Archive of Our Own ^beta

"S cold," Rabi said. He shuddered, as if to prove the point.

"I know it's cold," Kanda snapped. He was still kneeling by the fireplace, as if he could will something there by the force of his glare.

Hell, Rabi considered. Maybe he could.

"I'll go look again," Rabi said, getting up. "Maybe there's some furniture we could break up."

Getting a spark wasn't a problem; it was finding something that would burn. They could probably break themselves out of the ruined castle, if they could get their strength back. But that was hard to do when it was snowing, half the walls were collapsed, and they couldn't find anything to set on fire.

Kanda got off his knees. "I'll look too." His injury was healing, but he was still moving slowly.

"Don't--"

"You're hurt too," Kanda said dismissively. "We'll both go."

"Right," Rabi said. Rabi's injuries were nothing, but Kanda was Kanda. It wasn't worth arguing sometimes. He went to the north; Kanda disappeared to the west.

The second look paid off; a room he hadn't noticed before had a stack of old paintings in the corner. Timber. Imperfect, but they'd burn, even if they burnt hot. Maybe Yuu would score something too. At least they wouldn't freeze to death.

At least not overnight.

Shit, it wasn't that bad. Yuu would heal up, if he just rested for a damn minute, and the hammer could probably smash through this wreckage if his hands weren't too cold to hold it.

He started stripping the paintings off the walls. Nice thick frames; Rabi grinned. They'd be fine.

"Hey," he shouted on his way back. "I got--"

Kanda was curled up by the fireplace, grimacing.

Rabi walked over and stroked his back. "I got wood," he said.

"I found a chair. Do you have matches or should I--"

"I got it," Rabi said. "Rest."

Kanda snorted, but he sat up and waited for Rabi, for once. Rabi kicked the crap out of the picture frames-- which was kinda satisfying-- and threw them in with the remains of the chair; Kanda must've opened up his wounds again breaking it up. Rabi dug his matches out of his pocket and tried not to think about the wet sound of Kanda's breathing.

"That's better," he said, when they finally had a fire going. "Won't freeze to death, anyway."

"Not for an hour or so."

"Optimistic, Yuu." Rabi grinned when he said it, though; Kanda couldn't be too bad off if he could still be cynical. Rabi kneeled down next to him. "C'mon. We stay close, we'll be warmer."

Kanda looked up at him, grey-blue eyes holding his for a moment, and then he reached out and pulled Rabi suddenly, violently close.

Okay, Rabi thought.

Kanda's arm felt warm and real around his waist, and Rabi realized how tired he was. "Unbutton your coat," Kanda said, and Rabi obeyed, his fingers protesting at having to move, at the sharp bite of the metal buttons. Kanda unbuttoned his own coat and pulled Rabi still closer. Rabi could feel the bandages around Kanda's chest.

"Yuu," Rabi said.

"Shut up and get some sleep," Kanda snapped.

"Yeah," Rabi said. "Sleep."

Sleep was a good idea. Pulling his arm around Kanda-- under the coat, so he could feel the warmth of his skin-- seemed like a good idea too. Rabi thought about it for a second, and then tipped his head a bit, so their cheeks were touching. "Okay?"

"Hn," Kanda said, which was as close to "yes" as Rabi could expect. He seemed to relax a little against Rabi, which was nice. It was nice, having teammates, people to work with. He knew the rules; he knew he and Bookman weren't really on any side. But....

But for now it was all right just to keep Yuu warm, to feel the steady pulse against the palm of his hand as it rested against Kanda's back.

It felt a lot warmer now. Rabi closed his eyes and slept.