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Good sleep. That's all Alyosha wanted.
He had had a long, tiring day. Usually his days were tiring, but this one was significantly longer. Moving crates of food, blankets and clothes to the cabin he and you had cleared out yesterday had worn him out completely. Still, he felt that helping the community was more important. To his delight, you also helped, but left a few hours in to travel to Snezhnograd in order to gather intel. Of course, the people of Sretomorozsk aided him, but he found himself preferring you by his side.
After some time Alyosha had not kept track of had passed, you returned to see how it was going. But again, you didn't stay long and left. And Alyosha couldn't exactly blame you, even if he wanted to. You were a traveller, and perhaps staying in the same spot for too long simply wasn't your style. You didn't mention where you were going, but you never said anything about how long you were staying either. He assumed that was your preferred way of living. The Traveller, always clouded in mystery.
It had been a long time since he first descended to the heat source beneath the cabin. Hauling resources had taken more time than expected, and at some point walking from Sretomorozsk to the cabin became somewhat of a haze. Sometimes it was day, other times it was night. It all blurred into eachother, and by the time it was all finished, Alyosha wasn't sure if he could walk back to his house without fainting on the way. At least Tugarin had managed to get some sleep in between moving blankets and food, so he would have some sort of guide.
Once again, he made his way back to Sretomorozsk, Tugarin by his side. If he were to encounter any sort of aggressive fae, it would sure be the end of both him and his companion. He was too exhausted to even hold the rifle properly, let alone put up a fight.
After what seemed like an eternity, Alyosha ascended the stairs to his house, holding onto the wooden railing for dear life. All he could think about was his bed.
Somewhere close to the door, Tugarin began to bark.
"Mm? What's that, buddy?" Alyosha practically slurred, and out of habit reached for his rifle. But Tugarin showed no signs of aggressiveness, in fact, he seemed very happy. No growling, wagging his tail— yeah, it's fine . He fumbled with his keys and finally pushed the door open.
Ah, home sweet home . Alyosha took off his gloves and put them on a nearby table. Tugarin ran towards his owner's bed and began to wag his tail even faster, putting his front paws on the mattress and nudging something that was on it with his nose. Alyosha took a few steps towards the bed and suddenly halted when the thing on it moved. A giggle, one very familiar to him. Blonde hair peeked out from under the layers of blanket you hid beneath.
"Tugarin! Stop it.." You laughed again. "That tickles, boy." Your hands found the dog's thick fur and you began to pet it, leading to Tugarin only licking your face even more.
Right . Alyosha thought. He did tell you you could stay. And that extra key.. he had been too busy to ask for it back. He sighed, and a subtle smile found its way to his face.
"Alyosha," You sat up on his bed and Tugarin calmed down. "How long were you down there for? You look.."
"I look what?" He questioned, looking like he's about to tip over.
"Tired, I guess," You stood up and walked towards him, taking his snow-covered hood off for him. "Come on, you need to sleep."
Alyosha didn't move. To the lack of a reaction, you began unzipping his thick jacket yourself, leaving him in his slightly less thick undershirt. The man didn't seem to mind, so you leaned down and took his soggy boots off as well, under which his socks were intact and dry. Tugarin circled his feet, still wagging his tail, before settling down in a corner of the room.
"Is this good enough?" You stood up again and asked Alyosha as you took off his earmuffs. He simply nodded in response. You noticed that his ears were red from the cold. Poor guy . You put a hand over one of his ears, leaving Alyosha quite flustered. "Let's get you to bed, okay?"
The two of you walked at Alyosha's incredibly slow pace to the bed as he held onto you, afraid to fall. He lied down as per your request and you covered his shivering body with blankets.
You put a hand to his forehead, checking for a fever. "Do you need anything?" He shook his head and sighed, sinking his head into the pillow under him. No signs of fever , you thought. That's good .
Significantly less stressed by his state, you went back to bed right next to him, put your head on your own pillow and closed your eyes, ready to fall back asleep. But it didn't take long until you felt Alyosha shifting next to you. He mumbled something unintelligible with his eyes closed and, slowly, he moved his head to be resting in the crook of your neck, an arm stretched still on top of your torso finding you as well.
You observed his face in this proximity to you. The freckles scattered along his face, his long eyelashes that catch snowflakes every time he goes outside. You moved your own hand to caress his thick, white hair, and then his cold, red cheeks. A beautiful man lied in your arms, and he hummed in reply to your work on his face.
You felt a little guilty for coming unannounced. The look on Alyosha's face when he walked into the cabin showed that he wasn't expecting you to be there. Since Paimon was sick, she couldn't come with you to Sretomorozsk to check on Alyosha's work, and you would have much rather stayed in his house than on your train, which had previously taken you to the Shadow Realm. "Sorry for not telling you I was coming," you whispered. Alyosha's breath was warm on your neck. He let out a sort of grunt in reply. He didn't look like he really cared now. "Mm. Good night." You gave up on talking and finally closed your eyes.
When you woke up Alyosha was in the same position, only much closer to you. He looked like a sad, clingy puppy, and that only made you smile. Like you did last night, you began to play with his hair, and Alyosha seemed to respond by pushing himself into you even if it was physically impossible to get closer. You had no idea when he would wake up, but that didn't really matter. He needed sleep, and leaving would surely wake him up. Maybe just this once, you could stay in bed a little longer.