Title: He Was Drowning

Author: TearStreak

Series: Ookiku Furikabutte

Characters/Pairings: Light Abe/Miha

Rating: PG

Notes: word prompt – Warmth (where did drowning come from? Oo;)

Beta: whitedestiny1x2 (god, she's so awesome 3)

Summary: Mihashi's hands are always cold but he's okay with it. Really.

Until recently, Mahashi had never noticed that on most days, his hands were cool to the touch, sometimes even turning an alarming blue hue. He didn't touch other people very often—never had a friend jump and exclaim, "Your fingers are like ice!" He didn't own a pair of gloves and the pocket lining on his jacket was paper thin. He'd never had a problem with it before.

Then Abe started holding his hand—before games, after games, during games—and Mihashi felt not only his fingers heat and turn pink, but his face and ears and neck too. The warmth from Abe's rough hands swept over Mihashi like a harsh wave and he was left sputtering in its wake.

The day Mihashi realized he was drowning was late in December, directly after the team's rowdy New Year's Eve celebration. Mihashi had already said his good-byes and was heading out the sliding front doors when Abe appeared from around the corner with an offer to walk him home.

There was only silence between them as they trudged slowly through the snow and black ice dusting the roads. Once or twice Mihashi felt his feet skid across the sidewalk but only when Abe's large hand gripped at his elbow did his heart thud with adrenaline. His arm burned where Abe had touched him, even through his coat and layered shirts.

Street lamps illuminated their path, making ordinary shadows seem more sinister in the dark. Mihashi was eyeing one particular alcove when his foot slipped and he knocked sharply into Abe's side. They both stumbled a little but Abe steadied them quickly.

"Can't you walk?" Mihashi drew away from the intoxicating heat of Abe's presence immediately—it was too much, his heart was going to leap from his throat—but Abe held his wrist tightly. A shiver raced down Mihashi's spine as Abe's calloused fingertips rasped over his skin.

"Jesus, your hands are freezing!" Abe cupped Mihashi's hands in his and a frown tugged at his lips. He raised them to his face, then blew hotly into the circle of their joined fingers, massaging little points of pleasure along the back of Mihashi's hands.

Moisture gathered on his skin when Abe released him and his hands cooled in the air between them in seconds. When Abe took a few steps down the sidewalk ("If we don't hurry up, it'll start snowing again."), Mihashi rubbed his icy hands against his cheeks to get rid of the flush he could feel resting there.

"Mihashi?" Abe was farther up the street now, standing in a circle of light from a street lamp. He looked bright—warm—and Mihashi wanted that warmth, he wanted to dive into it and never come up for air. Mihashi didn't want to wait for the wave to take him under; he would go willingly into that heat.

"Yeah," he whispered, dropping his hands from his face and only hesitating on his first step, "Yeah, I'm coming!"