"Fire Between Us"
First it was snow - then the sleet made everything chilled, and their bones clattered beneath their armor.
"Terra," Ven said through teeth clenched, arms wrapped around himself to hold in the warmth from escaping. "Why can't we just go inside?"
"The Master told us to be on the look-out," Terra said. It was obvious he was cold too, his hulking frame twitching every so often, a restrained shiver showing every once in a while. "That's what we're doing."
"But-but Terra... I'm..."
"I know, Ven, I know." Terra grew quiet, breathing labored through his own clenched teeth as he tried to fight the cold leaking inside. He couldn't show weakness. "Just fi-five more minutes."
"Where is she?" Ven crouched on the ground, low in the snow. He held his knees close to himself. "They should b-be here by now..."
Ven couldn't see it, but Terra was frowning behind his visor. "They'll be here soon," he said, hoping he wasn't lying to the freezing boy. "And when we get inside, I promise - I'll make us a fire and some hot cocoa."
"R-really?" His lips were probably the blue of a Blizzard spell by now. "That-that sounds... nice right now."
"...Yeah, that's not all that sounds nice. Dinner, too." Terra smiled, his body still jerking as his muscles tried to warm themselves up.
He crouched next to Ven in the snow, his gaze trying to pierce through the snow storm they'd gotten themselves into. The Land of Departure had some strange weather patterns during the winter time - some days unbearably hot, some days unbearably cold.
This time, unbearable wasn't even a strong enough adjective for the cold.
Terra leaned his frame closer to Ven. "She'll be here soon," he said. "They're coming.""
Ven didn't reply. He merely sat there, shivering.
Terra, worried that poor Ven wasn't going to make it the next few minutes, materialized his keyblade and with a twirl he whispered, "Fire."
A soft flame, a tiny ember, burned on the tip. He stuck it between him and Ven, melting the snow away from the spot they shared.
"Ahh," Ven sighed, sounding a bit more alive than he was previously.
"Better?"
"I'll be okay." Ven's chattering teeth stopped their reverberating echo in his helmet. "Thanks…"
Terra's eyes stared into the night, the dark and snowy eve, willing Aqua and the other Keyblade wielders to return from their mission any second now. The Master, bed-ridden by a serious case of pneumonia, wanted Terra and Ven to make sure that the squad made it okay, and that when the forty-minute mark hit and they hadn't return, they were to sound the alarms.
Risking pneumonia themselves, they waited dutifully.
Three minutes to go.
Terra didn't know how much more they could take.
"Terra..." Ven cried, sounding almost in pain as the cold crept back into him.
"You're okay," Terra said. "Fire…"
Another flame lit between them, glowing orange and red against the snow crystals.
"C'mere," he said. "If we close the space between us, the heat will stay longer."
Ven didn't say anything as he stiffly scooted next to Terra. Unsure of what to do next, he wrapped Ven in his other arm and with the other he held the keyblade between them, periodically whispering, "Fire..."
"Fire..." Ven whispered back.
"Shhh." Terra held him closer. "Save your strength."
They waited.
Fourty-minutes had past.
"They're not here yet?"
"They'll be here," Terra said with strong assurance. "Now, stay with me. Don't fall asleep. If you do, you might not… you might not wake up."
The flame went out, as Ven absentmindedly snuggled into Terra's armored embrace.
"Fire..." They whispered together, holding each other.
The light, stronger than before, bloomed between them, bringing warmth and comfort just as Aqua and her team arrived – four minutes late.
;I own nothing but the words and situations I control.
First time writing this pairing.
Written for the 15_minute_fic community on LiveJournal.
THIS IS WHAT HAPPENS WHEN I WRITE WHILE THINKING ABOUT THE FINAL JACK/ROSE SCENE IN THE TITANIC.
Complete.