Author's note: I've often joked to friends and family that, basically, I write romantic comedies. This pretty much proves that. And what ship doesn't deserve the "cuddling naked together to get warm" cliché to be played with at least once? I did my best to balance out the fluff, humor, and heat in this. Hopefully I succeeded!

XXXXXXX

Body Heat

Aurora had seen her godmother upset before, but the current expression on Maleficent's face upon seeing Philip carrying a limp, shivering, and half-frozen raven in his arms to her was utterly heartbreaking. At the same time: it was also terrifying, especially for the poor prince who felt that he was to blame for Diaval's plight.

"What happened?" The Faery Queen's voice was low, but laced with enough ferocity to make both Aurora and Philip cringe.

"It was an accident god-mother. Philip didn't realize that the ice was so thin!" the princess stepped forward to intervene on her paramour's behalf. "And it was partly my fault too. I was the one who suggested that we try ice skating. Diaval just wanted to learn."

Maleficent frowned as she scooped up the poor bird in her arms and cradled him gently to her chest. "And how long has he been like this?"

"He transformed when we pulled him out of the water," Philip informed. "Your Majesty, I am so, so sorry! If there's anything I can do..."

"Blankets—"the winged fae cut the prince off with a curt tone. "I need to get him warm as quickly as I can."

With a nod, Philip rushed over to his horse and brought back two blankets and then unfurled his winter cloak from around his shoulders and handed that over as well. "Here. The fur should help."

"Wouldn't it be easier to just…use a spell to dry him?" Aurora queried, moving close so she could stroke over the feathers on the raven's head as comfortingly as possible.

"My grasp of heat-related majicks is minimal at best," for a split-second, Maleficent's stern expression softened as she tucked one of the blankets around her dearest friend. "I can't risk burning him."

Philip gently tugged Aurora back towards him. "Come, love. I think it's best if we leave your godmother to care for him."

Aurora nodded but cast one more glance at Maleficent. "You really do care for Diaval, don't you?"

A hint of a flush appeared on the faery's cheeks, but she said nothing and smiled fondly at her god-daughter. "He's the only true friend I've had in the world besides you, beastie. Of course I care for him."

Aurora knew that it was far more than that, but at the moment, Maleficent's feelings were not the most pressing issue. So she gave her godmother a hug, gave Diaval one last pat on the head, and then allowed her prince to whisk her onto his horse and take her back to the castle.

Maleficent watched their figures grow smaller in sight, and then sighed and looked down at the still trembling bird in her embrace. "All right. Come on. You're sleeping in my nest tonight."

Diaval uttered a small squawk of approval, which caused her to smile slightly and carry him the short distance to the ruins where she preferred to sleep.

XXXXXXX

Once they arrived, Maleficent used her powers to shift Diaval into his human form.

He attempted to say something, though with the way his teeth were chattering it was difficult to understand.

"What was that?"

"I s-s-said," he paused and did his best to even out his breaths. "Thank you. F-for letting m-me stay here."

"You can thank me when you're no longer part icicle. Now strip."

He blinked large, impossibly dark eyes at her, his mouth hanging open. "…what?"

"Those wet clothes aren't helping your situation," she crossed her arms over her chest. "Take them off. Now."

He continued to stare dumbly in her direction and with a long-suffering sigh, she moved forward and began the process herself.

He managed to gather his wits again when she had him out of his coat and shirt and those elegant-looking hands started to move towards his belt. "All right, all right! I'll do the rest! Turn around!"

Smirking at the manner in which he was blushing, but glad that his skin no longer looked so pale, Maleficent actually listened to him for once and did so.

He cleared his throat when he was done undressing and had gathered a blanket around him for modesty.

She turned back around and surveyed him for a moment before extending her hand out to him.

He hesitated, and then inhaled shakily before lacing his fingers with hers and allowing his Queen to escort him toward her chambers.

XXXXXXX

Maleficent had made a spectacular nest within the caverns of the ruins. Diaval had helped by scavenging for pretty baubles and fabrics to decorate with.

Multicolored, glowing crystals provided illumination within the depths of the cave, and her bed itself was composed of soft moss, swirling vines, and branches of sturdy oak.

The sorceress pushed sheer sheets of silk aside, which served as curtains, and tugged Diaval towards the large nest.

He clutched at the blanket with his free hand. "You know, when I pictured us sleeping together for the first time it was under entirely different circumstances."

She looked over her shoulder at him, one perfect eyebrow quirking at his attempt at humor. "Yes, I'm quite certain that you nearly freezing to death was not a part of that particular fantasy."

"Mmm. You weren't wearing quite so many layers either."

She snorted with laughter and shook her head, and then unfurled Philip's winter cloak so that it covered most of the moss on the base of the nest. "Be quiet and lie down. I'll be along in a minute."

With that, she moved into the murky darkness at the rear of the cave, presumably to change into her sleeping garments.

Diaval took his time getting comfortable. The fur was soft and tickled at his bare skin, and he folded the other blanket into a pillow before propping it under his head.

He was just beginning to relax when he heard Maleficent murmur: "Take off that blanket for a second and scoot over."

"I beg your pardon?" he half twisted to look at her and his eyes widened in a downright comical manner.

The reason for this was the fact that she was standing there, completely naked, and showing not a hint of shame over it.

"…buh…" his breath left him all at once. "Why are you naked?!"

She adopted as innocent a look as she could muster. "You said I was wearing too many layers."

The tease was worth it when he began to sputter incoherently.

Maleficent threw back her head and laughed. "Honestly, Diaval. The best way to get warm in that form is with body heat."

"I…you…"

She shook her head and knelt down, and with one solid tug she had divested him of the blanket. "It's nothing I haven't seen before, you ridiculous creature. Or did you forget that when I first transformed you, you were naked then too?"

"I may have been but you certainly weren't!"

"Move over," she pushed at his shoulder and there was little else he could do but acquiesce.

The next few minutes were spent with Maleficent rearranging the blanket so it covered them both, and then she curled up to him.

He shivered, though this time it was because of the crush of her breasts against his back and the way she draped an arm over him.

They lay there in silence, Diaval's mind and heart racing at the notion that, if he simply turned around, he would have the woman of his dreams wrapped up in his arms.

"You're starting to feel warmer again," Maleficent murmured, breaking the spell of quiet.

"That's mostly because you're naked and pressed up against me," he quipped, though when she snuggled closer and her lips brushed along his neck, it was evidence that she wasn't exactly minding the situation.

Her fingers skimmed over his chest briefly as she curled one enormous wing around them both, which provided additional warmth.

Diaval sighed softly and reached for her hand, delighted when she took his within her own and rested her chin against his shoulder.

Eventually, he could tell that she had fallen into slumber, and his final thought before he joined her was that he was more than content to remain right where he was.

XXXXXXX

When Diaval woke the next morning, he was aware of two things: he was no longer the slightest bit cold, and Maleficent was a vision while she was sleeping.

At some point in the night, he must have turned so that he was facing her, because there she was before him, with every inch of her pale, shapely form on display from the waist up.

One arm was curled under her head, her lovely features calm in repose while her chest rose and fell evenly with each breath.

Her dark brown hair was falling over one slim shoulder and, unable to resist, he reached out and took a strand within his fingers, reveling at the soft texture.

He couldn't help his smile when she sighed softly and shifted towards him, her free arm draping over his waist as she snuggled nice and close.

The sensation of her skin against his was nearly too wonderful to bear, and he made a low, pleased sound when her lips grazed against his collar.

I'm certain that she's doing this on purpose now,he thought hazily as he brought his hand up and ran his fingers slowly along the skin of her arm, dipping his head and nuzzling against her hair, mindful of her horns and inhaling her sweet scent.

"You know for someone who doesn't like to be turned into a dog, you're currently acting like one," the object of his affections murmured, effectively jolting him back to reality.

He glanced down to see that her eyes were glinting playfully, and his breath caught in his throat. "What do you mean?"

"You just sniffed me, or didn't you realize?" she chuckled, making his senses reel when she began to stroke lazily over the scar that decorated the center of his chest.

"It's not my fault that your scent is alluring," unbidden, he trailed his fingers along the shape of her jaw, moving up to stroke over a sharp cheekbone before tucking a loose lock of hair back over her ear.

Maleficent's heart skipped a beat at the affectionate action and she leaned closer. "This is nice…waking up like this."

"It'd be nicer if I could kiss you," the words were out before he could stop them, and he mentally winced, preparing for the romantic spell between them to be utterly broken.

A shadow did seem to fall over her face, but it seemed more thoughtful than anything else. "Do you want to kiss me?"

"Yes, but only if you're willing," Diaval knew enough about the woman he held to be aware of the fact that she didn't open her heart very often. Aurora was one of the few who had managed to break past the barriers put up there, but the affection that Maleficent held for her god-daughter was motherly in nature.

She had once scoffed at the concept of true love's kiss when he had brought it up, and it had hurt him more than he had let on, because there was always a tiny hope in the back of his heart that maybe, just maybe: he could be hers.

"Did my actions last night not prove to you how much I care for you?"

He blinked. "No, they did, but…what do you feel for me, Maleficent? Is it just friendship or am I…am I more?"

She fell silent, surveying him, and then slowly threaded her fingers into his hair and tugged him towards her.

Taking that as an invitation, Diaval brushed his lips ever-so-lightly over hers, initiating a sweet, entirely innocent kiss.

Carefully, he pulled back to study her reaction.

Her full, ruby-colored lips were parted, and her brilliant green eyes searched his for a moment before she broke into a bright smile. "Come on, you can do better than that, can't you?"

He balked at her for all of a second, and then reached for her again, dragging her into his arms and claiming her mouth with his in a far more passionate kiss.

Maleficent wrapped her arms around his neck, responding to the embrace with equal ardor as he tenderly bore her back against the fur cloak they were resting on.

She moaned quietly when he settled on top of her so that every inch of their bodies were touching and she was able to tell just how much he desired her.

Diaval pulled back for air and stared down at her, his jet-black hair falling carelessly into his eyes. "If you don't stop me now, I might not be able to…"

Her response was to draw him down to her and slide one long leg against his before hitching it over his waist to keep him exactly where he was. "If you stop right now, I might end up killing you."

His dark eyes sparked in challenge and he leaned forward. "Well we can't have that…"

He was quite certain that the next sound the faery made was a growl, but then his mouth was once again preoccupied with hers and it didn't matter anyway.

XXXXXXX

They sank back together in the nest, limbs entwining naturally as hands and lips wandered.

Diaval was determined not to let a single inch of Maleficent's skin remain unexplored, taking his time to memorize the dips and curves of her form, pressing lingering kisses along the way and delighting in finding the areas that caused more vocal reactions.

Of course: it was not long before she turned the tides and pinned him under her so she could do some discovering of her own, but he wasn't about to complain about that. Not one bit.

They exchanged bites and scratches as often as kisses and caresses; for Maleficent was, at her heart: a wild creature (as was he), but the battle for dominance eventually ended with Diaval as the victor: trapping his love beneath him and meeting her gaze.

A silent question passed between them, and when she nodded: he kissed her again and joined their bodies with a fluid motion.

She cried out sharply when they were connected, her nails digging into the flesh of his back hard enough to draw blood.

He touched his forehead to hers and whispered words of comfort as he allowed her to adjust to the unfamiliar, doing his best not to move too much until she was ready.

After a while, she exhaled slowly and brushed her lips against Diaval's neck. "Sorry. I wasn't quite prepared for that."

"What are you apologizing for?" he admonished, shaking his head and brushing errant strands of hair out of her eyes. "This is an entirely new situation for both of us."

She smiled slightly. "You seemed to know exactly what you were doing earlier."

He chuckled and dropped a kiss to her temple. "I'm following my instincts, that's all."

"Well…my instincts are saying that it's time to stop talking," experimentally, she rotated her hips, startling a gasp out of her lover.

He brought his eyes to hers, and the look in those green, glittering depths told him that she was more than ready to continue.

His mouth found hers yet again as he started them off, and she met his movements with her own until they found a perfect rhythm with one another.

Intense heat rippled up her spine, her wings curling around them as their motions lost grace, and then, finally: everything ceased to exist entirely as they soared.

XXXXXXX

They made love for hours on end until exhaustion kicked in.

Diaval was sure that there was the most idiotic grin on his face, but was worth it to be lying there, still entangled with Maleficent and utterly satisfied in every respect of the word.

Basically: he couldn't have been happier.

For her part: the faery was resting her head on his chest, right over his heart, and was currently preoccupied with drawing invisible figures over his sweat-streaked skin. She seemed as likely to move as he was: which basically meant not at all.

He shifted slightly so he could look at her. "For future reference: if I ever fall through ice again, we're doing this to warm up instead of cuddling."

She burst into laughter and brought her lips to his, and they were content to remain that way as long as possible…only for the moment to be ruined in the most embarrassing manner.

"Godmother, how is…." Aurora skidded to a halt when she spotted the two of them.

The longest awkward silence in history probably occurred.

Maleficent attempted to appear as casual as she could while drawing a blanket around her and Diaval so they were sufficiently covered. "As you can see, he's back to normal."

"Oh I'd say he's doing better than normal," Aurora arched an eyebrow and crossed her arms authoritatively, though the beaming smile that graced her lovely face was not something one typically saw on a Queen. "What took you two so long anyway?"

They both blinked rapidly in her direction and responded in unison: "Wait, what?"

"Honestly, Philip and I thought we were going to have to take drastic measures before long! …although I will leave the part out where you defiled his cloak in the process, but no matter: I can always get him a new one. Get dressed: we made you breakfast!" And, without another word, the blond monarch practically skipped out of the cavern.

"Well…I've had less awkward moments in my life," Diaval finally stated, one arm still wrapped around her as they were now sitting up.

"Yes, that was one of the most humiliating ones, I must admit," sighing, she shook out her wings and began to move out of the bed. "Come on." She reached out a hand to him.

Smiling: he took it without hesitation.

The End