#charvin

Vinschpinsilstien: You are a bastard.

I’ve been snowed in for nearly a week so this was clearly the next logical step. This is for @lady-dmaris because when I pitched this idea she showed me it was sunny there

Kevin stands so close to the widow, that his nose was pressed against it. His breath fogs up the glass as he gasps softly. Small white flecks float down from the sky and fall onto the buildings surrounding the radio station. It was the most beautiful thing he’s ever seen. Turning, he shuts off the sound board and grabs his bag. This-snow- is a once in a life time opportunity for the people of Desert Bluffs Too. It would likely never happen again. 

He puts the jacket on and steps outside, letting the door close slowly behind him. The cold air sent a chill straight to his core. Kevin tightened his hold on the bag and shiver at the cold he could feel in his bones. He takes a few steps into the parking look and turns his face towards the sky with an expression of awe. The snow clung to his eyelashes and made him wrinkle his nose. 

He takes a few more steps and collides with something warm and solid. Kevin stumbles back with a soft panicked noise.A step back causes his foot to slip on a patch of ice and he starts to fall with another yelp.  A warm arm wraps around his waist, keeping him upright. Kevin squeezes his eyes shut, not registering he was no longer falling. 

“Are you alright?” An oaky voice asks.

Kevin slowly opens his eyes and looks at the face so close to his own. Warm brown eyes bore into his own, full of concern. He carefully sets Kevin on his feet and takes a step back. Kevin feels a shiver pass through him that had nothing to do with the cold. The man was beautiful. His hair was messy and neat at the same time, dotted with snow. Kevin wonders if it’s as soft as it looks. Kevin also noticed the man was clearly more prepared for this weather than the rest of the town. 

“Are you alright?” The man asks again.

“O-oh” Kevin flushes a little. “My apologies. Yes. I’m okay.” 

“You’re Kevin right?”

“What gave it away? My ugly face?” Kevin asks, a little more harshly than he intended. 

The man rubs the back of his head with a sheepish smile. “Your voice actually.”

Kevin looks down and kicks at a frozen rock resting at his feet. “I’m sorry. It’s an...automatic defense.”

The man nods a little. “I’m Charles.” He offered. 

“Oh!” Kevin exclaims softly. “I’m sorry. I...didn’t think this would be how we met.”

“You look like you’re freezing.”

Kevin laughs a bit self consciously and rubs his arm. “I’ve never experienced this kind of weather before.” He admits as if it wasn’t obvious. 

Charles hums and shrugs his jacket off, offering it to Kevin. Kevin stares at it, still trembling. 

“It’ll help. I’m used to this weather.” Charles smiles. “We actually have seasons where I come from.” 

Kevin takes the jacket and puts it on, wrapping it tightly around him. “Thank you.” The jacket smelled nice, like old books and cinnamon. For some reason, Kevin found it comforting. “But don’t you need it?” 

Charles laughs, deep and warm. “It’s alright. I have another one. You seem like you need it more. You’re shaking like a leaf.” 

Kevin rubs the back of his neck sheepishly. “I...it's beautiful.” He looks around.

Charles looks at Kevin with a soft expression. The snow dusted the taller man’s hair and made him appear angelic. “It sure is.”

Kevin looks back at Charles with confusion in his dark eyes. “Hm?”

“The snow.” Charles clears his throat. He looks around the sidewalk. “Do you know what a snowball is?”

“I assume from the context, it is a ball of snow.”

Charles chuckles and kneels down, gathering some of the snow and forming it into a ball. He hands it to Kevin. 

Kevin looks at it, then back at Charles. “Now what?”

Charles glances around. “Throw it at someone.”

“Excuse me?”

“Throw it.” Charles repeats. He crouches and gathers another snowball. He looks around, picking his target. He pulls his arm back and chunks the snowball at a man coming out of the supermarket. He ducks down and grabs Kevin’s hand, dragging him into a nearby alley. He looks over at Kevin with a laugh. “Exhilarating.” 

Kevin looks back out of the alley before looking back at Charles. “That was crazy.” 

“Try it.” Charles grins.

Kevin looks down at the snowball in his hand and then down at his other hand, still clasped in Charles’. He flushed a little and bites his bottom lip. He looks back out of the alley and spots Lauren walking towards where they are hiding. He pulls back and lets the snowball fly. As he ducks back around the corner, he hears Lauren’s screech of surprise. Kevin clasps a hand over his mouth to muffle his laughter. 

“You have a nice laugh.”  Charles comments, using his free hand to push hair from his face. 

Kevin can’t help the small giggle that drew out. “You think so?” 

“I really do.” 

Kevin drops his hand and smiles, a real smile. It’s then that he realizes how close they are to each other. Their noses almost touch and Kevin can still feel the warmth of Charles’ hand in his own. He quite likes how that feels. He brings his eyes up to meet Charles’. They could almost kiss like this. Their breath mixes in a small cloud of fog and Kevin could just tilt his head up… 

The moment breaks when Charles takes a step back. “There’s some other things you should experience before the snow is gone.”

Kevin can’t deny the sinking feeling of disappointment at the break of the moment but has a secret relief that Charles is still holding his hand. “Show me?” 

Charles peaks out of the alley and looks back at Kevin. “Let’s go.” He grins. “Ready to run?”

“Lead the way.” Kevin grins, able to feel his heartbeat in his fingertips. “But first…” he kneels and gathering up more snow, having to free his hand from Charles’ to do so. He peers around the corner and lets it fly, smiling when it pelts the back of Lauren’s head. “Now I’m ready:”

“I take it you don’t like her.” Charles chuckles.

“It’s a long story.”

“Well I do hope I can be around long enough to hear it.”

Kevin looks up at Charles with a guarded but amused expression. “Are you flirting with me Charles?” 

“Maybe I am. Am I overstepping?” Charles asks with a hint of concern.

“Hm.” Kevin clicks his tongue. “I’ll let you know if you overstep, how about that?”

“I’m sure I can handle that.” Charles nods and takes Kevin’s hand. “Let’s go. We’re wasting daylight.” He peers around the corner before taking off down the sidewalk, opposite of the direction they came.

Kevin stumbles a little to keep up with Charles but finds he really doesn’t mind. He also knew they likely look absolutely ridiculous, but he was having fun for once.

Charles leads him down the block and a street over until they’re at an apartment building. “How do you feel about ice cream?”

“Charles, it's five degrees outside.”

“So?”

“Isn’t it too cold?” Kevin tilts his head.

“Just wait here.” Charles bounces on the balls of his feet a bit. He waits for Kevin to nod before heading up the stairs and disappearing into one of the apartments. 

Kevin blinks in ever growing confusion but stays put. He doesn’t have to wait long before Charles comes back down the stairs, wearing a jacket this time. That’s a relief. He is also holding a bowl, a wooden spoon, two table spoons and a scarf. Charles sits the bowl on the ground and Kevin looks at the sweet smelling mixture inside. It looked too liquidy to be ice cream. Maybe it’s an outsider thing.  

Charles wraps the scarf around Kevin’s neck with a small smile. “Your ears are very red.”

Kevin buries his nose in the scarf, unable to deny the embarrassment he felt. If Charles noticed, he didn’t mention it. Instead, Charles kneels down next to the staircase and starts to scoop untouched snow into the bowl. After a few minutes he starts to stir before standing up and dusting off the staircase and beckoning Kevin over, handing him a spoon. 

“Try this.” Charles smiles. 

“This is just snow and sweetened milk.” Kevin says with skepticism.

“Technically yes. But it’s ice cream. Just...trust me.” 

“Alright…” Kevin eyes Charles with confusion before taking a spoonful from the bowl. 

Charles watches him swallow. “So?”

“It’s cold.” Kevin says dumbly. “I like it.”

Charles grins. “I knew you would. I used to do this all the time when I was a kid.” 

“It’s strange. But I find sometimes strange is good.”

-----.-----

It’s nearly sundown by the time they finish the bowl. Kevin lays his head on Charles’ shoulder, unsure if it made the other man uncomfortable but silently delighted when he didn’t pull away. He was shivering much more now though and it kind of ruined the moment.

“We should get you warmed up.” Charles says, breaking the comfortable silence. 

Kevin sits up a little. “Did you have something in mind?”

Charles hums. “How about dinner?”

“Like a date? Are you asking me out on a date?”

“Yes.” Charles nods. “I think I am.”