Cold Heat
New Azarath was cold. So very cold. It was like a freezer covered in ice in space as far away from the sun as possible. Stupid cold desert. Wasn't that an oxymoron? Cold desert…shouldn't deserts be hot? … But what's that? Heat. Finally, it's a desert.
'Zat?'
Who the hell is in my desert?
'Zat? Why are you…?'
Oh, it's Eddie. I guess he's allowed in my desert.
'Zat, are you okay?'
I'm fine, Eddie.
'C'mon, Zat, say something!'
I just did, so stop yelling!
'Zat, can you even feel anything?'
Eddie seems to have gone deaf…but he's so warm…
'Z-zat! You can't-! You'll get burned!'
Idiot never shuts up.
New Azarath was so refreshing. It was like a spring day without the flowers, blue sky, or warmth. (Mind you, Eddie also missed the young love spring was supposed to bring because of a certain snarky magician.)
But Zatara seemed to be taking to the weather as if it was a Siberian winter. Eddie joked ("What use are you if you can't deal with a cool breeze?"), but he knew that if it was spring to him, it was arctic winter for Zatara.
This was ignored, however, and camp consisting of Zatara's hat between them ("I won't have you burn me to death in my sleep.") was set up. Eddie fell asleep immediately.
He awoke to arms wrapping around him, and his first thought was that Phantasm had come for round six, but the arms were not attacking him. Eddie was being hugged. He was being hugged by someone even more unlikely than Phantasm.
"Zat?"
The magician only groaned in response.
And Eddie took a moment to bask in the feel of Zachary Zatara with his arms wrapped tightly around his middle before he started to worry.
"Zat? Why are you…"
Zatara whispered something which was lost to the wind.
"Zat? Are you okay?"
Zatara grimaced in response.
"C'mon, Zat, say something!"
Zatara did nothing, so Eddie experimentally touched his cheek. Unless Eddie had lost his powers, Zatara should have shown some pain at that.
"Zat, can you even feel anything?"
As an answer, Zatara pulled Eddie closer and nuzzled his face in his chest.
"Z-zat! You can't! You'll get burned!"
Eddie pushed the magician away and watched as he curled up and started shivering. Then, Eddie realized that Zatara would either burn with him or freeze with no one, but being so close to the vulnerable magician would surely promote thoughts that no respectable Jewish boy should ever harbor about a non-Jewish boy.
"Eddie."
But then the vulnerable, shivering magician whispered his name, and Eddie was by Zatara's side in an instant, getting as close to him as possible without burning him.
When Zatara woke up, Eddie was laying next to him, breathing on his face and taking up his space. At first, Zatara didn't mind. After all, Eddie's face is quite nice, but then Zatara took time to study the irritating shade of red that nice face was cursed with. It was red like that bastard Neron, not pale like Eddie. Imagining what Eddie used to look like and then being faced with the reality really made Zatara furious.
So, he punched the shouldn't-be-devil in the face, and afterwards, contemplated that he shouldn't have touched a boy whose skin temperature peaked at 400 degrees. The magician cursed and cradled his hand as Eddie did likewise with his face.
"Why did you just punch me, Zat?" Eddie asked calmly.
"You got too close," Zatara lied as he let go of his hand. "Where's my hat?"
Eddie fumed (literally). "Really? That's why? Last night, you were begging for my warmth!" Eddie picked up Zatara's hat from behind him and put it on, mocking the magician in an impossibly high-pitched voice. "Oh, Eddie, I'm so cold. Warm me up, please."
Zatara snatched the hat from Eddie and put it on his head. "First of all, my voice is lower than yours. Second, I am not a ten-year-old girl. Third, the way you phrased that was sexual. Uncomfortably so. Is there something I should know, Eddie?"
If Eddie wasn't already red, he would have blushed. "You're the one who started hugging me in the middle of the night! Is there something I should know, Zatara?"
"I was cold. It doesn't mean anything," Zatara said, folding his arms.
Silence.
Eddie frowned. "Really?"
Zatara turned away and replied, "Really." He started walking. "Let's go."
Eddie followed, then tackled the magician, careful not to touch his skin.
"What the hell is wrong with you, Eddie?" Zatara yelled, struggling to throw Eddie's weight off of him without getting burned.
"I think you're lying."
Zatara struggled underneath him and took his time answering. "Great reason to attack me."
Eddie frowned and gently turned Zatara onto his back. The magician stopped struggling as Eddie started removing his gloves.
"Eddie…?"
"Will you burn if I touch your hands?"
"Of course I will!"
Zatara started struggling again thinking Eddie was going to burn him. Then, Eddie said, "Will you burn if I kiss you?" and Zatara was at a loss for words as Eddie leaned down and kissed him, and Zatara's lips were burning but it didn't matter because the rest of his body was burning, too, in the most wonderful way.
When Eddie pulled away, Zatara slowly covered his mouth with his hand and whispered, "Ouch."
A/n: I don't own DC or anything affiliated with DC, meaning Zachary Zatara and Eddie Bloomberg.