevin’s fingers were still too numb to work the button on his pants. Aaron made himself push past how weird this was, and undid the button himself before pulling down his friend’s jeans and helping him step out of them.
He pulled back the covers and got Kevin lying down and tucked in before he remembered he was going to call Abby. He took out his phone and dialed the nurse, putting it on speaker. He tossed the phone onto the bed before he took off his own jeans, which were still cold from walking around outside for an hour looking for Neil and Kevin. Then he felt stupid standing there in boxers and a t-shirt, so he peeled off his shirt too, reminding himself that he was only doing this so Kevin wouldn’t die of hypothermia.
Abby finally picked up just as Aaron was climbing in on the other side of the bed from Kevin. “Aaron? Is everything okay?” she asked.
“Yeah, sorry for calling so late,” he started, picking up the phone and moving closer to Kevin. “Kevin and Neil were outside for two and a half hours tonight, I think they have mild to moderate hypothermia.”
“What happened?” Abby asked. “Are they responsive?”
“They're responsive, Kevin's right here with me.” He could still feel his friend trembling. “He's shivering pretty badly, I'll make him explain what happened in the morning.”
“You need to check their skin—” Abby began.
“For frostbite,” Aaron cut her off, “I know. I didn't find any signs of it, seems like he was smart enough to put his hood up and keep his hands in his pockets.”
“What about Neil?” Abby demanded.
“He's upstairs with Andrew, whatever you tell me I'll pass on to him.”
“If there's no frostbite and they were both responsive, you just need to warm them up slowly,” Abby said. “Don’t put them in a warm bath or in front of the fire, and be gentle with them. Too much heat at once or vigorous contact could shock their systems. Just get them each under some warm blankets. Skin-to-skin contact with another person is the best way to regulate the body’s temperature, so if you can get someone lying down with each of them that would be best.”
“And that’s it?” Aaron asked. “It’s fine for them to go to sleep, right?”
“Yes, they’re probably very tired by this point,” Abby said. “And sleep helps the body heal. As long as they’re warming up and they don’t develop other symptoms, it’s fine for them to rest. You and Andrew should get some rest too, okay? Call me back in the morning and let me know how everyone’s doing.”
“Okay,” Aaron agreed. “Thanks, Abby.”
They hung up, and Aaron sent a quick text to Andrew to pass on what Abby had said. Then he set his phone aside and, steeling himself, closed the final distance between him and Kevin. Kevin was curled on his side facing away from Aaron, and he flinched a bit when Aaron put a hand on his bare shoulder.
“Did you hear what Abby said?” Aaron asked gently. “Skin-to-skin contact is the best way to warm you up right now.” Slowly, he scooted even closer and wrapped his arm around Kevin, pulling him closer until his chest was pressed against Kevin’s back. “Is this okay?”
A shuddering sigh escaped Kevin. He might have nodded, but Aaron couldn’t tell.
“I need to hear you, Kevin,” he prompted, more to check if Kevin was still responsive than anything else. “Is this okay?”
“Yeah,” Kevin finally got out. “Th-thanks.”
Satisfied that Kevin was still doing okay, Aaron tried to relax and think of something to distract himself. He knew he wouldn’t be able to sleep any time soon, not with Kevin cold and shivering against him. He found himself shifting imperceptibly closer, molding his body to Kevin’s so his friend could get as much heat out of Aaron as possible.
As Kevin’s shivers slowly subsided, Aaron thought about the turn his life had taken. He hadn’t held anyone like this since before his breakup with Katelyn over the summer. He’d certainly never had this much contact with a man. On a good day he could tolerate a hug from Nicky, but it was rare that his cousin even tried that these days. The most affection he’d received in months was a fist bump from Matt after a good play, or a pat on the shoulder from Abby or Wymack.
He hadn’t realized how much he missed it.
*
When Kevin woke up, he felt inexplicably safe. No sooner had he registered the thought than he realized that the warmth surrounding him wasn't just from the blankets, but from an arm around his chest, a warm body molded to his back.
The events of the night before came back to him. The call from Ichirou. Running out of the house, not knowing where he was going, just needing to move. Neil catching up to him, not speaking, just running beside him in solidarity until he tired himself out.
When he finally slowed down, Neil had told him it was time to go home. That was around the time that they realized they had no idea where they were. Kevin had pulled his phone out to look for directions or call Andrew, but the battery was dead. Apparently it wasn't made to stand up against the record-cold temperatures that night. Neil hadn't even had his phone on him.
Kevin had lost track of how much time passed after that before Andrew found them. All he knew was that by the time he collapsed into the back seat of the car, the sweat from his run had gone cold and clammy, and he didn't even have the energy to shiver anymore.
Then Aaron had taken over, and Kevin had finally started to thaw. And apparently Aaron had taken his job very seriously, because he was still wrapped around Kevin now. He didn't think he'd ever been held like this. He and Thea had certainly never felt safe enough to spend a night together in the Nest.
He knew he should get up, but he wanted to savour this warm, secure feeling. A glance told him that it was still dark out; the light that he had assumed meant morning was actually just the ceiling light that Aaron had apparently left on. Maybe he could stay for a few more minutes. He closed his eyes, and was asleep again in seconds.
*
That night, Aaron was getting ready for bed when Kevin knocked on his door. They hadn't really talked since the morning, when Aaron had done a perfunctory check of Kevin's vitals and declared that he should rest more, preferably in front of the fire now that he had warmed up slowly overnight.
Now, Kevin was standing in Aaron’s doorway wrapped up in the comforter from Nicky’s bed.
“What is it?” Aaron asked.
“I’m freezing,” Kevin said. “Can I sleep in here?”
Aaron let him into the room, reaching up to feel his forehead. His temperature seemed fine, certainly not low enough to necessitate sharing a bed again. Aaron remembered how nice it had been, waking up this morning curled around Kevin, and promptly decided not to mention how unnecessary he thought this was.
“Sure,” he said.
He gestured Kevin over to the bed, closing the door behind him. Kevin settled down with his back to Aaron, who turned off the lights and crossed the room to climb in behind the striker.
He lay at the edge of the single bed, not sure where the lines were tonight. He didn’t know if Kevin was here for the warmth of another body, the security of not being alone in the room, or something else entirely. He was afraid to close the distance and find out. Aaron lay unmoving for minutes on end, unable to fully relax as he waited for Kevin to fall asleep.
Just when Aaron thought he heard Kevin’s breathing start to even out, he huffed and twisted to face Aaron. He didn’t say a word, just reached back and pulled on Aaron’s arm. Aaron got the picture, scooting over and holding Kevin like he had the night before.
*
Kevin relaxed in Aaron’s arms. He knew eventually they would have to talk about this if he wanted it to continue, but for now he was content to make his excuses and get another good night of sleep. He was pretty sure Aaron had seen right through him and let him in anyway, which was probably a good sign.
He thought he felt a kiss press into his back minutes or hours later, but it was there and gone in a second, and then sleep was pulling him under.