Baby, It's Cold Outside

Night had fallen over the forest, the dead trees creaked overhead and the wind whistled through the empty branches. Even though Kit had spent many nights in this forest she still found the darkness and emptiness of the night unnerving. They were also bloody freezing. With the Bunker being kept at the constant temperature of 'just right' it was easy to forget the bite of the cold. She'd drawn the short straw and was left to secure their campsite before turning in for the night. And despite the cold and eerie darkness, she was grateful for the time away from Luda.

Kit was Luda's second-in-command, they trusted each other and had been close. It had taken years for Kit to see past Luda's walls and for her to see Luda trust her just as much as she trusted Luda. But they lost Luda and when they got her back those walls had been built up again and Kit had been promptly shut out. And it hurt, if she was being honest, she tried to pretend like it didn't faze her but she missed her friend.

She sighed and stood up, she'd been sat for too long and the cold had seeped into her skin. She jumped up and down a bit and rubbed her hands, coaxing warmth back into her limbs, and then began her round.

She threw earth over the dying embers of their fire, squashing any chance of an unwanted fire. She could hear Jules' voice from within the larger tent, the navigator always spent her evenings sharing stories of her past adventures and she never seemed to run out of tales to tell. Kit couldn't hear what the woman was saying but as she moved around the site to check for any forgotten food or weapons she heard Otto and Robin burst into laughter. Whatever story Jules was telling, it was a good one, and Kit was immensely jealous she wasn't there to hear it.

She circled the large tent making sure it was properly secured and, of course, taking a moment to make the three friends jump out of their skin, it was a mandatory action and hearing Otto scream was worth the inevitable revenge she would face tomorrow.
Then on to the second tent, it was silent but the glow of a torch within gave away its inhabitant.

Content that the camp was secure and nothing would blow away in the night, she unzipped the door to the smaller tent.
"Kit?" Luda asked, her voice tight, betraying her anxiety.
"Yeah?" Kit replied, keeping her voice light and reassuring. Luda didn't reply and Kit tried not to feel disappointed as she zipped the door closed behind her.
"Luda, can I have the light while I take off my shoes?" There was no reply but Kit heard shuffling and the light dimmed. She heard the zip of the inner door and then was promptly blinded by bright, white light.
"Luda, you're shining it in my eyes."
"Oh shit, sorry!" The light was quickly pointed down and Kit blinked away the spots in her eyes.
"It's okay," she laughed, taking the torch from the hand sticking out from the door and propping it on the floor so it would shine on her shoes. With cold fingers, she fumbled with her laces. Eventually kicking off her shoes and placing them neatly next to Luda's. She unzipped her coat and braced herself against the cold as she shrugged it off, folded it and placed it on top of their bags.

In record time and with the torch in hand, she climbed into the inner tent and crawled into her sleeping bag next to Luda, shivering the entire time.
“Fuck, it’s freezing!” she said, shuffling about in an attempt to warm up the cold silky fabric of the sleeping bag.
“And it’s only going to get colder,” Luda teased, taking the torch from Kit and placing it carefully so it fully lit the tent.
“God, don’t remind me,” Kit groaned “and these sleeping bags take forever to warm up.”
“They are better than nothing,” Luda said, her tone suddenly sharp. Kit turned to look at Luda, thrown off by the change in tone. Luda wasn’t looking at her, she was staring up at the roof of the tent, her face was blank and her eyes hidden in shadows.
“Yeah, I suppose,” Kit mumbled, this was how their interactions went now. Kit would see a glimmer of the old Luda, the one she could joke with and share things with and then she would close up again and Kit would be met with ice. She and Otto had tried everything to bring her back, even Otto who had worked with Luda longer than anyone else couldn’t get her to open up.

There was silence for a while, Kit moved deeper into her sleeping bag. It was starting to warm up now but she could still feel the chill of the night air through it. Luda lay completely still next to her, after a minute she sighed, her breath forming clouds in the air, finally coming out of whatever thoughts had consumed her. “Did Robin bring the blankets?”
“They did! They finally remembered them!” Kit said, trying to lighten the mood, “But they only brought three.”
“Three?”
“Three.”
“But there’s five of us.”
Kit shook her head and smiled, Robin was their newest member and they were still getting to grips with their role, “Hey, at least it’s an improvement. There’s hope for them yet. We have a blanket to share.”
Luda hummed and Kit knew Robin would be facing a harsh conversation tomorrow. Kit lay still for a while, the blanket was in her bag but she didn’t want to have to move and open herself up to the cold.
“We are going to need that blanket, Kit.”
Kit groaned, “I know,” she sat up, keeping the sleeping bag around her shoulders and shuffled to the door. Thankfully, she’d put her bag by the entrance to the inner tent so she only had to stick her hands out through the door. She rummaged through her bag carelessly and tugged the blanket out, pulling out several other items in the process. She was going to have to reorganise her bag tomorrow but she was too cold to care tonight.

“Here we go,” Kit said as she shuffled back to her place next to Luda, the blanket already warming up in her hands. She shook it out and it hit her just how small blankets were. If they actually wanted to feel the benefits of it the two of them would have to cuddle up next to each other.
“You can have it,” Kit held the blanket out to Luda trying not to think about how the cold was still creeping through her sleeping bag.
Luda sat up and frowned at her “Don’t be ridiculous, it’s freezing. We can share it.”
“It’s so small though.” Luda’s frown deepened and Kit mentally kicked herself. They’d shared blankets before, heck, they’d shared sleeping bags before and it had never been a problem.
“What’s wrong?”
“It’s nothing.”
“Kit…” she began, clearly frustrated but before she continued she took a deep breath and when she spoke again her voice was quiet and small, “please, don’t lie to me.” Kit hadn’t heard Luda sound like that before. She sounded vulnerable. They both sat in silence for a while, the torchlight casting their features into harsh shadows.
Kit opened her mouth but Luda spoke first, “I feel-I…” she sighed and me her eyes with Kit’s, “I am happy to share, I would like to.”
“I just don’t want to overstep, I thought with everything that happened you would want the space.”
Luda gently shook her head, she sat in thought for a while and Kit watched, studying her face. She wanted to see her smile again, to joke with her and have the old Luda back, her Luda.
“You don’t have to baby me, Kit.”
“That’s not what I meant. I just want to make sure you are comfortable.”
“You don’t make me uncomfortable, I do like being near you.”
Kit wanted to ask her about why she was being shut out, why she kept being met by ice whenever she tried to get close, but they were both tired and Kit knew it wasn’t the right time, so she pushed it aside and moved on.
“Okay! Sharing it is!” Kit put on the chipper tone and Luda smiled, just like old times. Kit laid the blanket over them both as Luda settled back down into her sleeping bag and, when Kit joined her, she readjusted the blanket around Kit’s shoulders making sure her friend was fully covered.
“I’ll turn off the torch now.” Luda said, and when Kit agreed she shut the light out, sending the two of them into complete darkness. They lay and listened to the other breathing, hearing the murmurs of conversation from the other tent.

A few moments later Luda spoke again, “Are you any warmer?”
“Not really, no.”
Luda chuckled, “All that for nothing.”
"Do you want to hug?" Kit regretted the question as soon as she said it, that was too much and too soon.
"Yes."
"What?"
"Yes, I want to hug, it's bloody freezing."
"Oh, okay!"
"Unless you've changed your mind?"
"No, no, come here!" Kit wrapped her arms around Luda and pulled her close. Luda relaxed into Kit, pressing her body into her side, and tucked her head into the crook of Kit’s shoulder, her nose was cold against her neck. Kit found herself drifting off, Luda’s warmth already pushing away the cold.