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“Dakota, is the-” The words die on William’s lips the second he spots the other, sprawled out flat on his back, shirtless and almost comically soaked with sweat. His gaze drifts to the window of the Winnebago, to the bright, shining sun, and William shivers as he spots it, the biting chill deep in his bones refusing to leave him.
“Right. Summertime,” he mutters to himself.
“Did you say something, William?”
He should say no. Instead, what he says is, “I’m cold.”
Dakota sits bolt upright. “Shit. It’s too warm for the space heater… Wait, you’re cold, right? Like, outside? On your skin?”
William stares at him. “Uh, yeah? I’m kind of dead.”
“Great! Come over here. You cool me down, I warm you up!”
With the way Dakota’s beaming at him, William couldn’t say no if he tried. Shivering, he crosses the small back space of the Winnebago and all but collapses into Dakota’s arms. Maybe, if it were anyone else, the moment would feel different. Supercharged with emotion, or wrong, or anxiety inducing. But with Dakota, it just feels… Comfortable. Normal. William presses his head into Dakota’s chest, hair brushing his chin, the warmth radiating from him in waves that seem to sink deep into William’s skin.
“You’re like an ice pack,” Dakota murmurs. “It’s nice.”
William curls into him further, leeching the warmth from him as best he can. “You’re warm,” he says dumbly, but can’t bring himself to care. Dakota’s arms curl around his back, one hand wandering down to the hem of his hoodie before pushing up under it, a searingly warm palm flat to William’s back in a way that feels heavenly against his cold skin. Dakota leans down and drops a kiss to William’s head.
“Feeling warmer?”
William lifts his head and meets Dakota’s gaze. “A little bit. Still cold, though.”
“I’m still way too hot.”
“We’ll just have to stay here then,” William says. Dakota laughs, and rolls the two of them over, pressing more against William.
“Yeah, guess we will.”