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The only way to get lost in the woods is when you’re alone… after dark… in the middle of a rainstorm. Areylia pulled her jacket around her body as she contemplated her circumstances, when a bright flash out light blinded her for a moment.
“Of course, there just had to be lightning tonight,” She mumbled, attempting to find her way back to Unit Bravo. “Just like everyone had to get separated. Because we can’t have just one mission actually go according to plan.”
The wind howled as a gust almost strong enough to knock her over made her rethink her plan. She had to get out of the storm before anything else. The problem was that she had no clue where she was, so how was she supposed to know which direction to find shelter. She couldn’t keep running around hoping the vampires would stumble upon her.
“Detective!” She spun at the sound of her name. Apparently she could just keep wandering around until one of the vampires found her.
“Adam!” She called out, begging to run in the direction she had heard her name called. It didn’t take long for her to find him, or at least a silhouette she assumed to be him.
“Areylia,” He breathed out her name so softly she could barely hear it over the wind. Before she realized what she was doing, she ran forward, wrapping her arms around his waist.
If she had been thinking, she would have stopped herself before she had embraced him. If her senses had been working, she would have felt bad for overstepping the boundaries of their relationship. As it was neither her brain nor her sense seemed to function in that moment as the commanding agent uncharacteristically returned her embrace.
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Impulsive was not typically something that was associated with Commanding Agent Adam du Mortain, but when he had caught sight of Areylia, he had been unable to help himself. As soon as he saw her, he had an urge to hold her, but had tried to temper his impulse. His efforts failed as soon as she wrapped herself around him. His arms moved around her without his consent.
Adam stiffened when he felt the detective shiver in his arms. She hesitantly pulled away from him, so she could look him in the eye, or at least attempt to. He height, or lack thereof made it near impossible for her to look any of unit bravo in the eye.
“We need to get out of the rain. I’m pretty sure the town is east of her, but I have no idea which way that is.” Areylia pulled her soaking wet coat around her shivering body as she spoke.
“I passed a cave a while back that we can use until the storm dies down a bit. At the very least, staying in one place will give the others a better chance of finding us.”
“Find us, so you mean, you don’t know where they are either?”
“No. Unfortunately, the team was separated shortly after we lost you.”
“Alright, let's start heading towards that cave you mentioned, and you can tell me the rest of the story.”
Adam started leading the detective in the direction of the cave he had noticed, relaying the information that she had missed after getting separated. As they walked, they grew closer and closer together as if there was an invisible cord restricting the distance they could get away from each other. They were close enough that Adam could hear her teeth chattering though she tried to hide it.
When they reached the cave, Adam pointed it out to her. “Go wait in there.”
“What?” She spun around to face him, anger entirely less threatening when she looked like a wet cat. She was kinda cute like that. The thought came unbidden, and Adam forced himself to disregard it as quickly as it had entered his mind. “Where are you going?”
“I’ll only be a moment, Detective.” He futilely used her title in place of her name as if it would prevent him from becoming too attached. “Go.”
Normally he had to fight with her to get her to blindly follow orders, but she took a hesitant step away from him and walked into the cave. He forced himself to look away from her. He had a more important task. He needed to find some wood and a way of lighting a fire, or she wouldn’t survive the cold.
In a few agonizing moments that felt like hours, Adam managed to collect enough wood to last them all night if necessary, and returned to where he had left Areylia. He pretended to ignore that way she perked up when she saw him return.
“Ohh. You were getting wood,” she realized. “I would have helped you with that.”
“You needed to get out of the cold.”
She shivered again, her body agreeing with Adam’s assertion. He set to work building a fire, hoping it would help ease the chill. She came over to help him arrange all the wood. He stepped back after everything was set up. All they had to do next was find a way to light it. Areylia reached into the inside pocket of her jacket, and pulled out a small soaked box of matches.
“These might help. Allegedly they’re waterproof. This is my camping jacket, so I always have some in the pocket. I forgot about them when I was picking my outfit for the mission.”
Adams gestured for her to try them, and after a moment of struggle, she managed to get one lit, and after going through three matches, managed to start a fire. With that taken care of, Adam allowed himself to relax slightly. He lowered himself to the ground, close enough to the fire to feel some of the heat. Areylia sat across from him, but hadn’t stopped shivering.
Concerned Adam pulled off his jacket, and offered it to her. “You look cold, Detective.”
“Technically speaking, aren’t vampires more vulnerable to cold given your hypersenses?”
He was cold, but he had been too focused on her to notice. Before he could come up with a reply, she pushed the jacket back at him.
“It wouldn’t help anyway. It's soaking wet. Besides, the best way to warm up in these kinds of situations is through sharing body heat.” She said it so matter of factly, Adam was sure that the implications behind the suggestion went unnoticed. Mistaking his silence for disagreement, she continued. “I’m serious. It’s a scientifically proven fact that the best way to stay warm is through direct skin to skin contact with another person.”
Adam stiffened at the mention of skin to skin contact, and he focused all his effort on pushing away the desires and images her off handed comment had inspired. He could tell the moment she realized how her comment sounded. Her face went from exasperated to sheepish in a matter of seconds.
“Not that we need to do that!” She hurried to correct herself. “I’m sure the fire will be fine.”
After several moments of watching her shiver, Adam forced himself to acknowledge that she was right the first time. They were going to have to cuddle. The part of Adam that longed to hold her in his arms had been growing steadily since they met, but now that it had both logic and safety on its side, he was powerless against it. He moved close to her, and pretended he couldn’t hear the way her heart quickened as he drew closer.
She gasped when he pulled her into his lap, and placed his jacket around her shoulders. He kept his body as stiff as possible, trying to ignore the sound of her heartbeat, the smell of her perfume, and the feel of her body pressed into his. “You were right. This is the best way to keep warm.”
Her tiny frame fit perfectly in his lap as if she belonged in his arms. She leaned into his chest tentatively. “Are you sure? I’m sure we could find other ways to stay warm.” Despite the out she was giving him, he could hear the hope in her voice and it sent a spike through his heart. She deserved better than this.
“I am certain.” In truth he had never been more uncertain than he was everytime he looked at her.
“Thank you.” There was no teasing in her reply. None of her usually snark or sarcasm, just gratitude, but for what. He had done nothing other than acknowledge that she was right.
A short time later, the arms she had wrapped around his waist lost all tension, her erratic heartbeat evened out,her breath steadied, and her body slumped even further into him. Adam tried to stay awake while she drifted off, but even vampires needed to sleep sometimes, and he had a long day. He joined her in sleep soon after, lulled by the sound of her gentle heartbeat and breathing that he heard clearing than the howling wind and pouring rain.