They traveled on horseback for two more days, led on by the horrific stench that plagued Koge's nose. She was so affected by it that she found herself needing to have her face shoved into the fluff of Bakugou's cape to lessen the impact it had on her body. She had grown nauseous and plagued by pounding headaches, making galloping on the horse nearly unbearable. Still, she suffered through it to not slow them down, for as long as she could. But, nearing the end of the third day of their trip, she had to stop.

"K-Katsuki, please stop, I have to get off!"

Hearing the urgency in her voice, Bakugou pulled on the reigns, making the horse abruptly come to a shaky halt. Immediately, Koge jumped off the horse, falling to her knees before vomiting what little contents were in her stomach. Frowning, Bakugou hopped off as well, grabbing their water canister before kneeling down beside her. "It's that bad?"

Taking the canister from him, Koge swished some water around her mouth and spit before taking a drink, the cool water soothing her throat. "Yes… Katsuki, I don't think it's one sick dragon. Whatever this smell is, it's bad. It's… it's like there's just tons of dead or diseased dragons." She moved to sit down on her rump, wiping her eyes and nose as she sniffed. "It's almost unbearable to be out in the open like this… And the wind from the incoming storm is making it so much worse."

Standing up straight, Bakugou turned to look at the incoming storm clouds, dark and rolling in at an unsettling speed. There was no thunder and no lightning, telling Bakugou that this was the first incoming snow storm of the season. Being so late in the evening, the wind felt like tiny needles in his skin and it was only growing stronger.

"We need to find a place to stay until the storm passes. I think there was a cave a little ways back. Get up, let's go."

Koge did as requested, keeping her hand over her nose. "We can't be far with how strong the stench is. But we can't go through that storm." She followed Bakugou back to the horse, who was shifting about anxiously. After helping Koge up onto the horse, Bakugou joined her, promptly turning the horse around and heading back the way they had come. Even though they travelled at a quick pace, the storm began to swallow them in darkness, the ice cold wind digging into their skin. Sleet began to rain down on them, making Koge cower further into Bakugou's chest.

By the time they reached the cave, they were soaked and frozen to the bone. Koge couldn't even find comfort from Bakugou's natural warmth, and for once, even he was shivering. The mouth of the cave was barely large enough for them to lead the horse inside, getting it in a decent ways before it could no longer fit. With trembling hands, Bakugou tied the reins to a large stone and removed the rest of the horses accessories, until it was bare. "Sorry. This is all we can do for you." Bakugou tossed one of their still slightly dry blankets over the back of the horse and spread it out, giving the animal a pat on the neck before picking up their supplies.

"Come on. It's still too cold here for us." He addressed the trembling Koge as he passed her, heading further into the cave. With chattering teeth, Koge followed him, hugging herself tightly. "O-okay. W-w-we can't light a f-fire, can we?"

Bakugou shook his head, touching the wet stone wall as he walked. "No. The rocks here are soft and wet. They will collapse." Koge gave a short scoff, though it was mixed with a quiet laugh. "Soft and wet. Like me." She sputtered in laughter at the annoyed glare Bakugou shot her over his shoulder, his intimidation level diminished by his wet and saggy hair. "Eh? What the fuck do you mean?"

Koge's eyes caught onto the scurrying of a bug away from them, but she didn't bother reacting to it. "I'm soft and wet. You don't think I'm soft?"

"Tch, I mean… I guess you are. Why would you even bring up something like that?"

"I was trying to be funny…"

"You're not very good at being funny."

Koge huffed, glaring at his back as she climbed up over some boulders. "You just don't understand how to laugh. You've only ever laughed once when we were in the bath house."

Ignoring her, Bakugou finally came to a stop, observing the spot he picked for them to rest. Koge was surprised that he could see, as the light was almost non existent this far into the cave. Her special eyesight made it easy for her, but the fact that he was acting like it wasn't pitch black left her baffled. In fact, as she thought about it, he hadn't ever had trouble seeing in the dark. Unable to help her curiosity, Koge took a few steps towards him, still trembling from the cold. "Katsuki… Can you see okay?"

Glancing at her, Bakugou shrugged off his soaking wet cape, laying it out over a rock to dry. "Yes?" His annoyed tone of voice told her to drop it, and so she did, taking off her wet cloak as well. She mimicked him in laying it out to dry, rubbing her arms vigorously. "Brr! Even this far into the cave, it's freezing! Can't we go in a bit further?" Bakugou shook his head, laying out their only dry blanket onto the rocks. "No. It's too narrow, and there will be more animals that far in." With a sigh, Koge flopped down to sit on the blanket, removing her boots. "You sure do know a lot about living in the wilderness. Even more than me, and I've been alive for over three hundred years!"

Bakugou began to remove articles of clothing as well, until he was down to being just in his pants. "Living as a dragon in the wilderness and living as a human are two different things." Hugging her knees to her chest, Koge rolled her eyes as he sat down beside her. "Duh, Katsuki. Mr. Obvious- hey, I'm wet enough already!" Koge leaned away from Bakugou as he shook his head, sending water spraying every which way.

"Then it doesn't matter, does it? You're still wet either way." Bakugou ruffled his hair once done, and Koge couldn't help but giggle at it's half spiky state. "So cute."

"Don't call me cute!" Bakugou barked at her, though quickly regretted raising his voice as it echoed through the cave. Koge covered her mouth as she laughed, giving him a sideways glance. "So sensitive. Come on, Katsuki, just admit it. You're cute."

Growling, Bakugou snatched his satchel, pulling it over and digging through it for food. "I'm not. You better shut up or I won't feed you."

"Don't treat me like a dog, Katsuki. I may just bite you."

After a small meal of stale bread, cheese and some berries they found that morning, the two sat in silence for a while. Lost in his own thoughts, Bakugou's attention was pulled back to Koge as she sneezed, a high pitched noise that could be mistaken for a mouse. "Geez, what was that?"

Sniffing, Koge wiped her nose with the back of her hand, still shivering from cold. "I sneezed."

"That didn't sound like a sneeze. Sounded like a squeak."

"No, it was a sneeze. Ugh, I hope I'm not getting sick from all this cold…" Koge pulled her knees back up to her chest, hiding her face in them. Bakugou watched her for a moment silently, contemplating what to do. He knew that her getting sick would hinder their rescue, but there was nothing he could do to warm her.

Well, there was something he could do, but he was worried about the reaction from her.

After glaring at the ground for a while, able to feel her shaking, he finally gave in.

"Come here."

Confused, Koge looked up at him. "Huh?" She released her legs as Bakugou sat up straight, nodding for her to come over. "Sit on my lap. Facing me."

"What? Are you sure?" Koge felt heat rush to her cheeks as she turned towards him. Though she was hesitant, she still felt the urge to leap on him, to soak in the warmth that she had grown used to sharing. While sleeping and on the horse, he didn't mind her resting against him, and she had come to crave the feel of his skin. The narrowing of his eyes told her she had better act quick, however, and her mind was immediately made up.

Quickly, she plopped herself down onto his lap, facing him and straddling his legs. She wrapped her arms around his torso, nuzzling her face into the curve of his neck. The instant he wrapped his arms around her, she began to purr softly, her tail swishing about behind her happily. "So warm… You know, for such a hardass, you have a good heart…"

Bakugou held her body close, finding that he very much enjoyed holding her like this. "I'm not going to let you freeze to death. You idiot. That's the only reason I'm doing this, since you getting sick would ruin our rescue." He could feel her smile against his skin, hating how she could always see right through him. "Sure, Katsuki," Koge began, her tail wrapping around their hips. "If that's what you want me to believe."

"Shut up." Bakugou pressed his palms against her back, deciding to go along with his plan to help her. "Don't freak out."

"Huh? Why would I- woah!" Koge flinched away from his hands as his palms suddenly became hot against her body, squishing herself closer to him. "Your hands are hot! How are you doing that!?" Curious, she looked over her shoulder at his hands, able to see a yellow glow from his palms. Bakugou growled in annoyance, slowly sliding one of his hands up her back. "I said don't freak out."

After the initial shock, Koge found herself melting into him, sighing softly as her purring resumed. She hid her face back into his shoulder, feeling the warmth spreading across her skin. "I knew there was something special about you… Whatever this is."

Bakugou kept his gaze on his hands, running one of them up to caress the back of her neck. "You're not going to ask questions?"

"Whatever it is, you'll tell me when you're ready." The warmth made her shiver a bit, a familiar tingling sensation running through her body. Even though he didn't say a word or do anything but run his hands along her back, a nearly unbearable sensation of arousal began to peak within her. Being pressed against him like this, his scent filling her senses and his breath against her neck was already driving her wild. As his hand came back up to her neck, he caressed it with a bit more pressure than before, the sensation of pleasure making her gasp softly and wiggle a bit.

"Ah… Did that hurt?" Bakugou's voice was soft and low in her ear, making her stomach swim with butterflies. Koge gave a small shake of her head, clutching onto him a bit tighter as she tried to keep her urges subdued. "No, it feels good…" With this, his touch grew rougher, massaging her as his hands moved.

Bakugou wasn't sure what he was doing, but he couldn't control himself, either. Koge was so soft against him, his crimson gaze locked on the way her shoulders moved with each increasingly heavy breath. Each time he pressed his fingers into a sensitive or sore spot on her back, she would gasp and tense into him. He knew this was bad, a horrible decision that would only complicate things further. But did that really matter? It was just sex, wasn't it? She was just a stranger, a pawn in his game of chess.

Right?

A sharp hiss escaped his lips as her nails dug into the bare skin of his back, spurred on by his hands traveling just a bit further down than they had been.

"Katsuki-" Koge spoke in a breathless whisper, lifting her body up from his a bit.

"What…?"

"I… I want you. Now."