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Rivulet shivered, lingering not far behind Saint. The aquatic slugcat was about freezing her gills off, and it was at this point that she realized she really wasn’t built for the cold. The green slugcat in front of her, on the other hand, was walking forward at a brisk pace, seemingly indifferent to the cold.
“Saint?” Rivulet’s voice shook with the cold, her breath visible in the frigid wind. “I’m really cold… how long until we’re back to the dorms?” Saint looked concerned, ajusting their glasses that were starting to fog up. “We’re only a few paces until we’re back inside.” she looked away for a second, thinking. “Here, come closer. You’ll be warmer that way.”
Rivulet jogged forwards towards Saint. She hugged Saint from behind, and immediately felt warmer. She let out a small trill of affection as she buried her face in Saint’s moss-like neck fur. Saint trilled back in turn. “I can see the dorms from here. Hang in there, Rivulet.” Saint assured. Rivulet looked up at the fluffy slugcat in admiration, sinking her face deeper into their neck ruff, giving Saint a little shiver. She didn’t notice it yet, but she was getting even warmer, and not just from Saint’s body heat…
The two reached the door to the dorms, and as Saint reached for the doorknob, Rivulet gripped her tighter. “Saintie, um, thank you…” she muttered, the blush on her face extremely visible now. “For… uh… helping me out.”. Rivulet’s tail waved slowly as she averted her gaze. Saint giggled again. “No problem.” Saint purred, before their voice took a more uncertian tone. “Rivulet, I have something… I need to tell you. You’re… uh… lovely. You’re an amazing person, Rivulet, and I…” she trailed off as Rivulet loosened her grip, and looked up at the fluffy slugcat in confusion.
Saint inhaled sharply. “I love you, Rivulet. I mean… I mean I’m in love with you. Romantically. If that makes sense at all.” they finally confessed, looking towards the snow-covered ground. “I-If you don’t feel the same, I-”
Saint was interuppted by the shorter blue slugcat pulling her closer and interlocking their lips together. Saint gasped, but didn’t pull away, instead sinking deeper into the kiss. Rivulet heaved when she pulled away, and squeaked flusteredly when she locked eyes with Saint again. Saint looked disoriented, but quickly shook herself off.
“I assume that’s a yes?”
At this, Rivulet nodded quickly before darting into the building before Saint could reply. With a loud slam, she locked herself in her room to process the events prior. She sunk to the ground, back leaning against the door, eyes gazing towards the ceiling, and a bit of snow still clinging to her nose. After a minute of Rivulet’s thoughts swimming with yearning, she heard a knock.
“Rivulet? Are you alright?”
It was Saint’s voice. Rivulet held her breath as she opened the door, eyes squeezed shut. “I-” “I’m sorry, Saint! I just- it was an impulse!” Rivulet shouted out before Saint could speak, tears forming in her wide eyes. Saint looked at Rivulet worriedly, before pulling her into a hug. “It’s alright, waterbug. I’m just glad you’re returning my feelings.” she reassured. Rivulet took a second to return the hug, squeezing Saint gently, which caused a purr to rumble through Saint’s body.
“We’ll talk about this tommorow, waterbug. Get some rest, alright?”