Chapter Text
The light of the moon lit up the snow on that particularly cold Garlean night. The rare cloudless sky gave way to countless shadows that signaled any sort of movement, and no one was held exempt from this fact, not even the most talented spy of the entire Garlean army. His normal attire was dark for a reason; to blend in with his surroundings in the shadows, do his job properly from afar. But on nights like this, he had nowhere to hide but the shadows, and if he moved even the slightest bit, his own cast shadow would deviate from the shadows he hid in. Typically, not a struggle for him, he could stay as still as stone for as long as he needed to.
This night, however… this night he was watching the border of Garlean territory in Ilsabard, sent so far out that he could no longer see the capital city nor even a hint of the glow from ceruleum powered lights. All the light he had out here was the light reflected off the full moon. All else was shadow, silent.
Except for the shivering body next to him that was clearly not as used to staying out in the cold for long nights.
Hadrian hardly found himself annoyed. He himself was shivering a bit, but the ceruleum hand warmers were helping to fend off the cold. Still, the cold was bitter, and hand warmers could only do so much.
Shuffling in his pockets slowly, Hadrian produced a spare hand warmer and handed it to his silent companion, who gratefully accepted it with shaking hands. The blond heard a shaky sigh, then he himself sighed as he shifted to wrap his arms around the smaller figure.
“Nights without any wind feel the coldest sometimes,” Hadrian whispered, feeling the full body shivers that were afflicting his companion.
“How do you even handle this cold so often,” Jullus’s hushed voice asked, huddling his body closer into Hadrian's.
Their dark heavy clothing did little to stop the bitter cold from penetrating what little skin they had exposed. Hats lined with fur and thick canvas masks did fairly well, but their eyes, though covered by goggles, were still allowing the cold in, the seals around the edges of the goggles not quite perfect. Wrists became slightly exposed when arms moved slightly too much, sometimes the hat shifted upwards too much, either way, some movements made the biting cold less tolerable.
Sighing again, Jullus closed his eyes, focusing on the warmth coming from his boyfriend’s body.
Hadrian, with his eyes on the hill across from them, leaned his head on Jullus’s. “Just keep close. Stay still. We got eyes on us.”