“Fuck no!” Ender sputtered. “None of those blasted idjits, Toddles included, is getting near me!”
Soren trilled. “Ender, he’s right. It wouldn’t kill you to cuddle with me for a bit. You need to get your temp up.”
“Yes, but it will kill you!” Ender hissed threateningly. “And go ahead and let the others try! But be warned, I will fill this room full of stone statues before I let it happen!”
Well, Cyrus was now thinking he was wrong about his earlier assumption of the two being lovers…
“ENDER!” the Harpy snapped.
“TODDLES,” the Gorgon mocked, before hissing, “Fuck off!”
Cyrus looked to Killian. “Check his temp.”
The Siren didn’t hesitate, he fished Ender’s wrist out from under the covers, none too gently ignoring the Cryptid when he tried to stop him.
“Let go of me, you pretty bastard!” the Gorgon hissed.
“Sixty-six and dropping.”
“WHAT?!” Soren squawked. “Fucking hell, Ender. You are risking going into brumation, which is something that tends to be a fucking death sentence when injured!”
“I’m fine!” Ender grumbled, his mouth flattening into a stubborn line.
Cyrus met Killian’s worried gaze, thinking for a moment, before looking back down at Ender and saying, “Well, since you nixed your own people, and I’m likely the only one left who can provide actual fucking warmth, that you can’t turn to stone, I guess you are stuck with me.”
Ender’s eyes grew wide in horror, as he spluttered, “D-DON’T YOU DARE!?”
The Gorgon started scooting away in bed, but was too slow, and well, there wasn’t really anywhere to go, with Killian standing right there. Ignoring the man’s protests, he quickly kicked his shoes off and slipped into bed from the left side, gathering the smaller man into his arms, and holding him against him as carefully as he could while Ender struggled. He had to say, Killian’s description hadn’t been wrong…it felt like he was hugging an ice cube.
“UNHAND ME, FOUL CREATURE!” The Gorgon flinched slightly anytime he bumped his back too hard into Cyrus’ arm, but it seemed to be bothering him a lot less than it would most people, given the number of burns he had.
Though, from what he knew, they’d already downgraded to second-degree, which showed how shockingly efficient the species was at healing. There was also a sealed burn pack over them, which added a sterile open space of protection.
Ender went stock-still with a gasp when Killian got in on the other side. “I may not provide much heat, but I’m still warmer than you are right now.”
“I am your ELDER! Both of you unhand me this instant! GET OUT!” Even as the Gorgon yelled that, his weak struggling stopped in favor, it seemed, of pressing his face deeper into Cyrus’ chest, pushing himself closer to him.
The snake’s body was obviously seeking out heat, over listening to whatever that cuckoo brain of his wanted, which just fully cemented how bad of an idea the heaters would have been had they brought them in.
“Well, you three…get some rest then, I guess,” Soren said with an amused snort, the Harpy exiting swiftly.
“Get back here, you traitor!” Ender cried.
“Just sleep!” Killian snapped.
“We aren’t letting go, so you might as well.”
“Ugh, why are you so fucking warm?!” Ender huffed, sounding very much like a disgruntled child.
He smirked at Killian over Ender’s head, carefully wrapping a hand over the one the man had on Ender’s shoulder, giving the Siren time to pull away.
Killian smiled weakly.
“Don’t you two dare flirt while you are LITERALLY around me!” the Gorgon squawked, though the words were muffled by his face basically being plastered to one of Cyrus’ pecks.
The Siren rolled his eyes and sighed. “Just go to sleep, you cranky ass bastard! It’s been a long fucking day.”
“The audacity of youngins nowadays. Treating an elder like a damn teddy bear. Where is the respect…” The snake grumbled a bit more, but as his words trailed off, a snore quickly took their place.
