Prompt #22: Water
Rating: PG-13
Stupid, fucking moronic idiot of a female… He gritted his teeth and braced himself against the cold dragging daggers over his skin. He bit back the many curses welling in his throat as he half-carried, half-dragged her limp body – a formidable load still swathed in dripping wet furs and wools – kicked open the door and shoved her inside. His heart had stopped, leapt in his throat, then dropped to the vicinity of his feet all in the space of a breath, and now all he felt was anger. He spared the surface of the lake one last glance. The gaping hole on the surface of the ice, the choppy water already slurring, seemed to be the only evidence that she had even been there.
"Stupid girl," he said again aloud, mostly to himself as he stripped off his sodden coat with a shudder. His scowl only darkened, knowing he had to work fast. "Just so you know: this really isn't my area of expertise." Her incredible mass of wet hair was a problem. All he could do was wrap the whole lot hazardously in some towels, and maybe offer the suggestion that she cut it when she woke. Drenched from head to toe, the ties of her clothing had frozen together, and also to her skin, so all he could do was rend them with a knife and peel them off as gently as he could bring himself to. He couldn't help a rather sardonic quirk of the lips at what she'd have to say about his undressing her, had she been coherent. Trying to keep her and his freezing hands steady so not to cut her, he reminded himself that there would be no coherency on her partagain if she was not warmed as soon as humanly possible, and also that he could vent to his heart's content later. Peeling back the fabric to reveal translucent skin patterned an alarming mesh of bluing capillaries, and he felt his heart drop for the second time that day.
For a split second, he debated whether it was really necessary to remove every piece of clothing; surely those tiny pieces of underwear would do little to affect her prognosis either way, but when she curled icy cold against his leg and shuddered violently, he rolled his eyes skywards and cut off her bra neatly, dragging her panties off in one movement. She's beauti- going to die of hypothermia/if I get out of this un-gelded/get back to work.
Divested of her soaking garments, he bundled her into bed. Staring down at her, shivering under the cold covers, he couldn't help but feel a little lost. If he turned up the heat in the room, he could risk hyperperfusing the core organs if her arms and legs warmed faster than the rest of her body. On the other hand, she could die if the hyperthermia persisted…
"You," he muttered, now stripping off his wet trousers and shirt, his cold fingers clumsy at the buttons, "are an idiot. I hope you get to appreciate that before you die." Pulling off his socks, he suddenly felt bad for even thinking of that, considering it was a real possibility.
Climbing under the covers, he curled himself behind her body, biting back a curse at the shock of her clammy skin against his. "Darien says I should be nicer to you." Tense with cold, he carefully manoeuvred her body so she lay sprawled across his chest, her head resting against his collarbone. "This better damn well count." Her hand curled against his ribs, and she made a sound between a grumble and a mewl as warmth seeped back into her. "You have way too much hair."
Looking down at her, he could almost believe they weren't playing parts in such a messed up scene. As if she had legitimately fallen asleep, so intimate against him, of her own volition. As if she hadn't fallen through the lake and nearly drowned or froze or both. As if the softness of her body was his to touch, as if he wasn't just a warming device to prevent excessive vasodilation. Unbidden, his hand smoothed over the curve of her hip, his thumb tracing the taut skin over the jut of her pelvis. "If I was any nicer to you, I'd fall in love with you."
Hi - it's holidays and I'm back (sort of). As the Mistress of Vague, I wrote this one a while ago, but couldn't decide which couple to assign it to... I feel it works for all of them, if you discount the minor detail of the woman having long hair (since it's AU, there's no reason why Ami couldn't have long hair)...
Which is why the official verdict is placed at the end. Ultimately I've decided that this is Jadeite/Rei, and hopefully, I can write a continuation drabble in the near future (ie when she wakes up and finds herself in this interesting position...)
Let me know a) which couple you imagined it to be; b) if you want a continuation of this scene; c) if you liked it :D