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“Go go go!” Theo yelled, laughing happily as he glanced back at Ghost who was grinning just as widely. He held a hand out to the other, gripping it firmly once he felt the other’s palm. He looked forward and led Ghost through the woods quickly, hearing the other’s laughter trailing behind. It made him grin wider, his cheeks starting to hurt at the force of it. The sudden flash of lightning that lit up their surroundings had them hurrying it up just a bit faster as they sought out some shelter. Theo could feel the rumbling thunder in his bones. He scanned the area up ahead, trying to find a suitable place they could hunker down in for the time being until the storm passed. “There!” He called out over the noise of the rain, tugging Ghost with him quickly as he saw a cave opening.
“It could be occupied!” Ghost yelled back, glancing up at the mouth of the cave hesitantly. He was certain they weren’t the only living beings searching for shelter from the storm at this point. But Theo didn’t seem to care, or hear him, as he tugged him up the small incline into the cave. He was tugged in further towards the back of the cave. “Theo, wait. There could be animals in here.” He ground his feet into the dirt, effectively getting Theo to pause for a moment.
Theo looked around, his eyes trailing over every inch of the cave before he shook his head. “No signs of anything recent. There’s a few markings here and there but looks safe.”
Ghost pulled away from him, instantly regretting it as the chill settled in, and wrapped his arms around himself as he moved around to inspect the cave. As much as he didn’t want to admit it, Theo was right. There didn’t appear to be anything recent. It was a relief but also fearful in case something DID return or take refuge in the same cave. Sighing softly, he bit back a shudder and turned to the other, muffling a yelp in surprise as Theo was already right behind him.
“Shh, it’s just me.” Theo chuckled, grinning down at Ghost who was pouting at him. “Come on. There’s quite a bit of dry lumber in the back. We can make a fire and dry off.” He waited for Ghost to agree before pulling the pouting man with him. He dropped Ghost’s hand in order to build up a substantial fire for the two of them, listening to Ghost move around and set his bag down. “Anything get ruined?”
“Thankfully, no.” Ghost hummed, rummaging through his bag carefully. “Everything seems fine. Which is good. We have something warm we can use.” He pulled out a blanket and shook it out, inspecting it before refolding it to set it on top of his bag for now. He turned back to where Theo was working and smiled a bit at his work. “Want me to light it?” He got a nod in response before the other was pulling away to strip off the worst of his damp clothes. Squatting down, Ghost held his hands to pile and quietly recited a small spell to conjure a flame small enough to ignite the wood. It eventually worked, Ghost being distracted too often by the sound of clothes hitting the ground and his own shuddering wracking his body from the chill, but he got the fire started and he stood up with a heavy sigh. “There.” He murmured, stretching with a small groan. Hands on his hips made him startled, his head whipping around to face Theo who was now spitting out long locks of blond hair. “Don’t scare me like that and that won’t happen.” He grumbled, reaching up to pull his hair away from Theo’s face. “Sorry.”
“It’s fine it’s fine. You need to get those damp clothes off though. C’mon.” Theo said, working on Ghost’s outer jacket. There wasn’t a complaint from the other, surprisingly, so Theo helped him remove the few layers that got damp and spread them out so they could dry as much as possible. “Alrighty! Where’s thaaaat aha!” He bounced over to grab the blanket and twirled it around to unfurl it before facing Ghost with a wide grin.
Sighing, Ghost rolled his eyes and followed Theo back in front of the fire, waiting for the other to sit down before he knelt down as well. Theo adjusted himself, pulling the blanket around his shoulders evenly and crossed his legs, looking to the other with a smile and nodded to his lap.
“Yes yes.” Ghost mumbled, crawling into Theo’s lap with his back to the man’s chest with a content sigh. The day finally catching up to him, the exhaustion weighing heavily on his body. He leaned back, resting his head against Theo’s shoulder and closed his eyes. He could still hear the thunder rumbling outside the cave, the lightning flashes lighting up the mouth for a few seconds every now and then.
Theo wrapped his arms around Ghost, effectively wrapping the blanket around the lithe man in his lap as well. He could already the other warming up, the shivering subsiding, and smiled as he rested his cheek against the side of Ghost’s head, avoiding his horn carefully. “Better?”
“Warmer.”
“But not better?”
“You are talking.”
Snorting, Theo shut up and just hummed quietly, knowing Ghost was smiling too. The silence didn’t last long before he spoke again. “We’ll probably be stuck in here for the night.” There was a hum in response, making him smile again. “That okay with you?”
“I don’t exactly want to go galavanting through the wet woods in the middle of the night.” Ghost quipped, tipping his head back just a bit to peer back at the other. “Do you?”
“Hell no.”
“Then we’re staying here for the night.” Ghost returned to his original position, relaxing more in Theo’s embrace as he did so. He could feel the other’s chuckle reverberating in his chest, making him smile a bit. He watched the mouth of the cave, the lightning flashing, and listened to Theo hum quietly in his ear, content to stay like this for as long as he possibly could.