She had never imagined to get such a thrill out of nothing more than everyday encounters, but without even talking about it the two of them had turned the whole thing into a game of its own – especially around the other Hermits. Innocent touches and veiled comments passed between them as sword blows in a battle, and she loved it. But now that it was finally time to try out the next game she felt nervous and worried, still half-convinced that it was all some kind of misunderstanding.
“Did you make a skating rink?” she blurted when she saw the new build, not even remembering to say hello. But Cub just laughed, his eyes warming at the sight of her.
“Not really, not really,” he replied in his usual easy-going way. “But there may be some sliding involved.”
He started explaining as they walked onto the ice, only to break off and grab her arm as she staggered, her legs sliding out from under her.
“Whoa!” Wobbling, she held on to his shoulders for support, her body suddenly close to his. They both froze, and she could hear his breath speed up as treacherous heat crept into her cheeks.
“There we go,” Cub said softly, the grip of his hand changing to a caress. “I’ve got you.”
Several replies went through her head, but her stupid mouth acted without input from her brain and spilled what had been on her mind ever since she got his message last night.
“I’ve been thinking about what my prize should be – when I win, that is.”
His head cocked to the side, and his lips tilted in a slow grin.
“Really? You’re being awfully confident.”
She matched his smile with her own, feeling something predatory come into her eyes.
“Is there any other way to be?”
There was that fire she remembered so well from last time, spilling into his gaze.
“I guess not.” The hand not holding on to her arm slid around her waist, and her breath caught. “As it happens, I’ve decided on a prize as well. I –”
Before he could continue, she impulsively placed her fingers on his lips, silencing him.
“Why don’t you show me after? Leave the prizes a surprise, for now.”
She couldn’t explain why, but the thought of saying how much she wanted to touch him suddenly seemed like an insurmountable embarrassment, no matter how eager she had been to blurt it out a moment ago.
“Are you sure?” he asked, faint worry in his voice. “I don’t want to ask for something you don’t want to give.”
“I doubt that will be a problem.” Deliberately, she locked her eyes with his, not retreating even as the blush spread across her face and down her throat. He drew in a sharp breath, his hand tightening around her waist and she was suddenly very aware of her fingers resting on the corner of his mouth.
“All right, then.”
Without further ado he let go and stepped back, leaving her to find her balance as he launched back into his interrupted explanation. She gaped for a moment before letting out an amused huff when she noticed how badly he was failing to keep the laughter out of his voice. They did have a game to playtest, after all.
Despite the earlier tension this game was more relaxed than the last one. It probably helped that Cub’s life-sized take on pong was more luck-based than his previous target games, so they both had time to joke and banter as they spammed snowballs back and forth. By the end of it False had snow in her hair, boots, and even down her neck, as well as several small bruises from slipping on the ice. Cub wasn’t fairing much better, despite being more familiar with the treacherous footing, and there was an almost intact snowball lodged in his headgear. Of course he won, False had never really expected anything else seeing as this was his creation, but she was still pleased with how close the points were towards the finish.
“So perhaps some kind of snowball-gathering break in the middle…” Cub suggested, based on her feedback. They were well into the post-game analysis now, but False was a little distracted by the snow under her shirt and began pulling her jacket off to see if that would help her get to it. She didn’t think anything of it at first when Cub went silent, but she definitely noticed when he began walking towards her, his steps slow and deliberate on the slippery ice. Her movements paused when she caught the look on his face, and she could only clutch her jacket between suddenly weak fingers.
“Let me help you with that,” he said, voice low. All she could do was nod, and he reached out to cover her hands with his larger ones. Now it was his turn to lock their eyes together as he slowly eased her jacket over her shoulders and down her arms, the warmth of his touch yielding to the cold air rising from the ice. The jacket dropped to the ground and he retraced his path, caressing her arms with a light touch. “Better now?”
“There’s still snow under my shirt,” she whispered, grabbing her trousers with both hands to resist stripping it off herself. The delighted, almost shy smile Cub gave her was ample reward for her self-restraint as he trailed his fingers over her throat to the first button.
“How did you guess what I wanted for my prize?” he asked, making her shiver as he deftly opened the top of her shirt.
“Because it’s the same thing I wanted,” she answered, finally giving in to the temptation and brushing her fingers over his bare abdomen. He was warm, despite the cold air, and she could feel his muscles tense under her touch. With a choked sound he leant forward and captured her mouth and she surged into him, her tongue battling with his as if they were still playing for points. She could feel the snow melting and running down her back, before being wiped away as Cub finished unbuttoning her shirt and caressed the skin underneath it. In return she rubbed her palms over his chest, coaxing a soft growl from him as he pulled her body flush with his. The feeling made her gasp, and this time he was the one to pull away from their kiss.
“Better now?”
Humour mingled with the arousal in his voice, and she laughed huskily.
“Definitely.”
They stood still for a moment in comfortable silence, content for the moment to simply look at each other. Cub gazed down at her, drinking in the sight of her exposed upper body only covered by a bra, his hands loosely splayed across her back. Despite finally being able to explore his chest False was captivated instead by the look on his face, the almost awed expression setting her midsection fluttering with butterflies. Tension built in the air around them, and so did the feeling of anticipation… until Cub suddenly spluttered, his hand flying to his face.
“Gah! Damn snow!”
He wiped away the water from his eyes, but more was running down from his now thoroughly soaked headcloth. Realising what had happened, False burst out laughing.
“Your snowball melted!”
“What?” Blinking, he patted the top of his head with his other hand, swaying dangerously as his foot slid on the ice. She moved her hands to his sides, holding him steady as he removed the offending headgear.
“You had a whole snowball up there, didn’t you notice?”
“…no?” His voice sounded so offended that she gave up completely, leaning her head against his chest as she kept giggling. With a huff he pulled her up and turned her towards the exit. “Come on, let’s get out of here before we both freeze to death.”
Still laughing she grabbed her jacket and let him lead her out, only a little disappointed at the interruption. It really was getting cold in here, after all.
~*~
Part two, yay! This is a bit more intense than the first chapter, although probably still quite tame by most standards. For me this is actually seriously pushing my limits, as I have never written anything remotely like smut before (at least not anything I ever considered posting)! On that note, concrit is extremely welcome although any likes, reblogs or comments will make me happy.
