Yes, you read that summary right. No I don't know where it came from either. Just that I always headcanon Bruce as smaller and younger then the rest (Even if there's visual evidence to the contrary) and I had this cute image in my head of the two cuddling and I wanted to do something with that. My apologies for the pretty contrived setup, the horrendous title and the probably OOC Boris, since I don't quite have a grip on his character as much as I do Bruce's.
Still, I hope it's enjoyable as a fluffy romance oneshot.
Snowflakes fell down relentlessly, sticking to the window of the truck making it's way of the mountain, the windshield wipers only barely managing to keep up.
Conversely, the inside was a lot quieter as it's two occupants were just sitting aside each other silently and somewhat awkwardly. Boris and Bruce weren't usually placed together during missions, but Matt decided this might be the prime time to change that. Neither was particularly against the idea, but now that they were actually on the road, trying to spot V.E.N.O.M. Activity in a rather snowy mountain region... silence was all they managed.
"So, uhm..." Bruce decided after a while, pulling at the purple scarf he was wearing. His usual attire wasn't made for the climate so he ditched it. "That's quite the weather outside." He tried, almost instantly mentally kicking himself afterwards. The weather, of course he had to start about the weather.
"I'm from Russia. This is just a light breeze." Boris replied as Bruce couldn't help but smile. "Me and the Bulldog were made for this."
"Probably why Rhino gets to cool her heels." Bruce said. "Wonder why I got picked anyway."
"Something wrong with the Bulldog?" Boris asked, voice gaining a confrontational edge/
"It's not like that! It's just that...I-I really don't like the snow..." Bruce said, looking out the window. "Reminds me of a rather... bleak part of my life."
"Are you talking about Alaska?" Boris asked, Bruce just nodded. "We're not even in Alaska. And it wasn't the snow that hurt you." The smaller man just sighed, leaning his head against the Bulldog's window.
"If a meal poisons you, you shouldn't blame the wine that accompanied it." He muttered.
"You made that one up on the spot, didn't you?"
"I'm tired... Pulled an all-nighter at work yesterday." Bruce admitted. "It's making me grouchy..."
"You should have stayed home. I can handle this on my own."
"Not that I don't believe your claim, but Matt gave us orders and I fully intend to follow them." Bruce said, rubbing his eyes.
"Loyal, are you? Just don't turn yourself into his dog." Boris answered, before noticing something on the side of the road. "Looks like an entrance."
"Should we check it out?"
"That seems like an idea." With that, Boris parked the car in front of the entrance as Bruce jumped out, approaching it.
"Looks like a cave." He said, or shouted, as the snow wasn't letting off and Boris joined him. "I'm going in!"
"Not on your own you aren't!" Boris said, following. Soon, they found themselves in a rather small cave. No one else seemed to be there. "Looks empty."
"Too small to be of any use, too. Or to be able to hide. Why would V.E.N.O.M. Be interested in this?" Bruce wondered, eyes scanning the small cavern. The ceiling was quite high compared to the entrance, making it eerily quiet despite the blizzard going on outside. However, there seemed to be something at the far end. He ushered Boris to stay put as he approached... whatever it was. It looked like an electronic device of some sort. He touched it, and it came to live, starting to beep.
"What was that?" Boris asked, however, his head didn't swing towards Bruce and the device. Rather it went upward. Bruce was confused for a second, before he noticed a wire connected to the device and went to the ceiling... his eyes widened as the dots in his head also connected as he fiercely turned around.
"It's a trap! Get out now!" He shouted at Boris as an explosion came from the ceiling. He also got up and started running as there were more explosions and the ceiling started to cave in.
"Get down!" Boris shouted, but Bruce was frozen in place, eyes wide with fear as he looked up at the ceiling that came crashing down. He only shook out of it as Boris tackled him to the ground, shielding him as the rubble and snow burried them.
There was a moment of silence in the cave after the collapse, before Boris emerged from the rubble, making his way towards the part of the cave that hadn't collapsed yet.
"You alright there?" Boris asked Bruce, who he had underneath him as they both got up.
"I-I'm fine... How about you?"
"Hah! You think a little snow can harm me?" The taller man boasted, shaking the snow out of his fur collar. Still, Bruce noticed the stiffness in his partner's motions. However, soon enough a bigger concern came to him.
"How are we going to get out of here?" He asked, looking at the entrance, which was blocked. Looking back into the cave, there was just a dead end.
"Not trough there." Boris said, a bit obvious to the both of them. "We won't be able to move the bigger pieces of rubble on our own."
"We need to contact the others."
"How? Bulldog's outside." Boris said, as Bruce simply looked at his M.A.S.K. Watch.
"I think I can reverse the signal of this, sending it back to H.Q." He said, taking out a, small flashlight and a small box with even smaller tools from his pocket. "It's going to take a while tough. So, uhm... make yourself comfortable, I guess." Bruce said, sitting down and starting to work on his watch. Boris simply stretched himself as he sat down besides the smaller man, watching him work meticulously at the small device for hours. As time passed, Boris noticed the signs of fatigue coming over Bruce, who kept rubbing his eyes and yawning at increasing intervals.
"You should rest." Boris said.
"No! I...I almost got it to work. Just... just a few tweaks." Bruce insisted, shaking his head in an attempt to clear it.
"Tweaks you can do tomorrow. Now, you should sleep." Boris said and attempted to take the tools away from Bruce, who just backed away.
"If you could give me just a few more...!" He started, before looking down. "I got it! Hold on... there!" He said, making a final adjustment to the watch and pushed the button. "It's sending out a signal! It worked!" He almost cheered, before another yawn overtook him.
"Good. Now you can sleep."
"Why are you so worried about me? We hardly know each other."
"But we are fighting for the same cause." Boris said. "That should be enough." Bruce nodded.
"I guess you're right." He said, before laying himself down on the floor. "There's nothing we can do besides wait, anyway." He looked at Boris. "If you need some sleep, wake me up, okay? I'll keep guard."
"Worry about that later." Boris simply told him, as Bruce nodded and turned away, curling up slightly within himself as he went to sleep. For a while Boris watched, as he noticed that Bruce began to shiver in his sleep. He couldn't help but sigh. Bruce obviously had no experience with the cold, and the clothes he wore were pretty inadequate. Still, he didn't feel like watching the man get sick. So carefully, he picked up the smaller man in his lap and held him close. This seemed to help as the shivering stopped. After a while, Bruce stirred and woke up, startling.
"Boris...? Why...?" Bruce asked.
"You were shivering." Boris simply answered, Bruce looked away. "You don't like this?"
"I'm not used to having people this close." The smaller man softly said. "But I have to admit, this is really nice. Warm and fuzzy. Like a teddybear." Boris just laughed at that.
"Just don't call me that among the others. Just 'Bear' will do." A shared laughter, before Bruce nuzzled into the Russian's fur collar.
"I-I wouldn't mind spending the night like this." He whispered, trailing off to sleep.
"I won't disturb you anymore then. Goodnight." Boris said, as Bruce dozed off again. Boris couldn't help but smile fondly.
Boris didn't know the exact time that the rubble was being pushed away from the outside, but it was probably daybreak.
"Hey! Guys! You okay?!" It was Dusty that broke trough first. Boris just angrily looked at him. "What'd I do? C'mon, wake Bruce up so we can get you guys home." Boris just placed a finger to his mouth, not getting up. "Huh?"
"Our little comrade here has been working all night." Boris whispered, gesturing to the smaller man still snoozing in his lap. "Best to let him sleep."
"Uhm... okay. Just... just don't let him catch a cold or anything."
"I won't." Boris said, reverting his attention to the man in his arms, who was smiling in his sleep. He returned said smile fondly. "I won't."