A/N: this is my excessively late TD secret santa gift for heathersuoh! (i am so, so sorry about how late this is. i hope you like it anyways!)
The sight of Heather stepping off the snowmobile that had just driven up in front of Alejandro brought warmth to his heart. He felt himself smiling, and he no longer felt the freezing cold as deeply as he did before.
She slapped him, which he probably should have seen coming. Even the sting of the slap didn't faze him, however. "I missed you too," he said, gazing at her gorgeous visage.
"Shut up and get on the snowmobile," Heather said, but she was smiling.
Heather drove them to a nearby lodge, at which Alejandro was given towels and warm, dry clothes to change into while Heather returned the snowmobile. When she came back, they sat in the lobby, by a roaring fire, with complimentary hot cocoa.
"So," Heather finally said, picking up her mug, "you got me eliminated... and then you didn't even win."
"Yes, well," said Alejandro, still shivering a little despite the dry clothes and the crackling fire, "I... may have... misidentified the biggest threat to me this season."
She smirked. "Glad you admit it, at least."
"As if you saw Mal coming."
"Maybe I would have, if you hadn't eliminated me!"
They glared at each other for a moment, before Alejandro softened. "I did miss you."
"So maybe don't eliminate me next time, then."
"And let you eliminate me instead? That won't happen." He took a sip of his hot cocoa. "But alas, for the time being neither of us are in the game, so all this is a bit moot."
Heather crossed her arms. "I guess."
"Which brings me to: what do we do now?"
Heather sighed. "Since Chris claimed the Playa Des Losers for himself this season, us losers have been stuck at a hotel on the mainland. Which I guess is a good thing, since Duncan apparently blew up the Playa."
Alejandro chuckled. "Indeed he did."
"Anyways," she continued, "we'll be staying here tonight, and then flying back to Muskoka in the morning."
"Sounds like a plan. One more question..." He leaned forward. "Were you selected to come get me, or did you volunteer?"
The blush on Heather's face told him all he needed to know. "Shut up and drink your cocoa," she snapped.
"Of course," he said, smirking.
The evening drawing to a close, Heather brought Alejandro up to their room. "Since you were recently flushed down a toilet, I'll be nice and give you the first shower." Her wrinkled expression indicated that her motivations were probably less about generosity and more about Alejandro's smell, which had intensified now that they were in close quarters. "But you better not use up all the hot water, or you are dead." She glared daggers at him to emphasize this point.
Alejandro smirked. "Gracias," he said. The shower was a welcome respite after the disgusting toilet and the frozen waters of the Yukon. He considered prolonging the shower for longer than necessary - Heather was beautiful when she was angry - but decided against it. He wanted to be on her good side, for once.
When Heather stepped out of the bathroom, clad in a tank top and pajama pants, she saw Alejandro sitting patiently in one of the chairs and immediately narrowed her eyes. "What is it?" she demanded. When he quirked an eyebrow, she explained, "You have this look in your eye. Like you want something. So?"
"A question," said Alejandro. "Remember when I told you that our love meant more than any game?"
Heather scoffed, sitting down in the chair across from him. "You only said that because you thought you'd won already. You thought you'd beaten me, and that I would accept you as some kind of consolation prize. Of course our love meant 'more than a game' if you were winning the game."
Alejandro hesitated. "I underestimated you," he admitted. "I know better, now. And I still mean what I said then." He looked Heather in the eye. "Our love transcends this competition. We're out of the game, away from the cameras, with no chance at the prize. But I want to be with you anyways. If you'll let me."
His words hung in the air for a minute.
"All this time," Heather finally said, "I've been beyond pissed that you had the nerve to eliminate me. But. I did... want to see you." She stopped, blushing, then continued, "To be honest, I... thought I threw away my chances with you in Hawaii. Not that I regret it! But I didn't think that you'd forgive me, after that."
"I do forgive you," he said. "If you'll forgive me for eliminating you in All-Stars, which I think you'll agree is a... more minor issue, in comparison."
She hesitated, then grumbled, "Alright, fine. I forgive you."
"Gracias. With that said, let me ask you again. Heather, do you want us to be together?"
"Yes," Heather said, a slow smile appearing on her face. "Yes."
"Then come over here and kiss me," Alejandro said, as roguishly as he could manage.
"Only if you don't use tongue," Heather fired back. "I don't know if anyone's ever told you, but sticking your tongue right down a girl's throat is not pleasant."
"I'll keep that in mind," said Alejandro, and Heather abruptly stood up and strode over to him, sliding onto his lap and pressing her lips to his.
The second kiss they'd ever shared was softer, warmer, than the first. The first had begun in passion and ended in a knee to the gonads; the second was romantic, sweet. He reveled in the feeling of her warm mouth on his, in the sensation of her hand resting on his neck and her body draped across his lap.
Finally, Heather pulled away. "It's late," she said. "We have to get up early to make the flight tomorrow."
"Of course," said Alejandro.
She reluctantly got off of him and stood. "My bed's the one by the window," she said. "The other one's yours."
"Why not share?"
Her eyes narrowed. "If you think I'm fucking you right away, you have another thing coming."
"Ah, no - that was not my intention, I promise. I meant that we could just... cuddle."
Heather blinked. "Oh. That's... we could do that."
They settled into bed, Alejandro lying on his back and Heather hesitantly cuddling up next to him. After a few minutes of shuffling around to find a comfortable position, Heather finally relaxed, head resting on Alejandro's chest, arm draped across his torso.
Alejandro stayed awake for a while, drinking in the feeling of Heather's warm body lying across his, a sensation he wanted to treasure, to revel in for as long as he could. Eventually, though, he couldn't keep his eyes open any longer, and drifted away to dreamland, still smiling.
if money can't buy happiness
then why is it so fabulous?
— That Poppy, "Money"