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Every time you exhale, your breath creates little clouds. It’s cold. Very cold. You thought you’d put on enough layers to stay warm, but evidently you underestimated how cold it would be. You trudge your way through the snow-covered streets, careful not to slip. Just a few more turns, and you’ll arrive home, where your boyfriend will be waiting for you.
Diluc
You waltz in through the front door, and Adelinde rushes towards you. “Oh my, you look like you’re freezing!” she says as she helps you out of your coat. “Do you want some hot chocolate?” You nod.
“Alright. Diluc is in his study,” she says suggestively. You mumble a word of thanks and make your way up the stairs.
When you arrive at the study, you first knock on the door. “Come in,” Diluc’s calm voice sounds. You open the door and enter. Diluc is sitting behind his desk. It is covered in papers but somehow still seems organized. “Ah, you’ve returned,” he says with a warm smile.
“I’ve missed you.” You walk to him and hug him from behind. As your cheek touches his, he jolts slightly.
“Archons, you’re freezing!”
“I am. Warm me up?”
Diluc disentangles himself from your embrace and turns to face you. “What would you have me do, my love?”
“I want to cuddle.”
Diluc gets up and pulls you in a tight embrace. His arms wrap around your back, warm and comforting. Your chests press against each other, and his warmth flows into you. “I can do that. For you, I can always make some time.” He kisses your forehead tenderly. “Let’s move to the sofa.”
“Mm-mm,” you agree. He takes your hand and leads you to the couch. He sits down first, and then, with a quick pull, makes you stumble right into his arms. You chuckle.
“Make yourself comfortable. I’ve missed you too.” When you look up at him, he has the most tender smile on his face, looking at you as if you’re the most valuable thing in the world.
You get comfortable and relax. Your head rests on his chest while his left arm is wrapped around your side. His right hand carefully caresses your head. You can feel his heart beading steadily. Badump. Badump. It’s enough to make you doze off, but just as you’re about to fall asleep, a knock on the door interrupts.
“Come in,” Diluc says. You slowly start to rise, but he pushes you back into his arms. “Stay. You’re not warmed up enough yet.” He sounds kind, yet strict. Meanwhile, Adelinde is entering the room—she’s already seen you together plenty of times, so there’s no embarrassment.
“Your hot chocolate,” she says, as she puts a steaming mug on a nearby table.
You murmur a word of thanks, but she is already elsewhere with her thoughts. “One minute,” she says, hurrying out of the room. A few moments later she returns, carrying a blanket. “This should help you relax even more.
“Thank you, Adelinde. That’s thoughtful,” Diluc answers, taking the blanket from her.
“My pleasure.” She curtsies and then hurries out of the room—no doubt she knows well that cuddling is much more comfortable in private. Diluc unfolds the blanket and drapes it over the two of you.
“Mmm. Comfortable,” you mutter. The material is very soft and pleasant to the touch.
“I could stay with you like this forever,” he mutters.
“Let’s.” You close your eyes again and listen to his heartbeat.
He chuckles softly. “I wish we could. However, at some point we’ll have to enter the world again. But for now, let’s relax while we can.”
“Yeah,” you mumble. The words don’t come out clearly, since you’re already drowsy. His warmth, the steady beating of his heart, the rising and falling of his chest—they slowly lull you to sleep.
Alhaitham
As if prescient, Alhaitham opens the door right when you’re about to open it yourself. “I was expecting you around this time. Come on.” He turns around and walks back into the house, not bothering to check if you’ll follow; he knows you will. Inside, it’s pleasantly warm.
Once you’ve taken off your winter coat and scarf, you make your way to the living room. The fire in the hearth is crackling enthusiastically. Alhaitham doesn’t get cold quickly, so he probably made the fire just a little while before he expected you home, warming the house up just for you. You settle into one of the comfortable chairs near the fire and let your body relax, soaking in the warmth. You close your eyes.
Some noises come from the kitchen. A few moments later, the sound of approaching footsteps—Alhaitham’s.
“Y/n.”
You open your eyes. Alhaitham is holding out a cup of tea for you.
“Thank you,” you say as you move to take it from him. But just before you grab hold, he moves his hand, and places the cup on the table—just out of your reach.
“It’s not free,” he says strictly.
You smile. “Well then, what’s the price?”
He kneels in front of you and moves his face closer. Then he taps a finger on his own lips. The cue is obvious. You bridge the remaining space between you and place your lips on his. He feels warm and tastes of a variety of spices. Turmeric? Cinnamon? Clove? You can’t quite place the combination, but it warms you up further.
When the kiss ends, Alhaitham speaks up again, his face still close. “I don’t think that was quite enough.” Before you can respond, his arms wrap around and under your body, and you feel his strong arms lifting you up, out of the chair.
“H-hey! What’s the plan here?”
“Don’t worry. We’re just switching places.” He turns and then sits down in the chair you were just in, placing you between his legs. “Yes, I think this will do.”
His arms pull you close to him. Your back touches his firm chest. It’s comfortable, you can’t help but think. To be wrapped in his body, the body of the man you trust most, puts you at ease. You close your eyes again.
You hear Alhaitham chuckle softly behind you. “Off to sleep?”
“Not yet. But I’ll bet it won’t take long.”
“Well, don’t forget your tea. I didn’t make it for you to forget it.”
Right. You lean forward as far as you can and can just grab hold of the cup.
“Good,” he says as you lean back against him. “Since I hope to be here with you for a while, you surely don’t mind if I take out a book.”
“Go ahead,” you murmur.
He doesn’t waste a second and conjures a book out of nowhere. The book rests in your lap, his hands holding it with his arms around your waist—and his chin on your shoulder.
“Is it comfortable like this?” you ask.
“I have not a single complaint. Now we should stay like this for a couple of hours. You wouldn’t dare interrupt a scholar in his research, would you?”
“Of course not.”
He doesn’t reply anymore. He is engrossed in the book.
You sit like that for a good 15 minutes. The tea is cooling down and you sip it. But the silence nags at you a little. Alhaitham has such a nice voice—why doesn’t he use it more?
“Alhaitham.”
“Yes, y/n?”
“Can you read out loud what you’re reading? I want to hear your voice.”
You don’t see, but can feel him grinning.
“Certainly.” And he starts. “‘A scientific research is complete only when one has previously examined the dialectical arguments pro and contra because if one has not examined something critically, one does not know the extent of the knowledge of it one has acquired after being ignorant of it, nor the extent of what escaped one of the knowledge of it before one knew it.’[1] Did you get that?” he asks teasingly.
“Not at all. But your voice is nice.”
“Then, I shall continue. ‘Thus he thought that the best didactic procedure was to devote a special inquiry to the problems of this science and their investigation together…’” His low voice puts you at ease, and so do the vibrations his voice bring about in his chest and throat. It almost feels like he is a giant purring cat.
Before you know it, the hours do pass, so peaceful and warm in his arms.
[1] Ibn Rushd, Commentary on Aristotle’s Metaphysics, Book Lam, p.1398, translated by Hans Daiber.