Notes: i don't actually hate the grumps, it's just that their homerotic jokes—especially the ones involving my two boys—keep fueling my ship-rotten brain when I have other writing projects to focus on dammit
So anyway, inspired by part... *counts* 37 of their SDR2 playthrough (I started writing this months ago—congrats to them on finishing the game!), here's some kuzuhina ice play that I wouldn't say is explicit but it does get quite steamy 👀
The title is inspired by a lyric from "Jikuu Kakurenbo" by BUMP OF CHICKEN but I've completely recontextualized the more somber original line lmao. Anyway I hope you enjoy!
When Warmth Grows Cold
The weather on Jabberwock Island was strangely consistent—unrealistically so, almost. In their first weeks there, some of them had commented on how unusual it was that there was never any hint of rain or even overcast days, only clear, sunny skies. It was always warm, as expected of a tropical archipelago, but never uncomfortably so. After forty days since being brought there, everyone had become all too accustomed to constant perfect weather, all day, every day.
And then one day, out of nowhere, there was a sudden heatwave with stifling humidity and dangerously high temperatures.
Usami seemed exceedingly unnerved by the development, fighting back tears as she stood on the restaurant veranda that morning and futilely waved her magic stick towards the sky. Hinata didn't really understand all the fuss—no matter how much "magic power" she insisted was housed within that weird toy, surely the rabbit didn't expect she'd be able to fight off perfectly natural weather patterns?
When Usami finally returned inside the restaurant as the students were finishing up their breakfast, it was to announce, between sobs, that material-gathering was to be cancelled for the day. It was entirely too dangerous for them to be exerting themselves in such conditions, and Tsumiki nodded along approvingly as the stuffed animal warned of heatstroke and dehydration. For their own safety, the students should spend the day indoors where it was air-conditioned, and Usami strongly recommended that any trip ticket dates remained within individual cottages.
In the meantime, she claimed she would try to "contact someone" to "fix the problem." Whatever that meant.
In any case, that was how Hinata ended up hanging out in Kuzuryu's cottage for the day, idly paging through random magazines they had picked up from the market while nursing glasses of iced tea and other cool drinks, the companionable silence broken only by the soft whirr of the air conditioner and the occasional crackle from the ice bucket on the table as its contents slowly melted and resettled.
Even with the air conditioning cranked up, the air between them was still stiflingly warm, but that couldn't be entirely blamed on the weather. It had been a little more than a week since Kuzuryu had, in the middle of a particularly boring movie at the theater, grabbed Hinata's tie and pulled him down into a crushing, sloppy kiss that tasted of salted popcorn. The abrupt, turbulent manner in which their relationship had transitioned from Just Close Friends into Definitely Something More had barely waned since, still newly in the flush of discovering each other and exploring the ways their bodies best melded together.
The heated gaze that Kuzuryu would occasionally shoot him between page-turns spoke volumes, and Hinata was sure that his own expression looked much the same. There were far more interesting activities they could be indulging in rather than reading magazines on topics neither of them particularly cared for. But each time, Hinata would give a minute shake of his head and turn his focus back on the same page and paragraph he had been staring at for a half hour. It was too hot to be doing anything physical—even sitting those few centimeters apart from his boyfriend, just close enough to feel the other boy's body heat radiating against his side, was beginning to creep towards the edge of unbearable.
Annoyed at being rebuffed again, Hinata heard Kuzuryu huff before picking up his glass of tea for a sip. Hopefully the heat would die off a bit once the sun went down, Hinata reasoned. They'd just have to make it through the day, perhaps take a nap through the height of midday, and then they could spend the night—
A sudden shock against his neck chased all thought from Hinata's mind, and he immediately jerked away, whipping his head to shoot an accusatory look at Kuzuryu.
"Heh." The blond grinned wickedly, one hand cupping his cheek as he lounged against the table, the other still hovering in mid-air just inches from Hinata, fingertips gripping... an ice cube. "How was that? Feel good?"
As if his very thought processes suddenly needed to wade through humidity the consistency of pea soup, Hinata stared blankly at the ice cube for a long moment. He watched the droplets of diluted tea drip from it before raising his own hand to the side of his neck where he had been targeted. Had it felt good...? To be honest, his body had reflexively jumped away before his brain even had the chance to register the sensation as "cold," so he couldn't really say. But as hot as it was, the idea of chilly ice being massaged against his skin certainly sounded appealing—especially if the treatment was administered by Kuzuryu... "Can you do that again?" was the response he settled on.
Kuzuryu's grin grew almost imperceptibly, something glinting on his golden eyes. "So now you let yourself be needy, huh? Got an ice kink?"
"Not sure. Do it again and I can give you a better answer."
"Dumbass." Kuzuryu popped the half-melted ice cube into his mouth—and Hianta was torn between passively feeling disappointed or actively following the ice to his boyfriend's lips until Kuzuryu reached for the ice bucket and pushed the lid off, reaching inside for a new cube. "All right, let's see what you think of this."
The ice this time was placed at the juncture where Hinata's jaw met his ear, and the initial touch felt like tiny knives digging into his skin before he quickly acclimated to the refreshing chill. As Kuzuryu forged trails down his jugular and around the collar of his shirt, Hinata shivered slightly, more in response to the cool fingertips brushing feather-light against flushed skin than the ice itself.
"So," Kuzuryu started, his voice dipping low, "does it feel good?"
Hinata nodded, pressing into the touch. The slight movement caused a small pool of melted water above his clavicle to trickle down his chest, the tickling sensation resulting in another shiver. "Not sure I'd say it's an ice kink, really, but when it's this hot and all..."
"Hmm." With the ice cube having melted completely, Kuzuryu let his hand spread out flat against Hinata's skin, the metal rings on his fingers like ghosts of the ice retaining its chilliness—and it certainly hadn't escaped Hinata's notice that the shorter boy had let the ice creep across his back and to the opposite shoulder before disappearing, leaving them in a half embrace with Kuzuryu's fingertips whispering underneath his collar. "Want some more, then?"
Hinata considered the idea, letting his eyes rake down Kuzuryu's free arm reaching for the bucket again, and on a whim he followed suit, his longer reach allowing himself to beat Kuzuryu to the stash of ice. "How about—"
Kuzryu bit back a surprised moan when the ice was pressed to the base of his neck for just an instant, followed by a confused furrow of his brow when it was removed. His gaze followed the piece of ice as Hinata placed it inside his mouth, allowing Kuzryu just enough time to realize what was happening before they were locked in a kiss.
Letting out an amused puff of air from his nostrils, Kuzuryu wasted no time in licking the seam of Hinata's lips open, plunging his tongue inside in search of the coolness within. Hinata gladly obliged, letting their tongues twine together as he passed the ice along. It quickly disappeared within the shared heat of their mouths, but even after all remnants of the melted water had been swallowed, they didn't make any move to separate, relishing in the feverish meeting of lips and teeth and tongue. Only when another ice cube was pressed to the nape of his neck did Hinata break the kiss, letting a short gasp burst across Kuzuryu's bruised lips. As the blond continued his ministrations upon whatever exposed skin was available to him, Hinata nuzzled against his cheek, peppering kisses along his jaw.
"You're getting my shirt soaked, you know," he muttered, shrugging his shoulders when his damp collar settled uncomfortably upon his skin.
"There's an easy solution to that."
"Yeah, you could stop messing around with ice."
Kuzuryu paused, arching his head back to frown up at Hinata. "If you want me to stop, I'll stop," he said seriously. "But if you're telling stupid jokes because you can't read the fucking room..."
Hinata's breath hitched when a finger hooked around the knot in his tie, just as much a threat as it was an invitation. "Sorry, yeah, that was a joke," he breathed out in a rush. "I'll take my shirt off."
With a huff, Kuzuryu scooted back just enough to give Hinata room to undress. "Yeah, you're a real comedian," he grumbled.
Hinata hesitated then, halfway through unbuttoning his shirt. Kuzuryu could be a bit moody at the best of times, that much went without saying, and more than once before Hinata had fouled the mood by saying something stupid. (In most cases that would result in Kuzuryu poking fun at him for being a virgin, but as of about three days earlier that particular jab had lost its accuracy.) At times like this he would have to tread carefully lest he risk ruining the situation entirely.
The thought crossed his mind, briefly, of returning to the previous plan of holding off until the weather cooled, but he got the feeling that would put Kuzuryu in an even worse mood—and to be perfectly honest, Hinata was too worked up to want to call it quits at this point, either. After shrugging his shirt off, he reached for Kuzuryu's hand, experimentally twining his fingers between the yakuza's. "You could take your shirt off too, you know? It's gotta be pretty stifling in long sleeves."
Kuzuryu huffed, pulling his hand away petulantly—but it was a half-hearted attempt, more of a show than anything, as he remained just close enough for their fingertips to be touching. "After that stunt you pulled? You're gonna have to put some actual work in for that."
"Work, huh?" With his free hand, Hinata reached for an ice cube, then moved to further close the distance between them again. "I'm guessing it'll be a bit more difficult than just getting your shirt wet, then."
"A little bit of water isn't going to bother me, dumbass."
Humming thoughtfully, Hinata brought the ice cube to Kuzuryu's wrist, then dragged it up his forearm, tracing over the bunched fabric at his elbow and up his sleeve to his shoulder. "In that case..."
Golden eyes watched warily, following the ice cube as Hinata traced it across his shoulder, dipping just beneath his top button; the resulting shiver had Kuzuryu lose focus just long enough for Hinata to bring the ice across the fabric of his chest unnoticed—
"Ah... gh!" Kuzuryu bit back a cry as the cube was pressed quite deliberately above his clothed nipple. "Hinata, you— bastard...!"
"Hmm?" Hinata feigned ignorance, a façade that was never meant to fool anyone as he rubbed the ice against the spot until the cube had completely melted into the fabric. "If you want me to stop, I'll stop."
"Asshole. Don't throw my words back at me..."
Chuckling, Hinata unfastened the first two buttons of Kuzuryu's shirt, placing an experimental kiss upon his breastbone. When he faced no protest, he undid two more buttons, giving him enough access to trail his lips to that chilled nipple.
Kuzuryu's breath hitched upon the contact, bringing his hands up to grip Hinata's biceps and pulling him almost imperceptibly closer, a silent invitation to continue. Further encouraged, Hinata parted his lips and flattened his tongue against the nub.
"Hina— fuck, agh—!" The blond bit back an outright moan; with the hot, wet muscle against sensitive chilled skin, the extremes in temperatures were undoing Kuzuryu more thoroughly than Hinata had seen so far. He had a feeling he'd come away with the finger-shaped bruises on his arms to prove it, too.
They hadn't done much for Hinata himself, but it seemed that ice cubes had been a good idea, after all.
"Hey," Kuzuryu finally managed between pants, his voice low and heavy, "Hinata."
His tone gave Hinata pause—not because it was a sign to stop, but rather the contrary. That tone, that specific timbre of his boyfriend's voice, was one he had only heard for the first time a few days earlier, but it spoke volumes and was quickly becoming one of Hinata's favorite things to hear.
Second only to the sounds that Kuzuryu would soon be making underneath him.
"...Okay. Let's move to the bed," he said, somewhat pointlessly, before Kuzuryu pulled him into a bruising, needy kiss.
If they were going to work up a sweat anyway, they might as well go all out.
Notes: I went into this fully intending to somehow write PG-13 ice play because I just did not feel like writing something explicit. Um. Well, I guess I just ended up falling somewhere between those two ratings, huh...
(If anyone wants to write a continuation to this you have my blessing because I'm not gonna.)
