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Linhardt was awoken rather unpleasantly by a knock on the door of his room. It was cold. Really cold. Looking up at his window, he could barely see anything through the frost.
“Who is it?” he called, voice still thick with sleep.
“I’m a guard. I’m here to report that classes have been cancelled today due to the blizzard last night freezing many of the monastery’s doors shut.”
“Well then, thank you for the alert.”
“Just doing my job.”
Linhardt waited for the heavy footsteps to fade out before laying his head back on the pillow. As annoying as it was to be woken up, he was always glad to be able to spend a day sleeping and reading alone in his dorm. So he smiled softly as he curled back up into the pocket of warmth under his comforter and closed his eyes.
Another knock. And just when he was about to drift back to sleep— how bothersome. “Go away,” he called, in the same tone one would normally say “come in,” (as if that made it any less rude.)
“Aww, you don’t want to see your boyfriend?” laughed a familiar voice. Caspar. Linhardt’s best friend, and as of approximately a month ago, his boyfriend as well.
“Well, I was really looking forward to some solitude today…” Linhardt teased.
“Oh. I’ll leave you alone then. Sorry I bothered you.” Caspar’s voice was filled with genuine disappointment.
“No, wait!” Linhardt said quickly. “I was only teasing. Of course you can come in.”
With that, Caspar burst through the door immediately, letting in a small flurry of snow before closing the door behind him. His face was tinged red, especially his nose, from the bite of the chilly air. Snowflakes clung to his icy blue hair, melting now in the relative warmth. He wasn’t wearing a coat. Smiling at Linhardt, he wiped his runny nose on his sleeve. Everything about him at the moment was incredibly cute, and that motivated Linhardt to roll out of bed and step toward him.
“Caspar! How long were you out there?”
“Oh, don’t worry, Lin. You know that a little cold can’t bother me.”
“Even so, wouldn’t wearing a coat be more comfortable in this weather?” Linhardt pointed to the frosty window.
“Maybe, but I’m trying to build up my temperature resistance. If I keep this up, I won’t even feel cold ever again.” the boy grinned, as if proud of such a clever idea.
Linhardt took the other boy’s hands into his own. They were cold, as expected. “More likely, you’ll get sick, or frostbitten. I doubt you could swing your axe half as well if your fingers fall off.”
“You don’t have to fuss over me so much, Linny! I know what I’m doing.”
“Do you really?” Linhardt deadpanned as he went to retrieve an extra blanket from the corner of the room.
“Of course I—” Caspar paused when the taller boy wrapped the blanket around him tightly. “Linnyyyyyy,” he groaned. “I told you not to fuss!”
“You still need to warm up. It’s still cold, even in here. I thought I was frozen when I woke up,” Linhardt settled down at his desk wrapped in a blanket of his own.
“It’s because of your thin arms! You wouldn’t feel so cold if you ate more.”
“Hmmm, there’s actually some merit to that. But why should I have to shove food down my face when I can just bundle up?”
“You gotta think long-term, Lin!” Caspar laughed.
Linhardt cocked his head. “Says the boy who charges at anything that moves without so much as a second thought. Anyway, I’m going to read my book. Feel free to sit on my bed if you want to.”
Caspar climbed onto Linhardt’s bed and leaned against the wall, the blanket still falling over his shoulders. “Booorinnng.” he whined.
“Well, what else is there to do in here? You can read anything you like.” Linhardt tossed a few volumes to him, and Caspar raised an eyebrow.
“These are all so long!” he complained.
“Well, it’s not like you have to finish them.”
With a sigh, the boy picked up one of the books and started thumbing through it.
Only an hour had passed, but Caspar had already abandoned the book in favor of pacing around the room incessantly.
Linhardt sighed. “Please sit still, Cas. This is starting to get annoying.”
“But I’m so bored!” he flopped back onto the bed, pulling the blanket around him again.
“Is my company so dull?” Linhardt teased. “I’ll lend you my jacket if you want to go outside.”
“No! I want to stay here with you!”
“Then why must you keep complaining?”
Caspar slapped a hand on his forehead. “Ugh, I’m the one who’s supposed to be dense. Come here, Linny!” he stretched his arms out wide.
Oh? So affection is what Caspar had been wanting. Linhardt had been so focused on his book that he missed the cues. Not that he was good with social cues in the first place. Well, in that case, he was happy to oblige. He climbed onto the bed, which creaked under the weight of the both of them, and curled against his boyfriend. Caspar wrapped an arm around him so that the blanket covered them both.
“If my attention is what you wanted, you could have just said so earlier.” Linhardt smiled.
“Dorothea told me that I’ve gotta be subtle, though. Well, I guess that was before she knew it was you that I liked. No one really predict the way that your brain works.”
“I think that it’s everyone else’s brain that’s unpredictable,” Linhardt laughed.
“You’re really smart, so maybe you’re right,” he stroked at his boyfriend’s silky green hair. “Wait, are you falling asleep? Don’t take a nap now, we’re cuddling!”
“But you’re so warm…” Linhardt said groggily, his head resting on Caspar’s shoulder. “Maybe if you talk about something interesting, I’ll be able to keep myself awake.”
Caspar paused. “Something interesting? Well, I don’t know if this counts as ‘interesting,’ but there’s something… something that I’ve been meaning to ask you.”
“Go ahead.” Linhardt nuzzled against him, causing him to blush even more deeply than he was already.
“Uh, I know that you don’t really like these kinds of things, but I was wondering…”
“Wondering what?” Linhardt had no idea what kind of question would make Caspar hesitate like that.
“Would you… be my date to the ball in a few weeks?”
Linhardt’s heart skipped a beat. Right, it was the beginning of the Ethereal Moon, the end of which marked the anniversary of Garreg Mach’s founding. The ball was a tradition. “Of course, Cas.”
“R- really? I would be just fine hanging out somewhere else if that’s what you’d prefer.”
He lifted his head up to face Caspar. “I think I could survive a social function if you’re by my side. And anyway, it’s not like we have to stay the whole time. We can come in and then leave together when we want.”
Caspar beamed; the kind of smile that could melt all the ice in the entire monastery. “That sounds awesome! I’m so excited!”
Charmed by his boyfriend’s eager eyes and adorably goofy grin, Linhardt pulled him even closer and gave him a kiss on the forehead. He enjoyed the way Caspar’s heart sped up. When he pulled back to see the boy’s flushed face, he smiled.
“Likewise.”