bakerstreet | Because it's cold in here.

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Because it's cold in here.

The Body Heat Meme

THE RULES:

Post with your character! They're now stuck in a very cold place of your choice. It can be anything, such as a freezing chamber, a cavern or a small cabin in the midst of a blizzard. The choice is up to you.
Comment around! Now your character has some company in this bone-chilling environment. The two of them share two things in common: clothes completely unfitting for this weather (be they summer clothes or even lingerie) and a blanket.
A blanket? Yes, just one warm blanket and no other ways to escape the cold. The two of them will have to share it in order to stay alive in this weather. Don't worry, you're sure to find a common language in this terrible situation!
So, uh, have fun, I suppose. Try to not freeze to death!
Protip: friction and body heat are both excellent ways to fend off cold.

(There's something to be said for being the spaceheater)

At some point, Astren had made mention of a cabin that she kept way out in the woods, north of the city about three hours out, on a lake that had more or less been ignored by loggers, those staking out tar sands, campers and trailer caravans. Perfect for canoeing by day or relaxing in front of a fire pit by night, it had not been used in years, but he was welcome to borrow it, if wanted.

When she'd let that slip, Aaron had filed it away for months -- until a few days ago. He'd asked Kay to book about a week off in late autumn, suggesting a surprise. When she'd come home and he was packing the car with supplies for what appeared to be some kind of camping trip, he hadn't explained... nope.

Not until they'd pulled up on the dirt and sapling-choked road, past a sharp incline that led into deeper woods, and out overlooking the lake. "Welcome to a much needed vacation," he'd had the gall to tell her, grinning.

Of course, the cabin itself had been decrepit, lacking more than a wooden table and a stack of extremely old, dust-covered books. A pot-bellied stove sported a humble stack of firewood, and the single bedroom was drafty and cob-webby. The water closet was located aft the cabin a few dozen feet, a crescent moon cut cutely into the wooden door. The day went by nicely enough; it was brisk but gorgeous and Aaron had gone to the expense of having a canoe brought with them so that they could skim the lake and catch some fish for supper... but as the sun set and the man finished up with dishes, the temperature began to fall... and fall.

By late night, once they were sandwiched together on the old stuffed mattress, Aaron was visibly shivering. "I'd say they don't build things like they used to," he told her, teeth chattering, "but I think that'd be a misnomer." If he hadn't expected a fully furnished bed, he'd have brought their sleeping bags. How could he have made such an oversight?

"No, that'd be accurate," she told him. "They really don't make them like this anymore, and thank god. I think I can see the drafts." She was curled up tight beside him, grumpy at the loss of heat that was occurring but not really cold, not bone-deep chilled with the same kind of instinctive alarm that human bodies got when they got that cold. One of the perks of being who she was, at least. "If only that damn stove worked." They'd tried it when they'd arrived, and the damn thing had just belched out smoke all over them and the cabin -- it'd taken a while to air it out. There was probably a dead squirrel in the chimney. Kay would have to take a look tomorrow.

As it was, though... tonight would be a long night. At least they had the one blanket, thin little thing that it was, barely covering the both of them. She cast an arm over Aaron, hoping to glean a little more body heat, but when she touched him she realized just how dire the heat differential was. "You're freezing," the redhead said with surprise. Like actually hypothermic cold, or just about.

"I've been warmer," he replied, grinning wanly in the moonlight. "Wouldn't mind if I put my iceboxes on you, would you?" his feet were always cold even in the most comfortable of seasons -- probably the blood having to circulate all the way down his body -- but now they felt blue with cold.

"Damn." Kay was shifting under the teeny blanket, though she tried to move at least without dragging any of the blankets up and letting drafts in to the negligible pocket of heat they'd dredged up between them. She slid overtop of him, a motion that was pretty familiar in other contexts, but that just now was something a lot less sensual. "If you want to, curl up," she told him, "I'll try and get your feet in here too."

Much smaller than him as she was, the elemental was still trying her damdest to cover Aaron's body with hers. Too, she was upping her temperature, skin warm and pink and getting warmer. She'd stay cool enough that she'd be comfortable to touch, but at least something in the room would be putting out enough heat to make a dent in the icy chill. She ran her hands over him, warm palms finding his chest, his neck, shoulders, down his arms to take his freezing hands in hers.

Even though she was keeping relatively comfortable, to Aaron, who was feeling well and truly chilled, the woman felt almost painfully warm. Still, the stinging sensation of re-sensitizing flesh was better than the numbness he now realized his legs and arms had slipped into. "Ah, fuck," he chattered, barely coherent through the rattling of his jaw. He had curled up around her, glad for the warmth, but not really enjoying this whole thing. "Next time, I'm stuffing the car with blankets and heat pads." At least he had her, he supposed!

"Not a bad plan, next time. I'll look at the stove tomorrow, too," she let him know her plan, apologetic in that she hadn't gotten to it today. Damn... as much as theirs was a snarky give-and-take, generally she didn't like seeing him actually in distress. Not this way, anyways.

She took his hands, frozen as they were, and tucked them into her armpits, figuring her small body over his torso covered his core and she might as well get his extremities into the mix somehow. She'd stripped down into her skivvies before bed, not realizing it was going to get as cold as it was and she had been regretting it since, but now at least it was utilitarian in that she could get more heat into him this way. It didn't exactly feel nice, getting cold patches all over where he was stealing heat, but she could be charitable. Sometimes.

Really, he didn't mind her saving the charitable behaviour for when it was really needed, given that he was getting anything out of her at all right now. Chattering a wordless agreement, for a few minutes the man didn't say much at all.

At least her efforts were beginning to have their effect. He was growing a little warmer to the touch, and his hands no longer stung at the fingertips. He'd tucked his head up to her shoulder, too, enjoying the warmth that came of their little bundle under the inadequate blanket. "Thanks," he muttered up at her only when he'd managed to calm his shivering, voice muffled under blanket and breast. He was still chilly, especially the feet which didn't quite fit, but the rest of him... he was feeling much better.

She could feel his shivers subside and there was a real sense of satisfaction in that, one that wasn't entirely brought on by smugness at least. "Welcome," she responded, where she was tucked up against him. Running her hands over him again, she could feel a real change in his temperature, and sneaking her fingers under the hem of his shirt she gave a little bit more.

Then the little woman shifted, moving around under the all-encompassing blanket and shimmying down his body, turning around as she did so. What she was up to was a mystery, until she'd gotten all the way around and grabbed ahold of his feet!

A long precedence of ice-footage had prepared her for the cold shock of such icy digits, but still, she exclaimed, wrapping warm hands around cold soles. Gol darnit, she'd manage to get all of him warm!

"Gah!" Aaron nearly yanked his feet out from her hands once she'd done squirming over his body. The heat differential was, again, almost too much too bear... but, for the sake of warmth, he managed to hold still. At least from this angle, he could grab ahold of her own midgety toes. Doing so, he brought one of her feet to his mouth to chastly kiss each and every one of those toes of hers. Smelly feet be damned, he was beginning to feel much better now, and wanted to express that appreciation.

At his wince she finally got the message, and though it was generally harder for her to cool down than heat up, she dispelled some of the heat in her hands till they were more or less normal flesh temperature. It was dark and still fairly cold all the way down here, so she turned on a bit of glow, her hands casting light enough that she could get her bearings... there.

She sandwiched his feet between them and rubbed, one at a time, bringing back sensation to cold mottled feet. His attention was leaving her grinning, and gave her thoughts; as he was getting busy as such, she breathed warm breaths on his long toes, rubbing at each of them in turn.

The man took a moment to sigh. That was growing less painful and more pleasant. He wiggled his toes at her, squeezing her own feet with amusement, though refraining from getting back to kissing at 'em. It was a bit of an awkward position and besides, out in the backwoods of nowhere, he was still feeling a little too put out by the strangely freezing temperatures to want to be more intimate with the woman.

Speaking down the blanket, he said, "we should fix this place up a little and let Astren know she ought to take care of it a little better."

"Mmm, yeah," came the response, and the woman dimmed her glow. Another rapid rearrangement, a shuffling of blankets and Kay was coming up again, having done her work at Aaron's feet and having left them much warmer than when she'd arrived. She settled down atop Aaron again, straddling his stomach, her arms resting either side of his head. She pressed her face to his neck, grinning, still putting off warmth. "Knowing her, she put it together in like 1912 and thinks it's appropriate to check in once every fifty years or so. Yeah, let's stake it out," she laughed, then took a moment to pull the blanket in around their upper halves. She was feeling the cold, too, like a thing pressing at her back and demanding her heat, and it made her press closer against him.

By the time that Kay had shimmied her way back up to Aaron's side, the man was wrestling to keep the blanket over them both. "Maybe we'll come back in the summer," Aaron attempted to negotiate, voice sleepy now that he was warm enough to even consider the prospect of proper rest.

"Well hell, if we're putting in the effort, we should make use of the place when it's properly nice out here. That lake'd be nice in the summer." She nuzzled into his neck, contemplatively, but erred on the side of holding off. He sounded sleepy... and honestly, flailing about in the sexy fashion would throw off the blankets. Kay complained, "Why is it so freaking cold? It's not even November yet."

"Welcome to the great white north," he mumbled. It didn't seem that any further chatter was really going to even go anywhere: soon enough, the woman could feel his chest rising and falling steadily. She'd left him warm and comfortable and he had fallen quite asleep.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Because it's cold in here.

Kay, OC, hey man

Oh hai.

Are those huge goosebumps or tiny nipples?

Oh can it, you wouldn't know a goosebump unless it hit you in the face!

You offering?

I'm not shivering in anticipation, I'll have you know!

Oh but you will be~

Pffft

Tee hee.

Toh hoh!

Aww, big baby.

What even is this, footsy-nining?

You know it.

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