Work Text:
It was dark out when Taylor had walked up to the tall tree by Ace’s place, walking through an inch or two of snow in the process. The idiot (Ace) had decided to sit outside against the tree during the winter with only a light sweater on.. And he’s sleeping?! What person even does that? At least Taylor had gone through the effort of putting on a winter coat when he decided to come here.
Well, as Ace’s super-extreme kind and caring friend, Taylor obviously has to help out, right? Because there’s no possible way Ace isn’t cold at the moment. So, of course, Taylor has to help him warm up.
Taylor walked closer to Ace, before getting on all fours to crawl over to him (to prevent the sound of snow being crunched beneath him, of course). His head was now right next to Ace’s shoulder, he could see Ace’s pretty face up close now. Taylor wishes could say that Ace looks relaxed, but even while sleeping Ace looked like he had a stick up his ass.
… Wait, what was he doing? He’s supposed to be helping Ace.
Before he gets distracted again, Taylor sits up onto his knees, backing up away from Ace juuuuust enough. He lifts his arms up slowly, before suddenly pouncing on Ace. Ace, once leaning against the bark of a tree, was now pressed up against the snow due to Taylor making them both fall, and letting his weight push him onto it. And of course.. that woke Ace up.
“Rise and shine, sweetheart!” Taylor exclaimed, his body still lying on Ace’s as he made no attempt to move.
Ace’s eyes struck open the moment he was disturbed, a glare now set on Taylor when he fully processed the situation and position they were in. If this were any normal scenario, he probably would’ve started a fight with Taylor, but it is freezing.
“Taylor.” Ace grit his teeth as he spoke, a sign of his patience wearing thin. Is Taylor intentionally pissing him off, or what?! “What the fuck are you doing?!”
“Whaaaaat?” Taylor moved his arms to wrap around Ace, trying to prove his good intentions. “See? I’m helping you stay warm. You should thank me.”
“Maybe I’d thank you if you weren’t currently pushing me against the freezing fucking snow! Get the hell off me!”
Taylor hummed in disappointment. Okay, it was more amusement than disappointment, but regardless, he lifted himself off Ace and sat against the tree. Ace pushed himself up from the ground, sitting up and wiping stray chunks of snow from his sleeve. Ace then turned his head towards Taylor, his face clearly showing displeasure.
“You’re an asshole! I’m gonna get some kind of frostbite because of that fucking stunt you just pulled!”
Taylor on the other hand, showed no displeasure at all. He seemed content, in fact.
“If you get frostbite, then it’s definitely because you decided to sit outside in the first place. Besides, I was trying to make you warmer.”
“And you think making me drown in snow was the best method to do that?”
“Drown is an exaggeration. I thought hugging you was the best method to do that. It’s not my fault you fell.”
“It definitely was!”
They could go back and forth all day (Taylor wouldn’t mind), but Taylor still hasn’t helped Ace warm up, and he’s not gonna back down on that.
“Why were you sleeping outside anyway?”
Ace looked around, taking a moment before responding. It’s like he was trying to figure out his response. “Because I’m tired.”
“That doesn’t answer my question.”
“Yes it fucking does! You asked why I was sleeping!”
“I asked why you were sleeping outside, moron. Obviously you’re gonna be tired when it’s this late! But it isn’t sleep-outside-weather, if you haven’t noticed.”
“Well, moron, it was colder than I anticipated.”
Their surroundings were actually quite nice. It was pretty when the scene had snow draped everywhere. Maybe that’s why Ace slept outside? But Taylor didn’t think aesthetics outweighed shitty weather.
Taylor could notice Ace’s arms holding himself, like one would do if they’re chilly and forgot a jacket, which is what Ace literally did. “So… You still cold?”
“Obviously. I’m not gonna magically become warm in the snow just because you’re here.”
“I can change that.”
“What?”
Before Ace could ask anymore questions of clarification, Taylor had already taken one arm out from the sleeve of his winter coat. Ace raised his brows, before quickly protesting.
“Are you stupid?! Keep your coat on! I don’t want to be warmer if it’s at your expense!”
Taylor rolled his eyes at Ace’s immediate lack of faith in him.
“Relax, I’m not giving it to you.”
Well, technically Taylor wasn’t lying. Because after taking his other arm out from the other sleeve, he scooted closer towards Ace so then their shoulders were touching. Taylor gently grabbed his coat with both hands, before wrapping it around both his and Ace’s shoulders.
Clearly he hasn’t thought this through, because now they were closer than Taylor thought it was gonna be, and it felt more intimate than expected.
But nonetheless, Taylor acted confident.
“Look. Now we’re both warm.”
It took a moment for Ace to process what Taylor had done and respond back. His face now had red lightly tinted on his cheeks, but Taylor determined that it must’ve been from the cold. Ace turned his gaze away from Taylor.
“Isn’t this still colder for you since you can’t zip it up now, you idiot?”
Well, he wasn’t wrong. It was in fact colder than just properly wearing the coat.
“Can I come closer then?”
When those words left Taylor’s mouth, it didn’t take long for Ace to respond back.
“… Just don’t make it weird, asshole.”
Taylor acted a bit quicker than he wanted, scooting closer towards Ace the second he spoke. Now not only were their shoulders touching, but they were now pushed against each other’s sides. Their heads both turned away from each other, avoiding any eye contact to make this scenario any more embarrassing for either of them.
“Do you feel warmer?” Taylor’s voice was lower and softer than usual now, as if this whole thing couldn’t get any more intimate.
“Mhm.” A short and sweet response.
“It’s late. You can go back to sleep.. if you want.”
After hearing that, Ace, out of his own volition, Taylor swore on his life, moved his head to lean on Taylor’s shoulder. Ace Markey was initiating physical touch first. What alternate plane has Taylor entered for this to occur?
“Is this fine?” Ace’s voice was hesitant. It’d be so funny if Taylor said no right now.
“Anything is fine with me when it’s you, Ace.”
Ace let out a huff of relief before closing his eyes, letting himself relax against Taylor’s shoulder. A smile tugged at Taylor’s lips, before resting his head against the tree. But, he gasped when he realized something. Taylor had forgotten the whole reason he came here.
Fuck. The medal. He brought a medal so he could give it to Ace since he deserved it. Why was he so forgetful?
Taylor turned his head to look at Ace, who for once was sleeping soundly and peacefully, unlike when Taylor had first stumbled upon him. Yeah no. He’s not gonna disrupt Ace when he looks like that.
So instead, Taylor let his eyes close shut, drifting off to sleep alongside Ace as he lets himself cherish the moment.