Chapter Text
“Alright. I can’t take this anymore.”
Todd’s eyes opened just in time to see Neil roll over onto his back from his side with a frustrated sound. As his friend always was, he was right. The cold was bordering on unbearable at this point. It was almost as though they were actually outside in the frigid winter weather in only their pajamas, actually feeling the gelid winds collide with their flesh and penetrate it mercilessly, almost stab it with the vehemence of a cruel man. Their skin could only do so much in terms of protection. Such bitter forces constantly prevailed in these situations.
“What do you suggest we do?” he asked, his larynx trembling along with the rest of his body. A few more minutes, and his teeth would start clattering just like in the cartoons.
The heaters broke in the entire school. Which was surprising, considering how wealthy it was. It all happened in one moment, and for some reason Todd believed that this was some act of internal sabotage. This should be considered terrorism, he had thought the second he began feeling the freeze build up, no, this is terrorism. He could not exactly decipher the political message behind it, though.
“Man, I don’t know,” Neil replied, rubbing his face. Todd watched with mild astonishment. Neil’s arms became naked because of the action, the blanket not shielding them anymore, which automatically caused Todd to shiver and cringe. Neil seemed to be way more tolerant towards low temperatures than he was. Perhaps he was a reptile. “How are you holding up?”
Todd breathed in, a shaky inhale, and clutched his own thin blanket tighter. He was as cocooned as he could be underneath this excuse of a warm coverage. Once again, the school was wealthy. Providing adequate duvets so that its students did not freeze to death should not be a problem.
“I’m– I’m good,” he lied, quite blatant.
Neil sighed, making his stomach turn in discomfort. He did not exactly want to upset Neil by lying to him, but he also was not so keen on telling the rather pathetic truth. He… He did not want Neil to regard him as weak. It was a few low degrees, after all. Nothing a human body should have trouble with handling. And yet his was.
“Yeah, and I’m Shakespeare," the boy retorted, sitting up. Todd grimaced slightly as more of the blanket fell from Neil’s body, revealing almost all its naked glory to be feasted upon by the beast of arctic temperatures. For a bit, he almost found himself in a spark of jealousy. Such a monster would only taint and cause pain to Neil, leave him frostbitten and no longer fruitful of poetry and life. The cold would drain him, dropping only the distasteful leftovers of rotten parts. But Todd… Todd would have taken care of him, Todd would have rekindled every blown out flame. His touch would not have been biting, it would have been gentle. The monster had no right to be able to feel Neil’s skin. Only Todd… Only Todd had that right.
“Hello? Earth to Todd?”
He blinked, and Neil was in front of him. His eyes moved up from the unclad shins to the black pupils. This was heaven in hell. Sleeping solely in briefs was a hobby of Neil's, he had figured. On the day of that revelation, Todd had woken up to see Neil sitting on his bed doing seemingly nothing. However, his brain had been barely conscious and upon registering his roommate’s nude torso, he screamed, under the assumption that Neil was pleasuring himself. Now that was a true barbaric yawp, much unlike the one he had been forced to perform in class.
“Yeah?” he managed, struggling to keep his eyes on Neil’s face. “What are you doing?”
Neil’s blanket was over his back – he was wearing it like a cape. Todd could not help but cringe again, though he was also growing concerned. It appeared that they both had weird bodies. The cold did not even seem to be bothering Neil as much as it would a normal person.
“Make room,” was the only warning Todd was given before Neil was climbing into his bed.
“What the– Neil!” he exclaimed, aghast but automatically scooting away to let the boy settle down. Heart hammering, he stared, absolutely appalled at the occurrence in front, different feelings and emotions beginning to swirl inside like a whirlpool. Anxiety rose within him. Was he finally dying of hypothermia? Were hallucinations the final symptoms of this inevitable fatality?
“Calm down,” Neil said, as collected as ever, and Todd had always envied his apparent indifference. “You’re obviously freezing. Sharing body heat is a common way of surviving in such precarious situations.”
“But– But–”
Neil sighed, looking at him. “It’s only weird if you make it weird, remember?” he reminded, a small, reassuring smile gracing his lips at which Todd could not help but glance at, coloring an instant shade of red.
Unable to dispute, he slowly let himself relax. Well, it was not like Neil was going to suggest full-on cuddling, of course. It was his crushing brain drawing such brash conclusions. Neil was just going to lay there, twenty centimeters away, and the body heat would travel through the air. Yes. That was logical, way more logical than–
“Here, lemme just– Holy shit! Holy shit, Todd!”
Todd nearly yelled as well upon feeling Neil’s sudden touch come and go on his arm. His eyes simply widened, a new expression of bewilderment painting his face.
“What–”
“You’re freezing!” the boy continued, looking at Todd as though he had shocked him with electricity. “You’re– You’re actually freezing! Like, this is– this is actual hypothermia body temperature!”
“Are– Are you sure? I mean, you are overly warm–”
“Hell yes, I’m sure! Todd– Why didn’t you say anything?”
“I just–”
“Y’know what?” Neil cut him off, huffing. “We’ll discuss that later. Come here.”
Todd did not move, still quite reeling and reluctant to do anything without a solid phrasing. Was Neil honestly suggesting cuddling? That was absurd. That was absolutely bonkers.
Upon not receiving any form of answer, Neil moved himself and trapped Todd in an embrace with the swiftness of a literal ninja. The boy even let out a small sound of displeasure at his alleged too-low body temperature when it made final contact.
Todd was about to protest once more, with the use of force if required, when he stopped thinking. When his breath hitched and he stopped breathing.
Because Neil– Neil was warm.
So much warmer than he had imagined
Neil's skin was hot compared to his, and Todd's face was pressed right against it, right against his chest, his heart. And, oh, his heart! The one carrying this blazeful blood throughout this entire pleasant body! The one providing such an uncanny amount of heat in these harsh circumstances! The one Todd so bashfully adored!
Embarrassment forgotten, anxiety overcome with found relief at last, he clung onto Neil as though a koala clinging onto a branch.
“Whoa, hey–” He heard Neil say as his limbs hugged and grew tight around their saviour. “You good?” Perhaps Neil's voice carried a hesitant, almost a trembling note. But Todd did not really notice, too occupied with trying to melt into the connected warm flesh.
“You're hot,” he muttered into the sternum, pleasure clouding the brain-to-mouth filter he usually possessed.
“I'm–” If Neil was growing flustered above, then it was not Todd's fault. He brought this upon himself. You reap the fruit you sow, after all. “I suppose you're right,” he relented, volume decreasing.
Content, Todd hummed, urging his molecules to mend with Neil faster. His incessant trembling soon ceased, and so did his consciousness. He felt fingers in his hair as sleep began to finally tug him away into the realm of sweet, sweet dreams.
However, Todd could argue that those dreams did not compare to the real one coming true before him. After all, nothing was sweeter than Neil in his arms.