Hot Spot was supposed to be the one out on the patrol shift that night, but the weather had different plans. Outside was murky with sheets of rain pouring down, which rendered his powers useless for the time being. So he was stuck inside on the couch, half-heartedly flipping through the television channels to see if one had miraculously become available despite the rain.

Hot Spot felt almost obligated to stay up; Herald had graciously offered to cover his shift for him, which combined with the evening patrol they were already on meant that they were going to be staying in the downpour until the wee hours of the morning. Someone should be awake to greet them when they got back. Or, at least someone should be awake long enough to hear them inevitably complain about the temperature outside.

It was nearly two in the morning when Herald finally arrived back. Soaked to the bone, Herald peeled their cape off their body and began to ring it out, stating exactly what was predicted of them. "Can you believe how cold it is outside? I'm absolutely freezing!"

Hot Spot sat up from 'resting his eyes'. "Could you not find a drier spot to watch from?"

"Wasn't allowed to." Herald now moved on to shaking out their tunic, and in a mocking voice clarified that, "Villains don't care about being dry when they commit crimes". A scoff returned them to their normal tone. "If they were smart they would. Who wants to be out in this kind of chill anyway?"

Hot Spot wasn't sure who was supposed to be mimicked there, but decided to skip over asking. Instead, he slid off the couch to help his partner clean up the rainwater that was puddling on the floor.

Herald's cape and boots had been discarded into a pile, and their socks were soon to join. They were still mumbling to themselves about "working in these freezing conditions" when Hot Spot came over with a couple of rolls of paper towels.

He did not get to use them right away, however. Herald, due to a mixture of fatigue and the slippery floor, nearly tumbled backwards and needed Hot Spot to steady them back. Hot Spot had grabbed one of their hands and balanced it on his shoulder until they were back on their feet.

The wet gauntlet dampened his shirt, and though Hot Spot was unable to feel its coldness - having a permanent fever does that to a person - he now understood wanting to take off the wet clothing. He chuckled to himself and was about to joke about it when he noticed that Herald's expression had changed.

Herald's need to bemoan their chills seemed to be cured. In fact, just the small touch from their partner sent a heat wave through their body, a sensation they wanted to create again.

Abandoning their current plan, Herald spun a 180 and pulled Hot Spot into a close hug. They made sure to keep a grasp on his hands and press their face next to his, nuzzling it slightly to try and spread the heat. Soon they had moved down their partner's neck, leaving a few habitual kisses, finally ending on one of his shoulders and giving an explanation for the sudden burst of physical affection.

"You're warm."

Hot Spot wanted to say something to indicate his approval of this spontaneous event. Instead he said the first thing that came to mind.

"A consistent 38 degrees."

"Warm me up," Herald requested, again moving to nuzzle Hot Spot's face. The exposed skin was much warmer than the now-wet clothing after all. Before they could get very far, though, Hot Spot regained control of his words and gently pushed them away.

"You need to change out of those soaked clothes first. Getting me wet won't help any."

Herald was already missing the warmth their partner provided, but still gave a tired smile and an agreement. They started to take their socks off again, but remembered that the reason Hot Spot came over in the first place was to clean up the mess they had already made. Not wanting to create more work for their partner, they decided to finish de-dressing in the bathroom, taking the already discarded clothing with them as they trudged away.

Hot Spot did appreciate the thoughtful act, and luckily for him it only took a single roll of paper towels to mop up the rainwater puddle. Doing so did get his shirt more wet, though, especially his sleeves. He was planning on switching clothes anyway, as he was still in his uniform from when he was supposed to be on night watch, so the damp shirt just gave him an excuse to change faster.

Herald had already finished changing by the time Hot Spot reached the bathroom. The mask was the only part of their uniform they still wore, with the shirt and boxers being from Hot Spot's dresser. They held up a shirt they randomly pulled out. "You want this one?"

Hot Spot shrugged and took it from them to go change.

Herald began to pace around to stop themselves from falling asleep waiting. Hot Spot was correct with his implication that changing clothes would help, as now they were feeling much more exhausted from the long hours patrolling than exasperated at the cold weather. But they didn't want to fall asleep leaning against a wall. Instead, they wanted to curl up next to their partner and let his natural warmth lull them to sleep. That would be a wonderful way to end the night.

So when Hot Spot was done changing, Herald latched themself on him. It gave them the instant heat they were longing for. "Now you can warm me up."

"Not right here," Hot Spot disagreed, "I don't want to fall asleep against a wall."

Herald gave a small nod, realizing that Hot Spot would also be tired after staying up this late. If they had the energy, they would have swept their partner off his feet and romantically carried him off to bed. But they didn't have the energy, and instead just whined about having another pause away from the warmth.

Hot Spot, also not wanting to break away from the embrace, decided to go to the much-closer couch to crash for the night instead of having to half-drag Herald all the way to the bedroom. He flopped onto the couch, letting Herald sleep on top of him instead of the usual vice versa.

Herald, being taller than Hot Spot, had to wrap their legs around their partner so they wouldn't dangle off the couch. They didn't mind, though; they wanted to have as much of their body covered in warmth as possible anyway.

Hot Spot shuffled slightly so he could still have his arms wrapped his partner and his head on the arm of the couch, hopefully avoiding waking up with a crick in his neck in the morning. "Thanks for covering my patrol for me."

"No problem," Herald managed to mumble out before drifting to sleep for the night.

Herald was always a fast sleeper, so Hot Spot was not surprised that there was little conversation before they were out like a light. Still, he whispered a small "good night" before trying to get some sleep himself.