A/N: Another filler as I can't find the motivation to work on HFWF. But this is another pairing I've taken an interest in. I'm not too happy with this one, but I hope it's fun to read anyway. Enjoy the story!
Warnings: Mild suggestive themes, mild swearing
This place was cold. Much colder than either of them had anticipated.
It was snowing now; not so much that they couldn't see, but Garroth decided they should stop to rest in case it did pick up. They had a map, but in this weather, it was impossible to tell where they were going.
"Laurance, start a fire." Garroth swung the pack off his shoulders, hearing the snow crunch under the weight. As they weren't prepared for brutal cold, they hadn't packed particularly warm clothes. They were both freezing.
Laurance let out a huff and began gathering a few sticks from the ground. His hands were shaking; he supposed he should have brought gloves that actually covered his fingers, but it was a little late for that now.
"Do we have enough blankets?" he said under his breath, setting the sticks up to attempt to start a fire. It would be just their luck he wouldn't be able to do it.
"I don't know." Garroth sat down under one of the pine trees nearby for some shelter and began going through their bag.
It was incredibly heavy, with enough supplies to last them a few days, but they assumed they would find Aphmau before they ran out of food and water. Stopping at the werewolf village had given them a chance to restock, but now the pack was so heavy, they had to take turns carrying it.
He pulled out the two sleeping bags they had brought, frowning to himself at the thin fabric and the very few blankets they had brought. They hadn't thought it would be this cold. Would these really suffice? He imagined once they took their armor off, it would seem much more frigid than it was now.
He raised his head to see Laurance huddled over a tiny curl of smoke coming from a pile of brush and sticks.
"Thank Lady Irene," he muttered, sitting back on his knees as the smoke turned into a small flicker. "I thought we were going to have to go without a fire tonight." Garroth stood up and brought a blanket over, tossing it over Laurance's head.
"I think we would freeze. We don't have many blankets. We'll have to make do." Laurance pulled the cover off his head and swung it around his shoulders, pulling it tight at his chest.
"I think we might freeze anyway. Why didn't you tell me it was this cold?" he sighed.
"I haven't been this way in a long time, Laurance," Garroth scowled at him as he went back to the bag, laying their sleeping bags out. He knew they wouldn't be enough to keep them warm, even with the blankets, but he wasn't sure what else they could do. Maybe if they were lucky, Aphmau would stumble across them and they could all go back.
Laurance seemed too preoccupied to fight over the subject, so he took his sleeping bag and sat down to pull it over his legs. The fire was bigger now and he could feel the warmth from where he sat. "It's getting late. We should eat, then sleep. Maybe the snow will have stopped when we wake up."
Garroth took out a pouch from the bag and went to sit beside Laurance on his own sleeping bag. The small bag only contained a few dried fruits, but neither of them needed to eat much. Garroth took some for himself, then passed the pouch to Laurence.
He took it silently and leaned back as he shoved a handful of berries into his mouth. "Are we even heading in the right direction? We've walked all day. I haven't seen any signs of Lord Aphmau or that man she's traveling with."
That had been another concern; one neither of them had voiced. Donna had told them this 'Dante' had been a huge help to her and Logan, but neither Garroth nor Laurance knew him so how could they be sure he wasn't a threat to Aphmau? And she was alone with him. It was a silent anxiety for both for them.
"I'm sure. I've been following the map and the wolves' directions. They might have already made it to the other werewolf village." Garroth contemplated the thought as he glanced up at the fading sky, then he stood. "Help me put up the tent."
After a few minutes of arguing over where to put what, the tent was up, offering a bit of shelter from the snow for the two. They quickly moved the sleeping bags under it and laid down just as the sky was during a dark purple.
"We can't sleep long; we need to keep going. The longer we take, the farther away they'll have gotten," Garroth minded with a heavy sigh as he shed his helmet and chestplate. They would keep their weapons close by, of course, but they were both exhausted from walking all day and were just looking to sleep.
Laurance didn't respond and Garroth didn't know if he was already asleep or was just too tired to reply, but he decided it wasn't worth getting up to look. He closed his eyes and let sleep consume him.
He didn't know what time it was when he woke up. The sky was still dark and it seemed to still be snowing. The fire had burned out; the air was cold and his blankets seemed colder.
Garroth sat up and glanced around, his gaze turning to land on the bundle beside him. Laurance was still in his sleeping bag, but he had his knees drawn to his chest inside it and he appeared to be completely wrapped in the blanket. And he was shaking. Garroth frowned a little and shifted under his own covers, folding his arms closer to his chest to try to warm up.
Laurance didn't seem much better off than himself. He sat up a few minutes later, looking over at Garroth with bleary eyes. "The fire went out a while ago. I haven't been able to sleep since," he muttered. "It's too damn cold."
Garroth drew his knees up, leaned over, and closed his eyes. Laurance hesitated a brief moment before he moved over, bringing with him the blankets and pressing his shoulder to Garroth's, which made the other guard look up.
"What are you doing?" he demanded.
"We'll stay warmer if we're closer to each other. Body heat and all that," he managed a small grin and before Garroth could object, he had grabbed him and pulled him even closer. Garroth grunted in discomfort and tried to shove him away, but Laurance seemed very determined to keep him there.
"I don't want to sleep like this-"
"Would you rather freeze? Grow up, Garroth. You won't be cheating on Lord Aphmau," he snickered. Garroth froze and stared at him, then resumed his struggling.
"I-I-I don't know what you're t-t-talking about, Laurance! Let go of me!" he snapped. Laurance laughed and rolled them over suddenly, pinning Garroth to the ground, which stunned him into silence.
"Get off-!" Garroth hissed eventually and wrenched his body upward, hoping to throw him off, but Laurance held him down, reaching for the blankets. If this was doing anything, Laurance thought, at least it was warming them up.
"Stop being a baby," he grinned at him, laying down on top of him when he had pulled the blanket over his back. Eventually, Garroth's struggling stopped, which left him panting, but he still didn't look happy with their current position. He also wouldn't admit he was actually warmer than he had been before.
"This looks awful. Lord Aphmau is going to assume the worst if she finds us like this," he muttered, throwing his head back onto the material of the sleeping bag under him.
"Is that really the only thing you can think about, Garroth?" Laurance eventually did get off of him, rolling to the side, but he was still uncomfortably close.
"Be quiet!" Garroth snapped.
"I didn't know you were that interested in me," Laurance's attempt to laugh was cut short when Garroth hit his shoulder. "-Jeez! Calm down."
"I could say the same about you," the older guard replied curtly, glaring at him through the darkness. Laurance could see the moonlight reflecting in his eyes and couldn't help, but smile at the annoyed pout on the man's face. He didn't know if Garroth was legitimately upset with him, but this was fun anyway.
"So you admit it? You like me?" he teased. Garroth huffed and turned his back to him abruptly.
"No." He had feelings for Aphmau, not Laurance. Not that he would say that either, even though Laurance was well aware of it.
"Aw, your words hurt me," Laurance laughed as he put his arms around Garroth's waist and pulled the other flush against himself. "I bet you want to kiss me."
"Absolutely not!" He noticed Laurance's arms around him, but decided not to fight him about it, as the new warmth was pleasant and the position wasn't that uncomfortable.
"Really? I bet you would if you had the chance."
"What exactly are you trying to say?" Garroth demanded, turning to look over his shoulder at the other guard. Laurance only met him with a grin that made Garroth want to punch him again.
"Kiss me," he replied.
"What?!"
"You heard me," Laurance leaned over and Garroth turned his head to avoid it.
"Are you out of your mind?" he spat, frowning when he realized Laurance hadn't pulled back when he was denied the kiss. "What would Lord Aphmau think of this?"
"She isn't here. Who said she has to know?"
"Laurance!" Garroth groaned in frustration and sat up, quickly followed by Laurance who remained too close for comfort.
"Come on, it'll be practice," he urged, stifling a chuckle.
"We're not children. Or at least I'm not." Before he could get another word in argument out, Laurance lurched forward and connected their lips in a deep kiss. Stunned, he stayed still for a moment, looking at the man with wide eyes before Laurence broke it himself a few seconds later.
Noticing his expression, Laurance gave him a crooked smile. "I'm not that bad a kisser, am I?"
"...D-Damn it, Laurence," Garroth mumbled under his breath, drawing his hands up to cover his red face. If he had been cold before, he had completely forgotten it now.
"Don't tell me that was your first kiss!" Laurance put an arm around Garroth's shoulders and pulled him over. Garroth still refused to show his face, but gave a defeated sigh and stopped leaning away from him.
"If you tell Lord Aphmau, I'll take you out myself," he growled. Laurance smirked at him before leaning over to kiss his head, much to Garroth's chagrin.
"That doesn't sound so bad. Come on, let's go back to sleep."