Title: Cold
Pairing: Mathilda x Sergei/Spencer
Summary: Mathilda visits Sergei in Russia for a date one winter day, but although she tries her very best to hide it, she can´t handle the cold that well.
Sergei lets his eyes rest on the small girl walking next to him as she´s clearly trying her best to hide just how badly the Russian winter is affecting her. He smiles faintly at the sight, not being seriously worried just yet, more amused by Mathilda´s determination. Her skin is pale, cheeks blushy red, and lips a bit too pink. She is beautiful.
He assumes the Spanish girl is wearing the white coat, big fluffy scarf and thick gloves she told him she bought back home as a preparation for the harsh climate in her text messages. Her outfit is cute, but it still looks cold to him. Sergei had tried to guide her, but it was hard since the clothes sold in Spain seem to be made of thinner materials more suited for their milder weather. Her fair skin is a bit red and irritated, especially her nose, and that quiet voice of hers is thicker than usual: as if she´s about to catch a cold.
"You are cold." He comments. It´s not a question, he´s stating a fact.
"N-no..! Not at all." Is her reply. Her pink hair frames her face nicely as she shakes her head at him, smiling brightly.
They haven´t seen each other in a very long time, and Mathilda had been very excited about meeting him during her trip to Russia with her team. The girl thinks being with Sergei like this is almost like a date, and she won´t let the cold destroy this chance to get closer to him. Her pink eyes sparkle as she looks up at him with another gentle smile. Just being with him is worth it.
"I´m okay…! Really!"
Is she trying to convince him, or herself? A hint of a smile can be spotted on the Russian´s pale face at this, and he gets more determined at making her day in the Russian capital a good experience. He takes her to all the monuments, buildings and places he knows tourists tend to like. Ostankino Tower, several grand monasteries, churches and monuments. He likes seeing how she beams, her face shining as she smiles, when he tells her of the history of Moscow and Russia in his heavily accented and choppy English.
However, although the two of them are having a good time, people stare quite rudely at the slightly odd pair. Sergei is often seen as a 2 meter high, 100kg plus heavy, Russian killing machine. She is just below 160cm tall, with a petite body and sugar sweet look. During the day a stranger even approached Mathilda and asked if she was alright, or if she was being threatened or held captive by "the tall intimidating fellow". The man couldn´t phantom why a girl like her would voluntarily spend time with someone like Sergei. As Sergei came back from buying them hot drinks, and saw her bothered face, he instantly towered over the man talking with her. The poor man mumbled something like an apology before he quickly walked away.
After making sure he´s gone, Sergei turns to Mathilda. His eyes turn a bit softer. "You okay?" He asks her.
She nods her head at him but gets scared as she realizes the people around them might see Sergei as the bad one: making the man run like he did. People are staring more and more, and she fidgets a bit. Mathilda fights her nervousness and takes his hand in hers, tugging at it.
"We should go…" She murmurs a bit sadly.
A silence spread between them as Sergei tries to understand why she said she was alright but she still looks really bothered and upset.
"He hurt you?" Sergei asks.
Mathilda shakes her head again, looking quite upset as she looks up at him. Sergei´s eyes narrow a bit at the sight, and he grits his teeth; not trusting her completely. If they didn´t hurt her, why would she be that troubled? He don´t understand. Mathilda must just be too good-hearted to tell him what really happened. He lets her pull him away from the stares, letting it go just this once.
"He thought y-you were hurting me…" She whispers, facing forward, as she tries to calm herself down. "Rude! I got…so so so angry…"
Sergei turns eerily quiet at this, and his eyes turn a bit cold before the thought of her defending someone like him warms his heartstrings. He holds her hand more firmly as she seems to mindlessly lead him down a street totally unknown to her. A chuckle leaves his pale lips as he notices how her pink eyes darts back and forth as they reach intersections and turns.
She´s lost. A soft gasp leaves her as he takes a huge step, and becomes the one leading her.
Mathilda looks up at him, but only sees his profile as well as his strong and wide back. A soft blush warms her cheeks as her eyes land on their hands. She giggles happily to herself, making Sergei give her a short glance over his shoulder.
They wander around for a long time and suddenly, the sky is turning darker above them. It looks like it´ll be a cold night. The sky is clear as well as full of stars. Mathilda´s breath creates small misty clouds in the cold air. Sergei observes her slightly trembling form. It seems like she´s at her limit: she´ll get sick like this.
"We could go somewhere inside." Sergei suggests, as he breaks the comfortable silence between them.
Pink eyes look up at him. "But I really w-want to see ..uhm…that building you s-spoke about…" Mathilda pouts: she can´t pronounce the building´s name and her slight stutter has become worse because of the cold.
Although he is glad she´s eager to complete his tour, Sergei can´t bring himself to smile this time. It´s clear to him that she is pushing herself more than she should. Maybe because she´ll have to leave in the morning and their time together is limited. After today, they´ll be countries apart again, and probably return to texting each other when both are free.
Sergei pushes that thought to the back of his mind as he thinks about how he can help her. He is very warm himself, but the cold never bothered him in the first place. He´s wearing a thick jacket wadded with wool. He glances at Mathilda who´s now trembling even harder, then Sergei unzips his jacket without thinking much about it. Since he´s still holding her hand he can easily pull her closer to himself. The sudden pull makes Mathilda release a soft gasp, and she blushes as she finds herself against Sergei´s body. He puts her arms around his waist and wraps his jacket around himself and her more firmly. Acting a bit like a warm shield against the cold wind and snow.
"You are cold." He comments as he feels how that coat she´s wearing couldn´t possibly been helping her keep her body temperature all that well.
She blushes badly."…Yes…" She murmurs: finally admitting she´s suffering.
"Stay this way." He tells her, his deep voice makes his chest vibrate so slightly. "For some time. Then we go."
Mathilda closes her eyes as she hugs Sergei´s waist. Her trembling is slowly going away as she´s surrounded by his body heat and warmth from the wool jacket. They don´t say anything as they stand there, not even when people passing by commenting on it in Russian. Sergei seems to hide her from the outside world. Strong arms protecting her as if she´s very precious to him.
After a few minutes, they part, and he takes her to the last monument of his tour. His big steps are smaller, slower, as if he wants to take his time. Their conversation also turns slower, quieter as if tomorrow is weighing them down slightly.
He walks her back to her hotel, where Claude is waiting for them outside. Sergei gives the man an awkward nod as a greeting before he focuses on Mathilda again. She looks up at him and fails pretty badly at forcing a smile.
"I….t-talk to you later." Mathilda murmurs sadly, as their date unavoidably comes to an end.
Sergei smiles down at her almost softly. "I will miss you, Mathilda."
She beams up at him again. "I w-w-will miss you too! I´ll text you! A lot..!"
"Yes, I like that." Sergei nods.
The two separates with hopes for the future.