Chapter Text
Jeremy was practically numb, he was trekking through a snowstorm late into the night, desperately peering through the snow-ridden haze for any sign of civilization, hardly able to see through the snowflakes sticking to his goggles. He'd started trailing towards the small nearby town of Snowplow a few days prior, unaware of the terrible snowstorm catching up to him due to the lack of service in the forest. The hauntingly freezing temperature was gradually building against Jeremy's skin through his thin layering of clothes, only a sweater and an unzipped windbreaker shielding him from the impending cold. His breathing got heavier and foggier, and his steps became warier against the sheer bristling wind and snow he treaded through.
As he climbed atop a snow hill, he saw the dim lights of small homey sheds in the distance, and despite his wavering consciousness fighting against him, hope brimmed in the dwindling hearth within his chest, and he marched forward to the best if his ability. He saw splotches of black blocking his vision the closer he got to Snowplow, and his jaw was sore from the consistent chattering of his teeth under the icy weather, but the only thought he could process within his mind was to continue forward, as his life was surely at stake. As he approached the nearest house, his knees gave out, and his breathing slowed to a fearful halt. He did his all to crawl forward, reaching his arm out desperately, before his body and consciousness gave out, and the spots of black enveloped his sight.
-
Dell sat warm by the fire brewing in his fireplace as he peered out the window through the hefty fog of snow. He laid comfortably along his armchair in his living room, sighing deftly as he popped the cap off a bottle of beer with his mechanical arm, resting for the night as he’d been preparing all day for the snow storm that sat heavy over Snowplow. The snowstorm had been brewing for days, and it was looking like the town would be snowed in for a few days at the very least.
It was peaceful nights like these, despite the brutal storm, that made Dell appreciate this little town. He'd been living in Snowplow for a couple of years now, ever since he'd retired quite early thanks to his eleven PHDs, and it had become the closest thing to home he'd experienced since he was young. The town was built off of old battle grounds, being the place where part of the Mann Brother’s War took place, small cabins and sheds being built off of the shelter from the cold that existed due to the previous battlefronts. Not that Dell minded the history, as Mann Co still funded the area for reparations sake, a citizen-run Mann Co grocery store (war weapons and all to be purchased inside) sitting comfortably in the snow-slumped town.
The quiet town gave Dell a place to be himself and engage in his interests, having built many technological advances for the town as well as for himself, and he made his fair share of profit by designing war materials for Mann Co, despite his official profession now being a lumberjack. Not to mention his neighbors being a welcoming and friendly group of people. There was a surprisingly large queer community bustling in the little town, a polyamorous bisexual throuple, a sapphic woman, as well as a pair of queer platonic partners living alongside him, and as a pansexual man himself, Dell felt he could truly be himself in such an accepting area.
As he comfortably reflected on his relatively new life on his lounge chair, looking out his window, he noticed something moving within the haze of snow. Something alive and fairly human. It was a lanky man dressed in clothing not even nearly fit for such weather, clutching his hat to keep it atop his head, before he eventually collapsed within the blankets of snow. Dell felt his heart drop to his feet for the unknown face, quickly gathering himself, setting his beer on his coffee table, grabbing a bulky coat off his coat hanger, putting on his snow boots, and rushing out into the harsh storm.
He fought against the storm pushing him back towards the warm fire lit inside his cabin, trudging through the knee-high snow to get to the gradually dying man that had collapsed moments before outside his home. He shoveled snow with cupped hands off of the man, eventually reaching him under the sludge. He was fairly light even despite the added weight of his ice drenched clothes, as Dell had carried logs heavier than the man, it was enough to have him heave outwards in relief as he lifted the man over his shoulders and forced his way back towards his cabin.
Dell thanked his prior first aid knowledge of hypothermia as he shut and deadbolted his door, plopping the soaked man down on his couch. He hastily fully unzipped the man's windbreaker and undressed him, throwing the clothing to the floor. He was relieved to see no wounds on the man other than a few scratches and partial frostburn. He rushed to his bathroom, soaking a rag under warm water, squeezing out as much water as he could, until it was mostly dry yet still warm, as he was lacking any heating pads. He quickly returned to the stranger in his living room, where he pressed the warm rag against the man’s neck, chest, and groin, sure to avoid his limbs and doing his best to be respectful by averting his gaze from his body as he did so.
He watched the man’s chest closely for any sign of breathing for a long moment, nearly moving to perform CPR, until suddenly, the man’s chest stuttered as it rose in a broken attempt at breathing. Just to be sure, Dell pressed two of his fingers against his neck veins to make sure he was alive and breathing, and once he was sure, he audibly suspired in relief. He grabbed some spare blankets from his linen closet, draped them over the man, and watched him closely for a moment.
He decided he would only worry more the longer he stared, waiting for any indication of consciousness, and should leave the man in peace so as to not frighten him when he eventually did eventually wake up.