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Adam despised the cold.
He grew up with too much of it--that biting frost that steals all the air from your lungs and burrows into your bones. He hated how it seemed to linger, haunting him when he slept or reminding him that it was there as he tried to get warm. He especially was not a fan of how the wind chill blew right through him when he went out for a smoke, and how he only finally thawed in the heat of July.
Then the trap happened, and his displeasure for cold air was reinforced ten-fold. Good ole Jigsaw hadn’t paid the heating bill in a while, it seemed, because for the hours he and Lawrence were trapped in there, he’d been freezing . Between the stagnant, cold air and being wet from his not-so-warm and very unwelcomed bath, he’d been surprised he hadn’t gotten frostbite. Maybe that’s a bit dramatic and unrealistic, but it certainly had caused nothing but more unpleasant associations with being cold for months to follow nonetheless.
Then, Lawrence came into the picture. Officially, anyway.
Following the bathroom trap, he’d tried to hide his displeasure for winter because Lawrence liked it so much. And Adam liked Lawrence--liked how the snow looked when it collected on his hair, and the rosy color that bloomed on his cheeks. He’d taken many opportunities to photograph him in the dead of winter, and it almost inspired a love for the season in him (the breeze would knock it right back out of him, though). But he couldn’t ever get over how in the freezing cold Lawrence always looked so warm .
He agreed on too many occasions to go do winter activities--ice skating in the park (he was less than graceful), taking walks when it snowed, stargazing in the cold because Lawrence always swore the stars looked prettier in the winter. Adam didn’t believe that last one for a minute, but he obliged to do it--all of it--anyway, his camera always slung over his shoulder for when inspiration struck.
This didn’t last forever, though. One harsh week of snow day after snow day was all it took for Adam to crumble, laying bare his true stance on winter.
In their shared apartment, with the heat on, Adam was bundled in layers and sitting on the couch with a hot drink in his hands. Lawrence wasn’t expected to be home from work yet, but one look outside the window was sufficient confirmation that his boyfriend would probably be trudging home soon enough. The snow had already started coming down fast, blanketing the roads and buildings in white. It was pretty, really. Though he visibly cringed at the sound of plow trucks passing by on the street, scraping harshly against the pavement before beeping as they backed up to do it again elsewhere.
Keys jangled, clicking into the lock, and then Lawrence could be heard in the entryway.
Lawrence already knew that Adam was home, so he officially announced his presence by saying, “It’s really coming down out there!” There’s a giddy lilt to his voice and Adam knows what’s coming.
“That so?” He sets down his mug as he waits for his boyfriend to appear.
Lawrence shuffles about for a moment and Adam smiles fondly as he can almost picture what his boyfriend is doing from the noises alone. He was shucking off his work coat and knocking the snow from his boots onto the mat with the end of his cane, then leaving his boots on the shoe rack to dry.
“I was thinking we could take a walk.” He finally comes into view and creases his eyebrows together at how bundled up Adam is. He doesn’t hide the concern from his face, which is ironic since he does it all day whenever he has to deliver bad news to patients, but this is Adam . He crosses the room without another word to kneel in front of him and feel his forehead. “Are you feeling okay?”
Adam’s face twists into one of confusion, even though he’s endeared by the gesture, and gently guides Lawrence’s hand away. “Yeah? Why?”
“Well, I’ve never seen you in so many layers, I thought maybe you were coming down with something.” He’s still not totally convinced, Adam can tell as much.
“I just got a little cold,” he admits, saying it casually to avoid letting on that he was fucking freezing his tits off, thank you very much.
“ You ? For a guy who likes the cold, that’s shocking.” And Adam pauses for a moment, caught between wanting to laugh and wondering how the hell Lawrence came to that conclusion. Sure, he’d purposefully never expressed his disdain for winter, but he sure as hell never made a point to show that he liked it at all.
Ah, fuck it. The truth had to come out eventually. “Lawrence,” he starts, taking his boyfriend's hands in his own like he was about to admit some heartbreaking truth. “I hate cold weather more than anything. Always have.”
Gears are visibly turning in Lawrence’s head as he digests the information, eyebrows knit together in thought. “This whole time…” his eyes meet Adam’s, “I’ve been pretending to like winter because I thought you liked the cold!” There’s a playful accusatory look that tugs his lips into a pout.
“No, I fucking hate it!” A shiver snakes its way up his spine as soon as he exclaims it like his body is trying to make the emphasis for him.
The pout melts away as Lawrence cracks a smile, then lets out a full-on laugh. The two of them were absolutely ridiculous.
“So, let me get this straight. You only pretended to like the cold because you thought I liked it?”
“Well.. yeah. It never seems to bother you.” Adam looks down at their hands in his lap, a smile of his own slowly turning up the corners of his lips despite his desire to appear annoyed at the situation--annoyed that he’d spent so much time covered in snow and shivering from head to toe only for Lawrence to have been just as miserable the entire time. He couldn’t find it within himself, though.
“Oh no, it bothers me,” he chuckles, shifting to sit in a way that was far more comfortable for his leg with the prosthetic. He’s somewhat sideways, but it works. His hands untangle themselves from Adam’s and settle the photographer’s knees, instead. His heart stutters at how Adam moves his own to cover them, the action seemingly done absentmindedly. Lawrence had always admired how casually his boyfriend sought out his touch, like it wasn’t even a thought, just a carnal want, or need , to be close. It dawns on Lawrence with a tinge of guilt that maybe it was partially his way of seeking out warmth, and poor Adam had been subjected to very cold situations because of him. “I knew you grew up with the cold so I just assumed you liked it. Didn’t wanna act like a baby about it.”
“I wish you had,” Adam mumbles, pretending to pout as he pitches forward to rest his forehead on Lawrence’s shoulder. He was still cold despite the layers and the heat. “Wouldn’t have spent so much time freezing my ass off on your behalf.”
Lawrence rolls his eyes as he leans into the touch and opts for wrapping his arms around Adam’s waist as best he can from that angle. It’s a bit awkward, but he somehow doesn’t mind it.
“So I take it we aren’t going for that walk, then?” Lawrence mumbles after a beat, and he can feel the rumble of Adam’s laughter. It warms him instantly.
“Hell no,” he confirms, the edge of a chuckle still caught on his words. “Would rather stay in with you.”
Lawrence hums in agreement. He suppresses a shiver and tugs Adam to the floor with him very ungracefully. The latter lets out a startled noise, which just makes Lawrence chuckle again. The floor is very uncomfortable but he’d been feeling a bit cold himself--using Adam as a blanket worked out in both their favors.
"That's better," he mumbles, hugging around Adam's waist more properly now. Adam grumbles, tucking his head against Lawrence's neck. He basks in their shared warmth.