Chapter Text
Gan squints as she looks around the city park laden with glistening snow. Snow that is somehow making the already sunny day even more blinding. She is supposed to meet Felicity at Soulbean to discuss plans for the New Year’s Eve party they are hosting for their friend group, but she left her motel a little early to wander around town since it’s her day off from working at the coffee shop.
Walking in the direction of the now frozen fountain in the center of the park, Gan notices a familiar man sitting on one of the wooden benches next to it. As she gets closer, she notes his closed eyes and chin tucked down toward a broad chest covered by crossed arms. She takes in the peaceful sight of the usually scowling face in slumber for a few seconds before her face splits in a mischievous grin.
Slowly, she backs away to a nearby pile of snow and scoops some into her hands. Gan peeks back over her shoulder toward the sleeping figure as she packs the snow into a ball shape. Once her snowball is made, she creeps behind the occupied bench to a reasonable throwing distance. She wonders for just a moment how such a vigilant person managed to fall asleep on a park bench and not be woken by her tromping about nearby, but maybe he was really tired or is just a heavier sleeper than she imagined. Not that she ever really thought about how he sleeps or that it’s any of her business.
Focus, Gan. She shakes her head to clear those thoughts. She aims her snowball, rears back, and…
~~~
Thwack!
Logan is startled awake by the feeling of something cold hitting him in the back of the head. What the heck? He jumps to his feet and looks around him warily for the source of the attack, the fog of sleep clearing from his mind almost immediately. How did I fall asleep in the park of all places? I wasn’t that tired.
As he turns to look behind him, Logan sees Gan just as she throws another snowball at him. He blocks this one easily with his arm and scowls deeply as he stalks closer to her.
“What was that for?” Logan asks.
Gan smiles up at Logan sweetly, but he sees the glint in her eyes that belies that sweetness. She replies, “You were such an easy target. It seemed like you needed a reminder to be aware of your surroundings at all times.”
“And you couldn’t have just called my name or shaken my arm like a normal person?”
“Of course not. How would you learn anything from getting off easy like that?” Gan answers, shaking her head. “And besides, with all your training, if I had shaken your arm, I probably would have ended up on the ground with my arm behind my back in about two seconds.”
Logan had to give it to her. She had a point about him reacting instinctively to be woken by a strange touch. Although he would never intentionally hurt her, it could easily happen by accident in a situation like that. And about him falling asleep when he should be aware of his surroundings, although he doubted that was her real motive for waking him up in such a manner. What is going on with me today?
Thwack!
He looks down as another snowball hits him in the chest, breaking him out of his thoughts. Seeing Gan’s grin, Logan frowns at her for a second before leaning down to make his own snowball. When she sees what he’s doing, she runs a little farther away and starts making more snowballs. Once he has a few made, Logan piles them into the crook of his elbow and walks closer to where Gan is making her pile.
“Oh no.” Gan’s eyes widen as she sees how close he’s getting to her.
Logan laughs and starts rapidly throwing snowballs at Gan. She gets to her feet and throws hers back at him as fast as she can until they both run out of backup snowballs. Gan runs and tries to scoop up snow to toss back at him as she goes, but he is able to catch up with her with his long strides. She turns to throw one last snowball at Logan before he catches her, but she trips and starts to fall.
Before he can think about what he’s doing, Logan tries to grab Gan’s arm to steady her. Instead, he loses his balance, too. He manages to turn them enough as they fall so that he lands under her and cushions her fall. They both breathe heavily for a few seconds, trying to get some oxygen back in their lungs.
Once Logan can breathe normally again, he is extremely aware of Gan’s head on his chest and how her legs are tangled up with his. And now, she is starting to shake. Is she crying? I hope she’s not hurt.
“Gan, are you okay?”
As Gan peels her head off his chest, he sees that her shaking is from laughter, not tears. She gets it together enough to tell him that she’s fine in between fits of giggles. Her laughter is contagious, and Logan starts to laugh too as he sits up and helps Gan to do the same, quickly sliding her off his lap once they are upright.
When their laughter dies down, Logan stands up and reaches for Gan’s hand to help her stand. He holds her hand a little longer than necessary and notices that her gloves are soaked through.
“Do you have a dry pair of gloves with you?” Logan looks down at her in concern. “Your hands have to be freezing in those wet ones.”
“Ummm…” Gan looks down and tucks a loose curl behind her ear. “These are the only gloves I have. My hands aren’t really cold though.”
“Gan, that’s crazy. Your gloves are soaking wet, and it’s freezing out here.”
Gan sighs. “Logan, I have no feeling in my hands. Even if they are cold, I wouldn’t know.”
“You have no feeling in your hands?” Logan asks. “How do you just not have feeling in your hands?”
“It’s not really any of your business, but I had some severe nerve damage a while back. That’s why I can’t feel anything in my hands. I can still use them. I just can’t feel any sensations or temperatures.”
Logan tucks that information away for later, but by now, he knows better than to ask anything else. Instead, he says, “Okay. Well, let me at least look at your hands and try to warm them up. Even if you can’t feel it, we don’t want you getting frostbite.”
Gan tenses a bit at the word “frostbite,” but she allows him to remove her gloves and rub her hands with his own. She looks curiously up at him as he works to warm her hands, pausing from time to time to blow his hot breath onto her fingers.
When he has sufficiently warmed her hands, he instructs her to keep her hands in her pockets until her gloves are dry enough to put back on. She thanks him for his help and takes her gloves back from him. Logan sees her freeze as she checks the time on her phone.
“Crap!” she exclaims. “I was supposed to meet Felicity at Soulbean five minutes ago. I’ve gotta go! Bye, Logan!”
Logan watches as she rushes through the snow to get back to the coffee shop, wild red curls bouncing where they stick out from under her blue beanie. He shakes his head and chuckles. He has some errands to run before he goes into the office for the afternoon.
~~~
When Gan finishes her party planning meeting with Felicity, she gets a hot chocolate with marshmallows and holiday sprinkles for the road. She puts her now dry gloves back on and walks to the door. She calls back a goodbye to Felicity and steps out onto the sidewalk. As she takes a few steps on the walk back to her motel, she hears a deep voice call her name.
Logan is walking quickly over to her. He has a small shopping bag in his hands. His ears are awfully red, but that could just be due to the cold and his lack of a hat. As he stops in front of her, he holds out the bag. Looking her in the eyes, he says, “This is for you.”
Gan looks up at him questioningly as she takes the bag. “Thanks.” She opens the bag to find brand new, waterproof gloves. She looks at him, back down at the gloves, and back up at him again.
“You bought these for me ?” she asks, touched by his thoughtfulness.
“Yeah.” Logan runs a hand through his hair. “I hope they fit. I guessed on the size because your hands are kind of small, but these should keep your hands warm and dry. I hope I didn’t overstep. I was just worried about you being cold and not being able to feel that your hands were cold.”
Logan’s rambling stops abruptly as Gan throws her arms around his waist and pulls him into a tight hug. Surprised at first, it is a full three seconds before he puts his arms around her and holds her close.
“Thank you,” Gan whispers against his chest. She feels the rumble of his “you’re welcome.”
They finally release one another, and Gan puts her new gloves on. She can see the pride on his face when they fit well.
“Do you mind if I walk you home?” Logan asks cautiously, ears still red.
Gan thinks for a second before replying. “I don’t mind.” Her own cheeks are a bit inflamed as they start walking toward her motel.
At some point during the walk, Gan’s hand slips into Logan’s much larger one. Neither one says anything about it, but they laugh and talk the rest of the way to her motel.