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Being a sea dweller has it’s advantages. You’re tough as nails and strong as a whale, able to withstand crushing pressures of the deep without ever needing to come up for air, resisting temperature changes for everything between boiling and freezing. Well, in the water, that is.
In water your gills work enough muscles to give you warmth when needed, and your porous skin can trade heat and cold with the outside to keep you in equilibrium. But on land, air can freeze or dry out your gills, and your skin barely has enough water vapour to be useful for anything other than sweating. You’re also hairless everywhere except your head, so those bumps you get when you’re cold do absolutely jack shit compared to the rest of your species.
In short, it’s a wonder you survived out of water your whole life, and it’s a bonafide miracle that both you and Fef have lasted so long in a metal box floating through the cold vastness of space.
You wrap your cape tighter around yourself, glancing over at where Feferi is shivering in the horn pile. The bitter part of you is glad that Sollux has more important things to do than be with her, but the frustrating remnant of your Moirallegence knows that he was the only one keeping her warm in that ridiculously skimpy outfit.
It’s not like you didn’t try to help; you offered her a scarf, and your cape! You cherish this fuckin thing! But she just told you that it wasn’t your place to worry anymore. So you said fine, fuck her. But the more she tries to smile through her chattering teeth, the more you want to just throw the cape at her anyway. You’ve got tons of layers, after all, and she may not be as bad off as you - violet blooded mutant who can’t regulate his own temperature, fun for all the seasons! - but you can’t just watch her freeze.
“Are you okay Fefurri?” Nepeta frowns as she crouches down next to your ex Moirail.
“Oh, yes I’m fine, just a bit chilly.” Wow, not a single fish pun.
“Hmm,” Nepeta tilts her head - clearly not falling for it. “Well, okay, but yowl at me if you need anything.”
Feferi smiles, thanking her with soft eyes and a sigh.
They’ve been talking a lot lately, giggling about things, and Feferi has come back into the room with paint stains on more than one occasion. It’s fine. Neither of them wanted you, might as well hang out together, right? Hah. If that was true, the whole meteor would be the best of pals.
Well, except for one Troll. One who was stupid enough to put up with you and kind enough to look past the fact that at one point you might have put a hole through him.
“Hey, fishfuck, you still freezing your fins off?” Oh how you love the way your mate greets you.
You roll your eyes, even though he can’t see them when he’s leaning on the back of your chair. “W-what a fuckin stupid question, ain’t like it’s gotten any w-warmer around this shithole.”
“You don’t have to be an ass about it,” he says, discreetly rubbing his hands along your shoulders.
A shiver runs up your spine in the best way and you lean into his touch. Ooh, that’s nice and toasty, you want to pull him into your lap and never let him go.
He pauses, but his hands are still on you so it’s okay. He’s probably checking that there’s nobody else around - there’s only Gamzee fucking around with the alchemised result of his wheeled device, Kar shouldn’t have a problem with that, right?
Right indeed, thank the Gods. His fingers slip under your scarf, running over the gill slits sealed tight against the cold, then down past your shirt, across your collarbones.
“You really are freezing,” he mutters, pressing his nose into the back of your neck.
“So w-what? You gonna do somethin about it?” Your skin is prickling more now than it was before, and you shiver again as he sighs into your hair.
“Yes, actually.” He stands up - which you almost whine at - then gives your sleeve a tug. “I found a heater block, c'mon, there’s already a pile there.”
Heater block. Those are possibly the best two words you’ve ever heard sharing the same breath.
You’re up and on the transportiliser before you have time to think about how cold your feet are.
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Feferi’s just being brave, you can tell. She’s trying to be independent, and strong, and all those things she says she needs to be, no matter how many times you say that she’s perfect the way she is. From her long, curly hair down to the freckles on her webbed toes. Absolutely purrfect.
“Do you want my coat?” You ask, when you notice she’s still rubbing her arms even after telling you she’s fine - anyone wearing an outfit like that in this cold definitely isn’t fine!
She jumps up all of a sudden, bouncing on her heels, “Nope, I’m perchfect!”
“I know, but that’s not what I’m asking.” The words jump out before you can think better of it, and you really wish you could give Feferi the heat that’s probably making your face bright green right now.
Why oh why did you say that? It sounded so dumb, it’s like something Ampora would say! Stupid, stupid, stupid!
Then Feferi’s laugh bubbles it’s way into your chest and you don’t think you really care if she’s laughing at you or with you, as long as you get to hear it.
“Okay, okay,” she says as her giggles die down. “But if I take your coat then you’ll be cold too, so how aboat we share?”
Share? Like, you take one sleeve, she takes the other? Oh gosh you’ll be so close together, you’ve only ever hugged and held hands before. What if you smell weird?
“Is that a no?” Crap you took too long, now she’s frowning.
She probably thinks you don’t want to cuddle with her, say something, Nepeta!
“Uh,” that’s not helpful! “Sure?” Oh no, that came out like a question. “Sure! Sure, yes, uh, sharing! Sharing my coat. Yes.” No, no, too enthusiastic, you’re going to scare her off.
Feferi chuckles again, and you start to think maybe you would care if she was laughing at you.
“Or,” she takes a step forwards and you almost jump when her icy fingers slip between yours, “we could find that heater block Karcrab was talking about, and make a nice big pile!”
Your pusher leaps because yes! Cuddles in a pile! But your brain quickly roots out the fault in her plan.
“But isn’t he already there with Ampurra?”
Feferi shrugs, “It’s a public block. I don’t mind sharing, do you mind sharing?”
You quickly shake your head; public displays of affection have never been a problem for you, it’s fun to show others how much you like someone (and to tell everyone else paws off!)
“Great!” Feferi grins, and something about her gleaming, sharp teeth makes you weak at the knees. “Then if the bouys don’t like it, they can leave.”
You love seeing her take charge like this, leading you arm in arm onto the transportiliser and down to the heater block as if she owns the place. At first you were wondering how she’d find it, but the boys left a trail of happy, lovey dovey pheromones all the way there - probably like the ones you’re leaving to mix with them (the thought makes you unbelievably giddy, but you don’t have time to double back and check).
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“Feeling better?” You ask, petting Eridan’s hair as he holds you tighter against him.
He just nods and purrs and clicks a few times in the way you’ve learned means he’s a contented sea dweller.
In the pile next to yours, Feferi gives Nepeta a few chitters of her own, rubbing their cheeks together as they both grin and blush their own colours.
You’d thought there was something between them for a while, so when they turned up with an armful of furs and pillows, it was hardly a surprise - you said the words ‘heater block’ loud enough, after all, and from the way Eridan was trying to hug you from behind as you led him here, the pheromone trail was probably pretty damn potent.
It’s nice to see Nepeta getting over her crush on you, honestly, and for Feferi to stop waiting around for Sollux come back. They’re good for each other, even if you bet the puns are going to be twice as bad now that you know. You wanted Eridan and Feferi to patch things up a little, too. Even if that just means being relaxed in the same room together, not constantly trying to seem as if they aren’t deliberately avoiding each other whilst also wanting to talk.
The talking can wait, though. You don’t want anything to ruin this moment. It almost feels like a four way clover, with all of your purrs blending into one, just like the two piles that are becoming a single giant nest the more all of you fidget.
Maybe the four of you spending more time together wouldn’t be so bad.