Title: Snowbound Sweethearts
Summary: Caught in a blizzard, Fafnir and Flavio find shelter in an empty building
Pairings: Fafnir/Flavio
Prompt: Anon, Tumblr - Flavnir, prompt "snowed in" if that's ok
AN: Writing about snow in the 40+ heat is surprisingly easy when you're sitting in front of an air-con ^^ Hope you enjoy reading!
Wrapping his arms tightly around himself, Flavio shivered as he looked out the window. It was a feeble venture, though. All he could see was white. He couldn't even see the building next door, a structure that was a mere several feet away.
Turning away from the window with a grimace, Flavio glanced over at Fafnir, a small smile making its way upon his lips when he noticed that his friend had managed to start a fire in the small fire place. With the wind howling outside and the ice and snow hitting the windows, any warmth was greatly appreciated.
He could barely believe that he and Fafnir had been caught in the middle of a blizzard. In town, no less!
They had been warned that the winters in Lagaard where bitterly cold, the snow arriving in droves without a hint of warning. And Flavio took all their cautionary tales to heart. He truly did. But even so, he had not anticipated how sudden and severe winter would appear over High Lagaard.
He and Fafnir had been completing a few errands for the restaurant around the lower wards; Flavio doing most of the talking with the residents about what kind of dishes they would like to see served at the restaurant while Fafnir stood on watch in the background like a bodyguard. They had just completed their last errand when it started to snow.
First it was a light snow. No big deal, right? They've explored the Frozen Grounds of the labyrinth. They've trudged through snow while being chased by foes; they could handle a little bit of snow in town. They were in an urban area, after all. And the previous snowfalls were light and gentle. No biggie.
Until the wind came. And with it, sleet. And then more snow. Piles upon piles of snow, actually.
Oh, he was sure that the phrase 'piles upon piles' was not the correct term to use when speaking about the steady growing banks of snow, but it was marginally better than Barkeep Cass's description of 'a fuck-tonne of snow'. Although, he was actually pretty accurate. It was a marvel of nature. Really.
The blizzard literally came out of nowhere.
Well, maybe not. When the residents of the lower wards immediately cursed and fled to their homes upon the sight of the first snowflake slowly drifting to the ground should have been a warning in of itself.
With the wind increasing in strength, Fafnir snared Flavio's hand in his as they tried to navigate their way to either the inn or back to the restaurant where the rest of their guildmates were waiting for them. Well, hopefully they were still there. But as the snow grew deeper, the small rocks of ice battering their bodies, the wind stinging their eyes, they knew they needed to find emergency shelter.
They forced their way into the closest residence they could find within the blinding snow, thankful that it was indeed empty and they had not just barged into someone else's premises with them inside. They would no doubt fear that they were being invaded or something. The residents of the lower wards were skittish and suspicious at the best of times.
Pushing himself to stand upon his feet, Fafnir turned away from the fire place to look over at Flavio. "There appears to be enough wood for two days," he said. "Hopefully we won't be stuck that long."
"R-right," Flavio said as his teeth chatted from the cold and he quickly made his way toward the now roaring fire.
There was a large two-seater couch in front of the fireplace and it honestly looked comfortable, but it also honestly wasn't close enough to the only source of heat. The full body shivers were starting to set in, making it incredibly difficult for him to do much else but stand as close to the fire as possible without, you know, actually sitting on it and getting burnt.
"You need to get out of those icy outer clothes," Fafnir said to him as he began to tug at his own winter coat.
He had a point. His coat was starting to feel heavy and cold, so he quickly took that off, dropping it upon the couch as he kicked off his boots. The bottoms of his pants were also clinging icily to his legs. But he was going to leave them on. For his dignity's sake.
"Pants, too, Flavio," Fafnir told him sternly as he began to pull off his own pants.
Despite how cold he was, Flavio blushed deeply and snapped his attention toward Fafnir. He opened his mouth to utter an indignant response when he cut himself off by sneezing. His sneezing fit lasted for a few moments and when he felt that he was done, his gaze wandered back to Fafnir, only to find him staring at him with an arch eyebrow.
"It's just me here," Fafnir said as he moved away from the fire place to look around their emergency abode, uncaring that he was essentially half naked. "Get rid of those icy clothes before you get sick from the chill."
With the blush still adorning his cheeks, Flavio knew that Fafnir was right on both accounts. Staying in his wet clothes would only prolong the deep chill he was feeling. And it was just Fafnir with him; they've been roommates since childhood, so, yes, they had seen each other in various stages of undress.
Regardless of how long you have known a person, how well you know them, how much…ah, skin you have seen, it was still going to be awkward. Especially since Flavio saw Fafnir as someone more than a friend and someone different than that of a brother.
Swallowing back his pride, Flavio hastily undid the bucket of his belt and slid off his pants. He stumbled slightly in his haste to step out of them and quickly tossed his pants to the side before he abruptly sat on the floor as close to the fire as possible. He pulled his legs toward his chest and wrapped his arms around them in an attempt to stay warm. He was still wearing his thick vest which covered a good proportion of his boxer shorts, thankfully. So he wasn't completely naked; he was still showing off more skin than he would like or was actually used to.
In a desperate attempt to pull his thoughts away from his internal embarrassment of his new predicament, Flavio glanced around at his new surroundings. The place was surprisingly (and thankfully) clean. Obviously someone had lived there. Perhaps they had sensed the incoming storm and sought shelter elsewhere. Or maybe they, too, were caught off guard and were snowed in somewhere else.
Whoever they were, wherever they were, Flavio hoped they didn't mind him and Fafnir crashing at their place until the winter storm died down enough for them to trudge their way back to the inn or restaurant.
When he heard the sound of several doors opening and closing, Flavio glanced over his shoulder to find Fafnir casually poking around the closets and cupboards around the room.
"You shouldn't go looking through other people's things," Flavio couldn't help but reprimand.
Fafnir, however, shrugged as he pulled out a thick blanket from the cupboard. "We'll leave them a thank you note or something when the storm dies down," he said is a dismissive way before a slight frown tugged at his lips. "Getting you warm is far more important."
Upon hearing that, Flavio couldn't help but smile and he turned his attention back to the roaring fire. Funnily enough, hearing the concern in Fafnir's voice made the winter chill fade a little bit.
He was…glad that it was just the two of them.
Flavio felt a sense of anticipation touch him when he heard Fafnir's footsteps come up behind him. He listened as Fafnir moved about, sitting on the floor right behind him. Soon a pair of hands reached out to take him by the shoulders, and Flavio felt himself draw toward them willingly. Flavio couldn't even muster a small sense of embarrassment when Fafnir pulled him back against his chest, positioning him in-between his legs. He then draped the thick blanket over the both of them, holding onto the corners while he wrapped his arms around Flavio, encasing him in a protective shell of warmth.
Flavio shivered again, but he was fairly certain it was not from the cold this time. It was from the feel of Fafnir's heated breath ghosting against his neck as he rested his chin on his shoulder.
As Fafnir leaned his back against the side of the couch behind them, Flavio felt himself completely relax into his arms. There was no need to be tense or embarrassed any more. He was surprisingly a little bit grateful for the blizzard now. It was hard to find time for the two of them to spend together. Just them.
Sitting there together, just the two of them, in a private setting, warm and comfortable; it would be the perfect time for them to talk, just chat about everything but nothing at the same time. Yet, for some reason, Flavio didn't want to break the comfortable silence between them. Instead, Flavio slowly positioned himself in Fafnir's arms, twisting around so that he could rest his cheek against his chest, nuzzling his head beneath his chin.
Fafnir chuckled softly, the sound reverberating through his chest, before he made a sound that was nothing short of contentment and rested his chin atop of Flavio's hair. He wrapped one arm around Flavio's waist as the other idly rubbed his arm, slowly moving up and down in a comforting manner.
The crackling of the fire and the howling wind was oddly soothing, but it could not compete to the comforting sound of Fafnir's beating heart. And with Fafnir's arms tightly around him, holding him so closely, so warmly; nothing needed to be said.
As Flavio's eyes drifted closed, he smiled when he felt something gently touch his forehead before he drifted off into a peaceful sleep.
