9. Ronan Scares Me Sometimes

Aiden.

Aiden!

AIDEN!

A whisper-shout stirs me awake and the resting embers in my veins flare to life at the sudden alarm. I bolt upright in bed, my eyes wide but fuzzy, my thoughts still caught in the haze of sleep, and now my palms threaten to catch ablaze.

"Hey, sorry to wake you... I tried texting to see if you were up."

I squint into the darkness, trying to make out the silhouette standing in my doorframe with their head peeking out behind the door. I glance at my phone: it's midnight, so I've only been asleep about an hour, and I do have 2 texts from—

"Ronan?" My voice comes out like gravel.

"Yeah... can you do us a favor?" He speaks quickly and uncharacteristically flat, and it's not helping to ease my worry. "Kal caught a cold— I thought maybe you could come help?"

I shake my hands out to soothe the burning before grabbing my glasses off the nightstand. Both my mind and body are struggling to catch up to being so suddenly awake, but with his urgency guiding me, I manage to push my sheet off and stand up. I pass by Jaspers blanketed form in his bed, still sleeping through all this. He and Mira had another fight after we got back from the fireworks two nights ago, so he's been sleeping here.

I make my way to Ronan, and shuffle-follow him back to their room.

"He caught a cold?" I ask, "It's July— do people even get colds in July?"

We stop outside their door so he can fill me in, "He catches these colds like 2 or 3 times a year... he just tends to be a bit more prone to them I guess. Lower body temp and all. He had one a few months ago, just a little bug, but this one seems a bit worse. He was fine when we got back from fireworks, but ai noticed him sniffling this morning and had the chills by the time he got home from class."

Ah, that explains why he wasn't at work this afternoon. I didn't really look at the schedule so figured he was off today, but he probably had to stay home instead. Nice of Wren to tell me.

Ronan continues, "His colds are a little different though because of his weaving. He was shivering when he went to bed, and I offered to grab you then but he said he didn't want to worry you or get you sick... but then I woke up to pee, and well.. you'll see. I can only do so much for him, this time I thought maybe you could help."

I want to give him some kind of answer, some kind of reassurance, but don't even know what I'm walking into yet... so I just nod, giving him the go-ahead. He gives me a hesitant look before opening the door so we can step through.

Kal's dead.

Actually, I can see him breathing. My bad.

He just looks practically dead.

Alright maybe I'm exaggerating a little, but when I first saw him my heart definitely stopped for a second while I tried to sort it out.

I'm glad Ronan left his lamp on, otherwise I wouldn't have been able to make much out.

Kal lays on his side curled up in bed, with his navy, star-covered comforter pulled up over his nose. What catches me off guard though is the layer of frost coating him. Layers of delicate ice crystals lay undisturbed, cocooning him in a frozen blanket.

I would think it beautiful if I didn't know better.

Just the top half of his head peeks out from the thick duvet. His hair is littered with snowflakes, and the tips of his ears are a stark red.

"Kal?" I whisper, not wanting to startle him.

He doesn't answer.

"I couldn't wake him up before..."

"Kal," I say a little louder, Ronan's voice now just a blurred hum in my ear, just wanting Kal to respond.

When he doesn't, I move closer to put a hand on Kal's shoulder, shaking gently. The frost melts instantly under my hand, but he still doesn't move besides his even breathing.

When I hear Ronan speak again, it's in the back of my mind, gurgled and distorted through the heavy beat of my hammering heart. "He probably won't wake while he's like this, I'm pretty sure he's—"

"He's freezing up." The realization hits me in an icy wave of dread. This is exactly what he described.

"Yeah... it's happened before during his last cold, but it wasn't as bad and I was able to wake him up. My first instinct would be to call 911, except he warned me if it ever happened again that he just needs to get his body warmed up to bring him out of it. He said that in the past, when he was alone, he said would just come out of it again in the morning since it's only bad during the night. You know how when you have a cold or flu or whatever, it always seems worse at night? I guess it's the same for him, just more extreme... Basically, he told me not to freak out, and try to warm him up if I could, but if I can't he'll be better in the morning anyway."

I'm just nodding along, trying to process it all. I know the ice and cold can't technically hurt him, just like fire doesn't physically hurt me either, but I also know what it's like to be stuck in an uncontrolled burn, when I get so hot my brain can't handle my own heat and I burnout, unconscious.

I come out of it, eventually, but it's a scary experience nonetheless and not one I care to experience ever again, nor would I wish it on anyone else.

I move my hand from Kal's shoulder to his head, brushing away the ice caught there and stroking his ear with my thumb in an attempt to bring a little heat back into it.

Ronan continues, "Waiting 'till the morning was out of the question, so I was going to throw him in the bathtub with some hot water... but Kal filled me in on your guys' little agreement, so I thought maybe you could help instead?"

"I-I mean, yeah, I should be able to heat him up... No guarantees though, it's not like I've ever helped unfreeze someone before, but I'll do my best."

Honestly, the thought of attempting this scares the hell out of me.

I have much better control of my weaving now, compared to a few years ago, but I've only ever used it on objects, never purposely on a person.

But Kal's assured me it's nearly impossible to burn him, and everything I've seen so far appears to support that. He just seems to absorb my heat like I do his cold, hopefully until we're equalized.

I can give him my body heat passively, which would be the safest option, and I'll use as much weaving as I can comfortably control with my hands.

But to do that I need to be close to him.

"Ronan..."

"Hm?" He's looking at me expectantly, like he's waiting for me to do some fancy fire trick to magically heal Kal.

"He explained how we help each other right? How his touch helps cool me down?"

"Yeah?"

"Well... to help him I need to do the same thing... and the more surface area the better."

"Riiiight. So cuddle up with him?"

"Yeah."

"Right."

He looks at me expectantly again. "Can I help you with something? Brush the ice off for you, pull the covers back, tuck you in?" he says slowly.

"Well... I don't want you to take this the wrong way, because I know he's your best friend and you want to be here for him... but I would kind of prefer it if you weren't here. Like while I'm... cuddling... in bed... with him."

One of his eyebrows rises, and then the corners of his lips rise too.

"Ahhhh, privacy. You don't wanna spoon with an audience. You want your alooone time."

My cheeks heat, "It's just weird to be watched like that. But I would also understand if you don't trust me to be here alone with him, I'll still do it either way. It would probably just be quicker and safer for me to heat him if I'm not feeling the eyes of an awkward voyeur."

He looks between me and Kal for a few moments, considering. I note him looking my bare torso up and down too, but I'm not sure it's related to his decision. "Alright, I'll trust you. I brought you here for this reason so I'd be stupid to not do what's best for him... I know he told me not to go get you because he was just trying to protect you, but I think he'll be happy you're here anyway."

He gives me a small smile before turning towards the door. "I'll steal your bed since you won't be needing it tonight."

I huff at his insinuation. "Fair warning, it's probably sweaty." It'll serve him right.

He wiggles his fingers in the air as he walks to the door, "Hydroweaver. I'll just fling it on Jasper or something. Call if you need me, I have my phone."

He shuts the door behind him and I turn back to Kal's frost-covered form. I reach to brush some of the crystals off just as the door squeaks open again.

I whip around to see Ronan pop his head back in.

"Almost forgot," he states. "Conscious Kalum is fair game, but don't you dare touch him in any more-than-friends, unnecessary ways while he's still out of it. Trust me, I'll know. And trust me, it won't end well for you. Drowning isn't pleasant. " He ends with a fierce glare.

Then he smiles and waves, "Niiight!" and closes the door a final time.

I release a deep sigh and finish dusting off his blanket as best I can.

"Kal," I whisper, hoping maybe he can still hear me. "Ronan scares me sometimes... But you're lucky to have him."

I take a moment to compose myself before pulling back the covers.

Kal's face has a pale blueish tint to it, but his nose is as bright red as his ears. I imagine part of it is from his actual cold and having to blow his nose, but I'd bet most of it isn't because he's sick—it's his own weaving freezing him.

He looks so vulnerable, and my previously pounding heart now aches for him, familiar with what he's going through. When I burnout, there are points during it that I just feel so alone. I can feel my body betraying me, and there's nothing I can do, nothing anyone can do to help. Nobody can physically get near me because of my flames, so I spiral alone, fall alone, get back up alone.

But I can help Kal, or at the very least I can just be here so he can have that physical link.

With that in mind, I climb in. I reach over to turn the light off and the soft blanket of darkness encompasses us. Turning on my side, I pull us close so his back lies flush against my chest.

He seems so deceptively peaceful in his deep sleep. His breath comes heavy but even, his chest rising and falling under my arm, yet his face is pinched and his skin is cold and damp from fighting both his own chill and the sickness.

I manage to slide my arm under his head and move my other hand under his sweatshirt along his stomach, just like I've done a few times now when I need him to cool me off. It's the opposite now, and I use a touch of my heat to warm his core.

Just as I get settled, I feel a slight movement. He stirs but doesn't wake. One of his hands finds my arm under his head, and he clutches it in his icy fingers, trying to warm them even in his sleep. His other hand finds mine on his chest, over his shirt, but still a heat source.

I take all that as a good sign, and it helps me relax, cocooned around Kal, and for once not sweating as I try to catch some sleep.

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I wake easily this time, worry making my sleep lighter.

Kal moves in my arms—a good sign, I remember groggily.

He readjusts himself, rotating around in my arms, and relief spreads through me, the heavy weight lifting from my shoulders.

It worked.

At least it's starting to. He's awake, which is a start, it means I've warmed him enough to bring him out of his catatonic state. But he's still cold: his hair has been repopulated by ice crystals and his half of the bedsheet is still chilly.

The room remains dark, as well as the window, so we still have hours left to sleep and stay toasty in our cozy shelter.

He rolls to face me, still in my arms, and presses his face into my chest.

"Aiden?" I hear him ask, though it's muffled by skin, sniffles, and sleepiness.

"Yeah, it's me. I'll keep you warm, you can go back to sleep. Get your rest."

He nods against me, and I rest my chin on his head, tucking him into me.

"Thank you," he whispers back, into the peaceful night.