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Jimmy never expected to find his way here, trekking through the snow without shoes on. It normally didn’t matter because he lived in the swampy terrain of Codland. It was warm there and any shoes worn would get nasty anyway so you might as well be one with the elements. That was his opinion anyway though he did have sandals if he ever needed shoes.
When you’re this far up the mountains, it’s only expected to have this sort of freezing weather. Down the mountains, however, was so much more humid that it was considered comical how different the two towns were despite being fairly close.
Jimmy very much was used to living down the mountains. He barely came up to Rivendell and is quickly remembering why. It was far too frigid for him. He couldn’t feel most of his body because it had grown numb.
Snow was everywhere and he almost slipped on ice more than once. Where was he even going at this point? It was hard to gauge where he even was because of all the snow. Was he getting closer or further away from Rivendell?
Jimmy wrapped his arms closer to his chest, rubbing his hands against his bare arms. It didn’t help whatsoever with how ice-cold his hands felt. It was pointless to try and warm himself with something equally cold. He was certain if he stayed out here any longer he would turn into a popsicle.
Jimmy felt his body give out from under him as he collapsed to the ground. His body and mind were screaming. When was the last time he had a popsicle? He much rather would be eating a popsicle than turn into one. The first time he had one was a very nice day. He felt himself floating back in his memories to that day seven years ago…
[Seven Years Ago]
“Jimmy! Jimmy!” An excited shrill called out to him and it was coming closer. When Jimmy turned, his eyes caught a blur of blue and white.
It wasn’t much of a surprise when he spotted the other boy. He had pale skin from living in such a cold place most of the time and his hair was just as brightly blue as it was the day he first met him. The blue eyes were wide and excited and it just made Jimmy’s energy levels go up as well.
Before Jimmy could respond to his friend, he was slammed into with arms tightly finding their way around him.
“Scott! It’s been so long!” Jimmy grinned widely as he hugged Scott in return. “I missed you so much.”
“I missed you too! It took so long to convince my moms to take me down here.” Scott pulled away from the hug but kept his arms clasped around Jimmy’s arms with a huge smile on his face. It made him happy to see his friend so happy.
“I’m glad they said yes! I’ve been tryin’ to get my parents to bring me up but they hate the cold with passion.” Jimmy wrinkled his nose at his parents’ excuses. If he were being honest, he didn’t like the cold either but inside had amazing heating systems. If they went outside, Scott’s moms would always give him warmer clothes if they decided to go out and play in the snow.
Scott let go of his arms and flicked his hand in dismissal. “It’s whatever because it’s fine now! I have a surprise for you though.”
Jimmy blinked in curiosity, trying to look into the bag Scott was digging into. He pulled out a small cool box and set it down.
“Tada!” The other boy opened the lid and pulled out two sticks holding up ice on a stick. It wasn’t just ice, however. It was colored ice, which was rather strange to him. When was ice colored?
“What are those?” Jimmy tilted his head and squinted at them. Did he know what they were? Was he just forgetting?
“Popsicles.” Scott handed him a purplish ice thing. Yeah, he’s never heard of those. “They’re a common treat in Rivendell because all you need is liquid fruit stuff and the cold. And we have plenty of cold. Try it!”
Jimmy eyed it for a second before taking it from Scott. It probably was good if Scott liked it so much but would flavored ice taste good? It was already starting to melt from the sun’s heat. He put the top of it in his mouth and sucked on it. “Woah! It tastes like grapes! Is it supposed to do that?”
“Yeah, it is! We used grapes to flavor it. It’s my favorite so I figured you would like it too.” Scott nodded quickly, clearly delighted that Jimmy enjoyed the popsicle. He put his popsicle in his mouth and held it there as he closed the lid to the cool box and placed it back in his bag. Once that was done, he grabbed the stick again so he didn’t have to keep it held in his mouth.
Jimmy eagerly took his friend’s free hand, still letting them both hold onto their popsicles. “Come on, I found this cool spot where a lot of frogs hang out! You need to see how cute they are.”
[Present]
Jimmy gasped sharply as his eyes flew open. Where was he? What happened? He felt a lot warmer to the point it was more hot than warm. He must be back in Codland. Rivendell was never this warm…
…or perhaps it was the several layered blankets on top of him that were heating up his body. There was a substantial weight on top of him, which made sense when seeing how many blankets there were.
He took a moment to lay there, processing what happened and trying to judge if his memories were real or not. Jimmy felt very overwhelmed by the thoughts swirling in his mind but at least he wasn’t shivering so bad he could hear his teeth chatter anymore.
Jimmy pushed himself up onto his hands as the door squeaked open, some of the blankets falling off of him and to the floor. His hands were shaking so it was hard to stay like that so he fully sat up so he could lean against the wall and put his arms back under the blankets. The light got switched on and he quickly closed his eyes, unused to the bright light. He slowly peeked through his eyelids to let himself get used to how bright it was until he could keep his eyes open all the way.
“Jimmy! You’re awake!” The familiar voice sounded so relieved. It instantly hit him who the voice was. It was Scott. Scott found him. He must have because how else was he here?
He flushed so quickly that he was sure his face was bright red as his heart seemed to skip a beat. His cru- Scott had saved him from the cold.
Scott scrunched his nose as he looked at Jimmy, probably seeing how red his face was. He didn’t ask before placing the back of his hand against Jimmy’s head. Jimmy couldn’t pick up from his expression what his thoughts were. It frustrated him some that he couldn’t read it but his mind was still a little hazy so maybe that is why he struggled so much.
The blankets were pulled off of him partly and Scott went to put his hand somewhere on his torso before hesitating and pulling his arm back. “Jimmy, can I touch your chest?”
Jimmy tried to answer but it just came out a slurred fumbling mess. He wasn’t sure what part of that was his brain short circuiting from the idea of Scott touching him (outside of hugs and hand holding) and what part was to blame on the hypothermia he was certain he probably had. He gave up on trying to answer vocally and just nodded.
His friend relaxed and reached forward again. When Scott’s hand gently pressed against his chest, Jimmy realized he wasn’t wearing a shirt. Where did it go? He had been wearing one before, hadn't he? No, he definitely was.
“Your body is a lot warmer than it was before and I can still feel your heartbeat. I think that’s good but I would have to ask Mama to be sure.” Scott sighed softly, keeping the hand on Jimmy’s chest. “I don’t think you’re too warm either. Too warm as in a fever, which is a good thing. You’re also not shivering as much as you were.”
Based on Scott’s mumbling, Jimmy assumed it was mostly to himself than to Jimmy. Jimmy blabbered something as a response to Scott’s words but nothing intelligent came out. He wasn’t even sure what he meant to say. His mouth was just a verbal output of how mushy his brain was. He still wasn’t sure where he was or what he was doing. Just bits and pieces float around his brain and he couldn’t seem to catch them. Oh, he felt so very tired. He just wanted to curl back up and sleep under the heat of the blankets.
“Scott, ‘tay please,” Jimmy reached out a hand for Scott, his words still slurring together but at least it formed into something comprehensible this time.
“You want me to stay?” Scott asked as if he was confirming what Jimmy wanted. Didn’t he understand what he wanted? He said it very clearly!
Frustration grew inside him and he whined, pulling on Scott’s arm. “‘eep ‘ith me.”
His friend was so pretty. The pink that found its way to Scott’s cheeks was a nice contrast with his blue hair. He kind of looked like cotton candy. Mm, cotton candy would be tasty. Do you think they would give him cotton candy if he asked for it hard enough?
“Don’t you know I’m waiting ‘till marriage?” Scott chuckled awkwardly as he made the joke. Scott’s humor was usually fun and sometimes made Jimmy’s face flush but it was annoying him now.
When did tears start forming in his eyes? He couldn’t really see and it was blurry. A scratchy and mangled cry escaped his lips, pleading to him more, and Scott seemed to give in.
“Okay.” He whispered, pulling away from Jimmy’s grasp. Jimmy wasn’t holding on very tight for he didn’t have that much strength at the moment. He simply didn’t have enough energy to grip onto anything. The most he could do was a weak hold and that clearly wasn’t enough. “I’ll lay down with you.”
Scott went to the other side of the bed from Jimmy before climbing in. Jimmy felt like Scott was taking forever to get under the blankets with him but it had only been a handful of seconds until Scott was by his side.
Jimmy scooted closer to the center of the bed in order to curl up beside his friend. Scott’s body heat was like a campfire’s flame on a cool night. It was to the cold he still felt in his bones, at least. “Mm, I wan kiss youuu… your lips ‘ook soft.”
He could feel Scott’s body get warmer and it felt nice. It was so nice. Scott was very nice! Scott had helped him and Jimmy just wanted to show his appreciation to the boy lying next to him. The snuggles were so mmmm…
The world went black again just as he was enjoying the simplicity of being so out of it but also the happy feeling building inside him from being this close to his best friend… to Scott.
The world started to fade back into view and he felt so comfortably warm. When his eyes fluttered open, his head was buried against someone’s chest. He could hear their steady heartbeat and smell the scent of a cool mountain breeze.
Quickly realizing the position he was with and who it was, he scrambled up and tried to back away to the point he may or may not have fallen off the bed.
“Mm… Jimmy, you okay?” Scott muttered with a yawn, the thump of Jimmy’s body hitting the floor must have woken him. Scott rubbed at his eyes before noticing that Jimmy was no longer next to him. He pushed the blankets off of him and crawled to the other side of the bed so he could get off next to Jimmy instead of going around the bed to get to him. “Are you okay? Did you hit your head? What happened?”
Jimmy didn’t respond, staring off as he processed. What had happened? He knew he had fallen off the bed but how did he get here? Jimmy could feel his head spin so fast that it wasn’t even funny.
Scott furrowed his brows and held his hands out to Jimmy. The movement was enough to bring his vision back into focus and he was able to see Scott reaching out to him. Jimmy held up his arms so Scott could help him to his feet.
“Where am- what happened- why was-?” Jimmy stuttered, looking around the room. It looked like Scott’s room but why was he here?
“You’re at my house. I found you out in the snow. You were not awake so I brought you here since it was the closest warm place I had access to so I could get you warm.” Scott explained as he gestured for Jimmy to sit down on the bed again. “I still don’t know how long you were out there but you felt like ice when I touched you so I knew it had been way too long. I got Mama’s help since, you know, she’s a doctor.”
“How did you get me here?” Jimmy blinked at him. It didn’t feel real that Scott had been able to find him when he didn’t even know how close he had gotten close to the town itself at all. That was assuming he was even going in the right direction!
“I picked you up.” Scott responded, shrugging his shoulders. “It wasn’t very hard. You get pretty strong when you’re constantly in charge of shoveling the driveway.”
Well, Jimmy knew that. That being that he was strong. That much was clear even if you didn’t know how he had gained much of that strength. You could easily see the outlines of his muscles underneath the long sleeved shirt he was wearing. Not that he looked, of course.
“Why were you doing all the way out there, anyway? Or rather, what were you doing so far away from Codland, at night and by yourself?” Scott sounded upset and maybe even angry. Was he mad at him? Jimmy wasn’t sure if this was the intended emotions Scott was giving off but he felt rather raw emotionally so it affected him anyway. “Rivendell isn’t that far away but it still takes time to get up the mountain- especially if you’re not taking a car.”
“I was in a-” Jimmy responded without thinking about it before quickly cutting himself off.
Scott scrunched his nose again. He usually looked so cute when he did that. He often did it when he was focusing or thinking and Jimmy enjoyed seeing the expression. Right now, it didn’t feel as cute and he wished it wasn’t the look he was being given. It felt like Scott was looking at him in disappointment, which only made him feel worse. “If you took a car up, where is it now? And why weren’t you in it?”
Jimmy didn’t answer, his eyes falling to his hands. He could joke and say they looked more interesting (if interesting meant unsightly) than usual but they really did so it wouldn’t really be a joke. They were still red and looked sort of shriveled. It was sort of like when your hands have been in the water too long but not as mushy looking.
“Jimmy.” Scott sat down in front of him, hands finding their way on top of Jimmy’s hands as if he were trying to warm them up or make them less shriveled. “What happened? You can tell me and please be honest. We’ve been friends since we were small. You know you can trust me.”
“I-“ Jimmy looked up at him and hesitated. Next thing he knew, tears spilled from his eyes and he couldn’t keep in his distress anymore. “These guys drove me up here and dumped me in the middle of somewhere around here. I don’t even know where because it was so snowy.”
“Jimmy,” Scott took a breath as he tried to keep himself put together, “I love you, but you need to give me more context.”
[The Day Before]
Jimmy was walking back to his house from a day exploring the frog spot he had taken Scott to all of those years before. He still enjoyed going even as he got older. It always put him in a really good mood but it fell when he saw these three other teenagers standing by his mailbox and snickering.
“What are you doing with our mail?” Jimmy confronted them, arms crossed and doing a strong stance. He hoped he looked powerful and intimidating more than silly and laughable.
“We’re just reading the little love letter you got from your BOYFRIEND~” Malek held up what Jimmy assumed was the love letter in question. The singsong voice felt mocking, which it probably was.
“What do you want, Malek?” Jimmy just stared at them, completely unamused. “Are you planning to go through everyone’s mail or am I just special?”
Jackson cackled like Jimmy had just said the funniest thing ever. “Oh, you’re certainly special.”
“Special is a nice way to put it.” Hayden laughed in an annoying hyena type laugh. It was grating and he very much disliked the sound.
“Just give it back and go away.” Jimmy walked in long strides over and tried to grab it.
“Awww, that desperate to talk to your little gay lover?“ Malek cooed, keeping it away from him. “He certainly seems desperate to talk to you with what he’s writing. I don’t know why, seeing you’re you.”
“What are you even talking about?” Jimmy huffed at them, ignoring that last comment. “What lover?”
“You don’t have to be ashamed of it, little man.” Hayden patted his head. Hayden quickly learned that that had been a mistake when Jimmy grabbed his arm and twisted it.
“Don’t fucking touch me,” Jimmy practically growled at them, keeping Hayden’s arm twisted uncomfortably, “and I’m not little!
“Ow, ow, ow, get off, you fa-“ Hayden tried to pull his arm away but Jimmy just kept it in place. His squirming only made it worse.
Jackson landed a solid punch in Jimmy’s stomach when he was distracted, which caused Jimmy to let go and bend over in pain.
“We were just wanting to congratulate you, you bastard!” Hayden hissed as he shook out his arm as if that would help the pain.
“S-sure.” Jimmy stuttered as he attempted to respond. His brain felt like it was made up of pop rocks with how many pain signals were being sent up there. “I’ll be-believe that when the ocean dries out.”
Jimmy wasn’t really sure what happened next. He was outside his house one moment and then, the next time he opened his eyes, he was in a car. Looking out the window of the unfamiliar car, he could see the snow covered land that would never exist in Codland. They must have gone up the mountain because he couldn’t have been out that long.
Malek turned around at his shuffling to look at him. “Oh good! You’re awake. Just in time.”
“What do you mean?” Jimmy asked with hesitation. Why was he in the car with them? Jackson and Hayden were there too and he knew he would never hang out with them on purpose so why was he here?
“Wouldn’t you like to know?” Jackson rolled his eyes at him with a smug look on his face.
He would, actually. Jimmy just glared at them before looking around for an escape. They weren’t going that fast because of the snow so he could just jump out. Easy, yeah? He reached for the door handle and tugged at it to open it.
It didn’t work and he may or may not have hit his head in an attempt to jump out from a car door that didn’t open. This caused everyone in the car to laugh at him and that wasn’t a great feeling whatsoever. He burned with embarrassment, rubbing at the spot on his head that hurt as Hayden spoke, “You think we wouldn’t lock it? You’re so fucking stupid.”
Before anything else was said, Malek stopped the car and the doors unlocked. “You can get out now. We’ve taken you to your boyfriend’s town so have fun finding him! Should be very, very easy with that gaydar you probably have as a gay.”
“That is not how that works.” Jimmy suppressed a groan of irritation. He wanted to jab at them more but that didn't seem like the best idea, considering the potion he was in.
Turning his attention away from them and outside the window, he could see nothing nearby other than snow, snow, and more snow. The snow was actively falling from the sky too so that didn’t help him mentally prepare for braving the cold. Would it really be considered braving it if he was forced into it? A shiver ran through his body at the thought of going out there. Especially since he didn’t know where he was and he wasn’t wearing clothing that was anywhere suitable for the frigid temperatures.
“You were so eager to leave and now you’re just sitting there. Do I really need to help you?” Jackson reached over him to open the door to open it before shoving him out of it. Before he could even get to his knees without also being on his hands, they drove away which left Jimmy alone and in the cold.
[Present Day]
“And then I just… wandered.” Jimmy shivered, mostly from the memory. “I tried to find where people were but it was so white, endless, and blinding I couldn’t tell what direction I was going or anything…”
“I’m gonna kill ‘em.” Scott’s voice was sharp and annoyed. Despite the edge to his voice, he still wrapped a blanket around Jimmy as they sat on the bed.
“They’re not worth the time.” Jimmy shook his head with a sigh. “Besides, they allowed me to see you.”
Scott’s frustrated expression quickly grew to a flustered one. His eyes fell down to Jimmy’s lips before he sucked in his own and averted his gaze. “There are better ways to come visit me, you know. Getting in some homophobe’s car with his goons is not how I would prefer you to get up here. I wouldn’t turn you away if you came up here some other way or I would find my way down to you if you asked.”
“I know.” Jimmy responded in a breathy whisper.
They two sat in silence, the only noise they could hear was the wind howling outside and the other’s breathing. It was calm, sure, but there was something hanging in the air that Jimmy couldn’t place. He opened his mouth to break the silence but Scott beat him to it.
“Did you mean it when you said you wanted to kiss me?” Scott blurted out, still avoiding Jimmy’s eyes.
Jimmy blinked rapidly at that, mouth opening and closing several times. “I- what?”
“You said you wanted to kiss when you- ah, yeah forget it.” Scott shook his head, squeezing his eyes closed. “You were feverishly saying stuff and I just- hm...”
His friend trailed off, turning back to Jimmy to put the back of his hand against Jimmy’s forehead. Scott sighed in relief and gave him a small smile. “Still no fever, which is a good thing. You were still so out of it when you warmed up, which isn’t surprising. It makes sense that your brain wouldn’t be working very well when it is more interested in keeping you alive than in thinking clearly.”
Jimmy’s face turned red as memories from the day before flooded into his mind. He didn’t know what to say so all that left his mouth was a quiet “Oh.“
Scott didn’t say anything more and Jimmy didn’t either. The silence was a lot more awkward than before but they still sat in it for a few moments.
“Scott?” Jimmy broke the silence this time but he sounded small and hesitant.
“Hm?” Scott glanced at him as he continued to fidget with the hem of his shirt.
“Would you, uh,” Jimmy struggled to come up with the right words to say, “would you want to kiss me? Because I would. Like to kiss you, I mean.”
Jimmy watched for a reaction but all Scott seemed to do was freeze when he heard his words. He was surprised when Scott’s hands cupped his face and a kiss was pressed against his lips but the surprise he felt was very much welcomed.
Jimmy returned the kiss enthusiastically, one hand finding its way to Scott’s back and the other intertwining itself in Scott’s blue hair. The kiss felt electric and wonderful. It was just how Jimmy had imagined since before he realized he had developed a crush on his childhood best friend.
They broke apart to breathe for a moment but their faces were still so close together that they could still feel the other’s breath against their face.
“Does this mean we’re boyfriends now?” Jimmy asked, a lazy but very happy smile on his lips.
“I would hope so, Jimmy.” Scott laughed airily, amusement and joy sparkling in his eyes. “Otherwise, we’ll need to have a conversation about the terms and conditions of our relationship.”
Jimmy snorted at that, ducking his head as he laughed. He didn’t respond with words and just leaned back in for another kiss. The cold snow was still falling outside but it was nothing against the warmth between them at this moment.