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"It's always better to be safe than sorry!"
The words echoed in Louis' head as he shifted in his blankets. "Goddamn boy-scout wannabe Fanboy," he mumbled through chattering teeth. He leaned over to check his phone. 1:03 AM, Portland Maine, 2 degrees below zero with wind chill. Cursing, the blonde rolled over in his thin, shitty hotel sheets. He wasn't expecting the Marriott, but this was just ridiculous. For all he cared, the Watch could take their budget cuts and shove them where the sun don't shine. Ever since he and Will had been assigned a "quick recon mission" up in New England, luck had not been on Louis' side. He didn't get a wink of sleep on the plane ride thanks to some rowdy toddler kicking his seat and screaming. And now he was stuck in a drafty hotel room with shitty heaters getting absolutely no sleep while his partner just lounged about in the bed next to him, sleeping soundly in his fleece Star Wars pajamas. THOSE damn pajamas.
Louis first noticed Will attempting to shove the godforsaken sleepwear into an overpacked suitcase no more than 24 hours ago.
--
"Will, what in god's name is that?"
"This?" Will looked up and smiled. "Just my adult-sized limited edition The Force Awakens pajama set."
"Oh is that all? Sorry I even bothered to ask."
Will smirked. "There's matching socks and a blanket too."
Louis put his head in his hands. "Tell me, what part of 'only pack the essentials’ don't you understand?"
"Oh trust me, Star Wars is as essential as it gets," Will said with a wink. "Just don't come running to me when you wish you had an extra blanket..."
--
Louis had forgotten how the rest of the conversation had gone. But that last sentence still taunted him as he wrapped himself even tighter in his hotel sheets. To be fair, Louis was no wuss. He had gone through his fair share of extreme climates in his day, and this should have been no exception. Except that it was the beginning of November. Who brings thermal clothes to a one-night hotel stay in November? Fanboy, that's who. He glanced over once again to the sedentary lump of sheets. Louis sighed. That's it, he decided. guess he'd be pulling another all-nighter.
No, fuck that.
Louis needed sleep. No amount of hotel coffee would be able to cure him of the monstrous, sleep-deprived mess he would be in the morning. Plus he had work to do.
Louis shivered as he quietly swung his bare legs out of the bed. Since Fanboy was already sound asleep, he wouldn't notice if just one more blanket were missing...
As he approached the adjacent twin bed, it became readily apparent that his plan wasn't going to work. Will too, had bundled up in his blankets like a human burrito. There was no way he could take one without waking him up or asking directly. Louis briefly considered trying to fall asleep on his own again, when a draft of freezing air hit him from behind. Yeah, there was no way in hell.
Hesitantly, Louis held out a hand over Will's sleeping form and prodded the man from inside his fortress of solitude. The mass of blankets began to stir, and a disgruntled Will rolled over, still half asleep.
"Wh...Louis... what's going on?"
"I need a blanket," Louis stated plainly.
"...What?"
"I need a blanket," Louis repeated.
It took Will a second in his drowsy state, but he eventually smirked.
"I told you so."
This was the exact phrase Louis had been dreading.
"I know, I was wrong, blah blah, just hand it over."
Will was silent for a moment.
"No."
"NO?!" Louis screech-whispered, careful not to wake the neighbors. "I'm not gonna get any sleep in this goddamn freezing shitstain they call a hotel!"
"I'm cold too! If you really can't fall asleep, we can share." And with that, Will turned his back to Louis and covered his head with a pillow.
…
"Fine."
Will was certainly not expecting that response. He wasn't even really sure why he said what he had said in the first place. Was Louis serious?
"Well? Move over."
Will's eyes flashed open as he felt a freezing leg slide under the covers. Was... Louis really this desperate? Will wasn't about to argue with this turn of events, and rolled over as much as he could without falling off the bed entirely.
Louis slid in as best as he could (Two fully grown men in a hotel twin bed is a bit of a squeeze) and claimed his portion of the blanket. Will was right, you could still feel the winter air blowing in, but it was a whole lot warmer than the thin hotel sheets by themselves. Louis tried his best to avoid any awkward contact, but to no avail. In order to stay on the bed, his back had to be touching Will's, which was currently covered in spaceship-adorned flannel. Flannel which was warm. He could deal with this. Louis shivered as another blast of freezing air hit his exposed front. When he was sure Fanboy was sound asleep, he turned over and buried his frozen nose into the soft material, warmed by the brunette's natural body heat. Yeah, he could definitely deal with this.
Meanwhile on the other side of the bed, Will was definitely not asleep in any meaning of the word. Ever since his partner had crawled into the bed, his heart had been racing at a constant marathon pace. The moment Louis turned his body to face his, Will barely stifled a gasp. He could feel Louis' face against his back, each exhale warming a small portion of his spine. He could feel every shiver and shake of the man's chilled body. It was almost surreal. As Louis shuddered and shifted, trying to fit as many of his exposed limbs under the blankets as he could, Will blushed hard as an idea popped into his head. It was risky, but this was truly a once in a lifetime opportunity. Carefully and silently, Will flipped his body to face his sleeping partner. Instead of his back, Louis' face was now pressed snugly into his torso. He wondered if the sleeping man could hear his heart pounding hard in his chest. Well, it was now or never. Gently, Will pressed Louis' head into his stomach with the palm of his hand. At the sudden touch, Louis began to stir.
"Nhh... what-"
Immediately, Louis' ears filled with the steady thumping of a familiar heartbeat.
"You know, 98.6 degrees is just a couple inches away, right?"
No response.
Louis's head nestled unmoving against Will's fleece covered abdomen for what seemed like an eternity before he finally spoke.
"Just make it quick."