Tick Tock Part Two - Dickory

Heat in the Snow

Gavin sighed as he stumbled tiredly into the bathroom, eyes stinging with sleep as he locked the door. Despite being tired, he was finding it hard to actually sleep. Something that Nines had noticed more than once since they'd gone to bed at midnight. Maybe he wouldn't have found it so hard to fucking sleep if he wasn't so hung up on what had happened earlier. They'd left the house and walked into the forest. Nines' blue eyes had been wide with an almost awestruck air, his LED blinking yellow as they'd walked. He'd almost taken delight in the way his feet had crunched the undisturbed blanket of white.

The forest had been strange and new to Nines. It was closed in, especially with the snow helping to dampen the sound. It was so enclosed and foreign, misleading his sensors and dimming his audio input. He'd seemed to enjoy himself somewhat, taking in the different plant life and pointing out what few animals he could see skittering about. They'd both paused to spy on a couple of grey squirrels dancing through the branches. Nines had wanted to get more information about the species, but without his link to the internet, all he could do was record everything to run searches later.

It was a new experience, not having the answers at his fingertips. Gavin could tell he wasn't enjoying it. Nines had looked a little put out, frustrated by his lack of knowledge. On the plus side, this had given Gavin the chance to take the lead for a change. Having been hiking in similar areas before, he'd been able to educate him a little, giving him the names of a few of the plants and telling him about the fruits and flowers that spring would bring. He could also name some of the birds and insects they came across, few as they were in the cold weather. It had been nice.

They'd finally reached a break in the thick trees, high on a hillside overlooking the small town they'd stopped at a day or so before. It was probably about an hour away on foot. Gavin had been surprised that there was no sign of Detroit on the horizon. Maybe they were on the wrong side of the hills, or maybe they'd driven further than he'd originally thought. Either way, he'd been surprised not to see any sign of the city. Not even Cyberlife Tower, which he knew was visible for miles on a good day, even across the river and up in the hills of Canada.

The open field had been an undisturbed sea of white, which they'd slowly crossed, leaving footprints in the thick blanket. Gavin had thrown the first snowball, teasing Nines about how he'd been taken off guard as he'd watched the white flakes turn to water in his dark hair. Nines had retaliated, of course. They'd dodged through the field, pelting each other with snow until Gavin had finally slipped and fallen. Nines had appeared above him, looking somewhat smug as Gavin had shivered. He could feel the cold seeping through his jeans and down his bare neck. Nines had offered him a hand up, surprised as Gavin had pulled him down, sweeping his legs out in the process.

Gavin had laughed heartily as Nines had looked down at him with a certain level of incredulity, unable to understand why he would pull him down when it was so wet and cold for him already. Nines was unable to feel the cold, so the dampness seeping through his clothing didn't particularly bother him. It was enough for Gavin just to see him looking so taken aback. Nines had murmured something about Gavin's body temperature and the fact that he'd get sick if they didn't get him warmed up soon. It was only then that Gavin had realised how close they were. Nines was holding himself above him, looking down with an expression laced with something like affection.

He'd wrapped his arms around Nines' neck on impulse and allowed him to lift him to his feet. Nines had almost chided him about the white flakes in his hair, gentle fingers caressing his scalp and flicking the snow free. They'd both paused after that. Gavin's eyes had dropped to Nines' lips before flicking back up to his silvery blue eyes. It would be so phcking easy to just lean closer and-The hand in his hair had tightened, drawing him in as Nines' other arm had looped around his waist. Gavin had tilted his head in anticipation, trembling as he'd felt Nines' warm breath ghost across his lips.