Snuggle (prompt no. 44) : i'm the friend who is constantly cold and you're the friend who is constantly hot so you offer to snuggle with me when the power goes out

"Gosh. You're really pathetic."

With his teeth chattering non-stop, Kaito wasn't able to think of any comeback, so he retaliated by pulling Aoko's blanket off her lap and wrapped it over his head (but with how he looked, it only seemed to emphasize on Aoko's damn point).

"People are blessed w-with different things, 'kay." Kaito sniffed, glancing at Aoko who was sitting beside him on the couch. "I'm blessed with good brains and you're blessed with skin as thick as elephants. I t-think that's pretty fair."

Aoko rolled her eyes. "When are you getting the heater fixed?"

"S-soon."

"You can come over my house and stay for the night."

"No." Kaito managed to say without a stutter, thankfully (there were other reasons why he would stutter, besides the cold).

"Why not?"

"The s-same reason why we're watching t-the movie at my house." Kaito scowled, pointing at the TV screen (But he briefly wondered about the irony of his words, since fifteen minutes after the movie started, both of them were talking and doing about every single thing except for watching the movie).

Aoko sighed. "It's not like you're going to sleep beside the fish tank-"

Kaito sucked a breath through his teeth, cutting off Aoko. That word was making him feel worse than the current cold. "I can feel th-their presences swimming around, okay. So, no."

"Look at you." Aoko shook her head, her eyes scrutinising the three layers of blanket over his body (and the one he stolen from her and wrapped it over his head). "It's as if you're going to freeze to death."

"Yeah. I rather have th-that than going your house."

Aoko huffed. "You better call someone and get your heater fixed soon. Keiko is only coming back from her winter holiday trip a week later and only then will she take her tank back."

"Okay m-mom."

They fell back into silence again, only the sound from the movie and his occasional sniffing filling the room. No sooner, Aoko joined in the sniffing too when the movie hit a sad climax. But then a couple of minutes later, Aoko's hysterical chuckles enveloped the entire house, along with the brightness from her smile that followed as she commented incoherently about how funny the character A and B was because...

because?

Kaito didn't know what came after because. Her words just lost its meaning in his head, and he couldn't hear anything but the sound of her breaths and the movements of her hands and arms. It was just so... energetic and alive.

And happy.

It managed to warm him up, just a little.

"-to? Kaito?"

Kaito blinked. "Huh?"

Aoko frowned. "Are you okay?"

"Ye-Yeah." Damn it. "I'm fine."

"You looked totally dazed out. Are you very cold?"

What was he supposed to say? "Uh, I-"

Aoko shifted on her seat, closing the small gap and turning it non-existent. She took the three blankets, and the one over his head, and stacked them together before wrapping it around their body.

Her leg, arm, waist, head—basically half of her body, was leaning against his, and the blankets were doing nothing but adding to the pressure of their skin contact.

Kaito, pathetically, had been frozen the entire time. "W-What are you d-doing?"

"I'm not going to spend my winter break taking care of you if you get sick—"

"I don't need you to take care of me."

"—so I guess I'll have to resort to this measure then."

"...Snuggling up to m-me is your measure?"

"I'm as thick as an elephant, right? This is the best way to keep you warm."

Yes, it was effective, but in the worst kind of way. The warmth from her skin did help more than the blankets could ever do, but there was something more that was heating him up from the inside.

And it was making him unbearably hot now.

Kaito jumped up from the couch, tearing himself away from his burrito fate. One of the blankets fell onto the floor.

"You know what? I'm great now." Kaito spat.

Aoko stood up. "No you're not."

"I'm fine! Gosh, just let me snuggle up to myself, okay?"

She was about to rebuke, but her face softened. "Kaito? Are you sick? Your face is really red."

"No. I'm just... Hot."

"You were shivering like a baby eskimo two seconds ago!"

"But I'm hot now, okay. So leave me alone."

"No." Aoko walked towards him, which he took the same amount of steps back. She growled. "Let me check your temperature."

"No ne-need."

"See! Your teeth are chattering again!"

"I said I'm fi-fine now, gosh."

"At least let me check your temperature!"

"No!"

Two seconds later, Aoko chased him around the house, the blankets fallen all around like a trail. And, as always, during their occasional movie dates over the holidays, the show was left unfinished and forgotten.