Work Text:
I can’t feel my fingers anymore.
The cold has reduced the circulation of blood in my extremities, and staying out here any longer will probably result in serious frost bite.
I wonder again whether this trip outside was strictly necessary in this winter storm, enough to risk any long-term health issues. But work is work, and my colleagues would have been in trouble without my presence at today’s meeting.
Perhaps Patton is rubbing off on me.
I fumble with the keys, trying to fit one into the keyhole. But my fingers refuse to function-- or maybe they are functioning, and I just can’t feel them. This is ridic–
The door swings open and I stumble inside in surprise.
“Woah.”
Warm air envelops me, and I sigh into my scarf.
Safe.
I’m safe.
Then I noice who’s holding my shoulders, looking down at me with visible concern, his eyeshadow a tad heavier than usual. Or maybe those are actually dark circles.
“You ok, Specs?” He asks, and then he’s shutting the door and cutting off the wretched cold.
“Virgil,” I say, realizing my teeth are chattering. My body trying to regulate warmth. Too little too late. “Why are you awake at this hour?”
He gives me a long look, scanning me up and down, before replying. “We all waited for you. You look… cold.”
“My face is numb and I have lost all feeling in my fingers and toes. My body did not take well to this weather-- nothing some time indoors won’t fix.” I move past him, slapping my boots against the welcome mat to get rid of the snow. “Why were you waiting for me?” I pause. “…Did I forget some important event?”
“Nerdy wolverine! ”
Something-- or some one , I quickly realize, as warm arms wrap tightly around me-- slams into my side.
“Help us pick a movie. Jan doesn’t want to watch Tangled.”
“We’ve watched every Disney movie so many times, I’ve memorized the lines!” Janus’s voice floats from somewhere indoors.
“… Lo! ” Then Patton’s here, prying Roman off of me, letting me breathe, but also depriving me from the added warmth. “Oh my gosh, your skin is blue ,” he says, his fingers flitting over my face.
“I thought something was different,” Roman says, bending down to look at my face. “I was going to say he changed his hair or something.”
I blink at their worried faces, trying to come up with a coherent response to that.
But the cold seems to have made my thoughts freeze, too. I think all I’m capable of now is collapsing on my bed.
“Okay, coming through,” Virgil says, and I feel his hands on my shoulders again, as he maneuvers me into the living room sofas. He pushes me down next to Remus, who’s watching me unblinkingly, chewing on a stick of deodorant.
“I’ll get your coffee!” Patton calls from somewhere, along with Roman chiming, “And I shall retrieve your blankets.”
“What’s all the fuss about?” Janus asks, peeking over Virgil’s shoulder. He raises an unimpressed brow. “So none of you let him take off his shoes or coat? Brilliant thinking.”
I look down, and follow the trail of muddy footprints from my boots through the living room.
Some part of me remembers of be scandalized, and I wonder how it slipped my mind.
“Whoops,” Virgil chuckles, but he just settles on my other side.
“Careful.” Remus says, leaning over to pull my woolen scarf away from my face. “You might just melt into a puddle of blood and guts on the cushions.”
That’s impossible. There is no reason a human body would melt under the current circumstances. I open my mouth to tell him as much, but Virgil snorts, and I close it again. Was that… a joke?
I readjust my scarf, and notice its texture is uncomfortably damp with my breath.
The realization pulls me out of my daze, and I stumble to my feet.
“I’ll be back down in a minute,” I say, swallowing. The cold must’ve affected my head more than I’d thought.
“That’s a great idea,” Janus says, stepping up to my side and offering his arm. “If you want to trip and fall down the stairs on the way back.”
“The probability of that is very low,” I sigh, but I still hold onto his arm. “I’m already regaining some blood circulation. I will be fine in a few minutes.”
“Whatever you say,” he hums, as he helps me to the door, to take off my boots, and then up to my room. We pass by Patton in the kitchen, who’s humming over a boiling pot of coffee. It smells delicious. And warm. Warm is good.
After some struggling, I get into more comfortable clothes, and find Janus waiting outside my door, offering me his arm again.
“I’m quite alright now,” I say, nodding at him. “But I thank you for the concern.”
“Oh, come now, Logan,” he smiles, showing his teeth. “Let me be kind for once.”
“This wouldn’t be the first time you’ve demonstrated uncharacteristic compassion,” I say, frowning at him, and he snorts at that.
But still, he looks at me expectantly. So I take his arm again, and by the time we come into view of the living room again, everyone’s settled down on the couch. Janus steps away and joins them, and I take my usual spot between Virgil and Remus.
“Here you go,” Virgil says, passing me a steaming mug of coffee. I melt into the scent.
Mmm.
This.
This is what I’d desperately been wishing for in the middle of the winter chill.
The warmth of everyone around me, and Patton’s coffee.
I take a shuddering breath, and let the chill seep out of my bones.