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Scott wandered through Whisperville searching for his friends. A small group of them had spent the day clearing the towers and doing walk through of each of the dungeons. Slowly as the day continued on more and more people started to drop from their group, till eventually it was only Ambear, Legs, and himself. The trio had decided to head back to Ambears to unwind from the busy day. Aurora's recent rebellious streak of refusing to listen to the Ice Mage or outright hindering him left Scott the last to arrive, so he must search for his friends.
The setting sun painted a golden light across Whisperville, Scott would imagine it might still be quite warm if he could still feel it, like the summer evenings in Tegrith could be. While embracing the cold and magic might have been quite useful, he can't help but miss being able to experience the weather in full, the good and the bad.
Rounding the corner of one of the many breathtaking buildings Scott finally found his friends, both laying in segment of lush grass and flowers. The pair seem like they're trying their best to both look dead and overly exhausted. Legs is laid out on his stomach, arms star-fished out to the side of him and his head turned so he could lay comfortably, the same pose he pretends to fall on his dagger with. Ambear in exchange was laying on her back, one arm over her eyes doing nothing as she's clearly still peaking out at Scott, and the other out to the side of her similar to Legs.
Walking up to them both Scott rests his hands on his hips, standing over them with a raised eyebrow. Ambear takes another peak out at Scott before covering her face again, playing up the theatrics when she speaks, "Oh poor us! We are just so tired from all the work we did today we can't muster another step! If only there was a big strong Ice Mage who could carry us home!"
Ambear laid on her thickest 'woe is me' voice possible, trying her best to ignore Scott's presence but still glancing up at him periodically to make sure he's still watching. Scott rolled his eyes, letting his attention shift to Legs, who'd yet to speak.
"Oh? and what about you bud? You also too tired?" Scott gently nudged Legs with his foot, unable to hide to mirth in his voice at their antics.
Legs has a slight smile when he speaks, "Caffeine crash, just had too much coffee and not enough sleep, but this grass is pretty comfy, could sleep right here"
"Surprised to hear you admit that, normally you'd dance around being tired until you passed out. Okay so you both want carried, are we wanting one at a time or the same time? Cause if it's the same time I'm picking you both up like sacks of potatoes."
Ambear and Legs both look at each other and Legs opens his mouth to speak but Ambear is faster, "One at a time! And you should do Legs first since he's actually slept in a field before!"
Ambear voice carries the cadence of a child tattling on another, and the look of betrayal Legs gives the fairy has Scott assuming he's not far off.
"True, okay well Legs can you sit up for me, or at least roll over so I can get you?"
Legs looks more unsure of himself but still rolls over and sits up, based on the vibes if Scott didn't know any better he'd assume both him and Legs were playing some kinda of game of chicken. The what or why that would be the case alludes Scott as he leans down, picking Legs up in bridal style. Legs's hands fly to grab onto whatever they can, Scott mummers soft assurances to the other man as he shift's to hold him safely. Legs's weight is solid in his hands but nothing particularly heavy, if anything Legs probably needs to be eating more. Scott saves that mental note for later, looking down at Ambear who is extremely giddy.
"What's got you so happy?" Scott asks obliviously,
"Oh nothing! You know what, I'm actually not tired anymore!," Ambear jumps up with a grin, "I'll just walk home, but you should definitely still carry Legs! He's just soooo tired, Anyway! I gotta go now! You two have fun!"
Ambear basically runs away and Legs makes a sound of distress, squirming in Scott's arms leading Scott to tighten his grip on the younger man to not drop him. Looking down at the other Legs's face is flushed, staring with a betrayed look at the direction where Ambear ran off too.
"That was weird, I thought the whole bit was that I carried you both? It was like a 'gotcha we just didn't want to walk!'type of thing right?"
Legs takes a moment before he nods, "Y-Yeah, it was Ambear's idea, I just went along with it, but I think she had other plans.. You uh, can put me down, I can walk"
"I don't mind carrying you, your house isn't far, I mean unless you're wanting to go to Junipers or the Academy but that still wouldn't be an issue, just take a while. Unless you're uncomfortable?"
Legs's eye's seem fixed on his own hands still holding on to Scotts shirt, "I'm not uncomfortable, it's just- I mean I'm probably heavy and I don't actually want to inconvenience you, I am more than capable of walking"
Scott tsks, adjusting his grip once more as he begins walking towards Legs's house, "You're not heavy and this would never be an inconvenience, not if it's you. Besides, you've been working so hard, if there's anything I can do to make this easier for you I will"
Legs is silent for a few moments, long enough for Scott to figure the conversation was over. Then, Legs leans into Scott, just a bit, enough for Scott to notice.
"Thank you Scott"
"Of course, like I said, whatever you need"
Scott carries Legs in silence for a while longer until they eventually reach Legs's house. Scott adjusts his hold on Legs once more to open the door, then holding Legs pressed close to his chest to avoid hitting his head as they walk through the doorway. The Iron Mage makes a small noise in response, causing Scott to pause, loosening his grip so Legs can move away if he wanted,
"Sorry, did I hurt you? or was it my armor? Are you too cold?"
Legs shake his head, not yet taking the opportunity to move away from how he was pressed against Scott, "It's nothing, just surprised me"
Scott frowned, he prided himself in being rather perceptive when people were lying and he had a sense Legs was lying too him. Letting his arm still support Legs's back he raised his hand, gently touching Legs's face where it was almost hidden from him pressed into the side of his chest, taking the chance to tuck a piece of his dark hair behind his ear, "Are you sure?"
A visible shiver runs through Legs at the touch, turning his head to meet Scott's worried gaze. Legs's face is tinted pink. His expression is unreadable as Legs blinks up and him, then nods, "I-I just- I think I'm more tired then I realized"
Scotts mind starts to race, first he imposed himself on taking Legs home, now he's been taking up to much of Legs's time, and he's obviously cold with how flushed and off he is. How could he forget how cold he can be? Who would want to be that close to something so cold?
The Ice Mage nods, "Uh- right, yeah sorry I'm probably keeping you up," Scott takes a moment to place Legs down as gently as he can, "I should probably go, you should get some rest"
Scott takes a step back, turning to leave when Legs catches his sleeve causing the other to pause and look back, "Wait! I- Uh, I'm probably going to be up for a little while more, I wouldn't mind some company"
Scott still looks unsure, trying to come up with an argument in his mind to avoid bothering Legs more. Legs takes advantage of his hesitation, gently grabbing his arm and leading him further into the house, rambling on about various topics that came to mind. Scott lets himself be moved, finding it impossible to say no to Legs.
And maybe for one night Scott can pretend that the boy with the pretty blue streak in his hair might find even a small bit comfort in Scotts company, the same way Scott finds with him.
