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"How warm are people… supposed to be?" Es mumbled, legs dangling back and forth on the kitchen chair, swishing their cape.
Shidou set his elbows on the kitchen island, moving his head to look at them better; their face was turned away. "Well, it depends where you measure it. Why do you ask?"
"Aren't we supposed the keep ourselves warm?" They sighed, drooping their head on the table. It was late, but they felt too cold to sleep in their room.
Without Shidou keeping them alert, they would easily fall asleep in the kitchen (again), where the AC wasn't constantly blasting.
They requested for more AC, because the cold kept them up in the daytime. However, the cold did not relent for the night, and they did not have a thick blanket.
His eyes brushed over them, taking the sight of them in. "Es, are you… cold?"
They tapped their hands onto their goosebumps, imagining it as whack-a-mole; then, they realized Shidou was still watching and pulled their cape over them to hide. "…no."
The microwave hummed in the background as it spun a cup of hot chocolate around.
Shidou looked skeptic, but he moved on. His hand indicated the microwave. "Next time, I can make some for you. Is hot chocolate your favorite?"
They tucked their head away. "… That's not your concern." They mumbled.
"Haha, alright… even so, I would advise against late-night sweet excursions. Sugar and chocolate can overheat and excite the senses." Their brain couldn't find a retort to that; they just wanted something sweet. Was that so wrong? The microwave's beep interrupted the silence after his lecture, and Es shifted to move towards it.
Shidou lay a gloved hand on their shoulder, settling them back down. "I'll get it."
"Mhm." Es did not want to acknolwedge their exhaustion, but their exhaustion did not want to acknowledge their desire to move and speak properly. Thus, they were at an impasse. Meanwhile, Shidou dodged the corners of the kitchen island, extracting the hot chocolate with practiced precision.
"Careful, it could burn." Es opened their eyes to a clink in front of them, disoriented; they had momentarily slipped away. Shidou tilted his head, smiling down at their sleepy behavior.
They had not processed his earlier warning, and flinched at the heat when they tried to lift it up. The warm cup stumbled over their hands, spilling onto the cold granite.
Their burnt hand curled into themself, as they stared, dumbfounded. "Aah..!" Their brain fog was dissipated by adrenaline, revealing… more brain fog.
Shidou covered his mouth, trying not to laugh and failing. "Here— I'll clean this up." He strode to the area that kept the rags.
"I didn't drop that. That wasn't my fault." They pretended to regard the spill with cold apathy, but their voice pitched in a whine. Deep down, they knew they would regret this in the morning. What were they doing, acting like this?
As the rag danced back and forth, soaking up the mistake, Shidou reassured, "I can make you some warm milk."
They hesitated for many reasons. Shidou stared at one part of them knowingly, as he tossed the rag to the side and turned to the pantry. "Do you want honey in it?"
They nodded instinctively, appeased by sugar.
Their attention turned to their hand, trying to discern in the dim lighting whether it was burnt or not. Still, it was warm. Their other hand drifted towards it like a moth to a flame.
Maybe hot chocolate could cure their cold ailment, they had thought. It was a shame that their solution fell and dripped down in frigid saccharine germs.
They traced the leftover spill with their finger into indistinct shapes, watching Shidou prepare their drink; clanging and clanking, humming and shuffling. "you… really don't have to, y'know? There's no reason."
He mixed in honey and a dash of cinnamon into the warmth with swishes of a spatula. "I like doing this. It's just… nostalgic, for me."
A cold feeling gripped their insides, and their face fell. "Ah. Nostalgic, huh." So, that was the only reason he did this. That should have comforted them.
Instead, Es closed their eyes, pretending the sounds of his preparation were reaching for them. Then, upon noticing this shameful desire, they pretended this was a dream. That they would look down, and see 6 fingers instead of 5.
A pouring sound like a babbling creek, and a clink of porcelain on countertop.
Despite their hopes, a mug that wasn't unbearably hot found its way into their fingers, with the full sensation of reality. "And you ought to be heading to bed after this. You seem really tired."
It wasn't for them, but it warmed their hands. "No, I don'. 'M functional. Operation..al." The syllables fumbled off their tongue. They prayed that either Shidou didn't notice (not likely), or that they wouldn't remember this in the morning (likely).
They allowed the warmth in, only because of their immutable craving for sweetness. "Is it good?" Shidou moved his chair, sitting closer next to them.
"Stolen." They tilted it to guzzle the warmth down as if it was their last. It probably was. "But… really good."
"Haha, you really are tired, yeah?" He moved his hand to pat their head, testing the limit. No reaction.
They set the empty cup down and hunched over, moving to sleep right then and there. The liquid in their stomach protested, but they were too tired to care.
"Alright, Es. C'mon, let's get you up." In the back of their mind, someone was screaming about how humiliating this was. Despite that, they took Shidou's arm, clinging onto its warmth, but not getting up.
Both of them ran cold. But, when they got closer, they both warmed up. What was up with that?
"Gonna kill you in the m'rning." They reminded him, while pulling themself closer to him.
He chuckled. "I wouldn't mind that, but you can only kill me on good sleep. Now come on, let's get up. It's not too far to your room."
Es leaned on him as they trudged to their room. "Not really. Don't die."
He did not respond. A sour taste clogged the back of their throat, where sweetness was.
Shidou opened their door, leading them to their bed. He rustled the sheets to create room for them, as they felt their vision begin to fade.
"You'll sleep too, right?" And the movement stopped.
They avoided looking at his face. It would betray a cruel, harsh truth. "Goodnight, Es-kun."
From the lingering touch of his arm, they were warm enough to fall asleep.