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decoloraa · 1 year

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Please look at me - chapter 4

Chapter 1 | chapter 2 | chapter 3 | chapter 4 | chapter 5 [read on ao3]

If you work at a place like Fort Briggs, you’re always faced with danger. Death is something that follows you wherever you go. After all “survival of the fittest” isn’t the law in the mountains without a reason.

With his 24 years Casther had faced all kinds of dangers, whether they were traitorous soldiers or just Olivier when she was in a very very bad mood. So far he had survived all of them and he always figured his end would be because of something epic, kinda like in those movies they sometimes watched.

He never would've thought his cause of death would be “sharing a bed with his friend” and it may be a bit overkill to say that this was going to be his way to die. But Casther would do anything to have a four meter tall bear break into the cabin to take him, just so he wouldn’t have to face what was happening right in this moment.

So there he was. Sitting on the floor of a cabin somewhere in the Briggs mountains, wearing nothing but his boxers. With clammy hands and a cold shiver running down his spine as he stared up to the bed in front of him. His dry mouth seemed to have lost all of the sounds it could speak, not that his mind was even capable of coming up with something to say.

A look upfront made it questionable if there even was a right thing to say.

Most of the blankets had been scattered all around the bed from Casther falling out of it, some gathered on a small pile at the end of the mattress. Next to it sat Val.

With his bare back the doctor pressed against the wall behind him, trying to get as much distance between Casther as possible. Brown and large, the bear's fur covered most of his chest. A pale hand clutched the edge of the fur with so much force the knuckles turned white.

With wide eyes he stared at Casther in horror, his breath going fast and shallow.

Casther bit the inside of his cheek. This is exactly what he was afraid of. He cursed himself in his mind for falling asleep like that. If he would’ve stayed awake, he might have noticed Val waking up and he could've prevented this.

What was he supposed to say now?

"Val, this is not what it looks like", Casther started, trying to talk as calmly as possible. Slowly he tried to crawl closer to the black haired man.

"Stay away", Val's voice trembled.

The doctor further pressed his back against the wall.

"You fell into the lake, remember? I got you out and carried you here. I had to get you out of these clothes, or you would've frozen to death" Casther tried to explain himself.

"Oh, so you decided to just climb into bed with me?!" Val raised his voice. He was getting increasingly upset and Caster couldn’t blame him.

His eye bags that were usually visible from not getting enough sleep because of work were no comparison to the dark circles that now cornered his eyes. Black hair that normally looked well kept now laid messy on his head, multiple strands falling into his pale face.

Casther had never seen him like this.

"I understand what this looks like, but please let me explain.", Casther tried to keep his voice calm. "Your temperature wouldn’t go up and I was afraid it was too late. I didn’t know what else to do so I tried to warm you up."

Casther's explanation did little to ease Val up. The doctor's eyes darted around the room agitated. The hand that gripped into the fur trembled increasingly and his clenched jaw made his blue lips even more noticeable.

Casther looked at Val in concern. The doctor's temperature had risen a bit since they came to the cabin, but he was far from being well. He could tell how Val tried his best to suppress his trembling.

"Val, you're still too cold. Please let me help-", Casther did everything to sound calm and collected, but he was cut short by Val.

"I don't need your help", the doctor raised his voice at him.

Casther went silent. He looked into the black haired man's eyes with a serious expression.

"Okay, you're the expert. If you think you’re fine and not hypothermic, I'll stay as far away as you want me to," Casther spoke to the doctor calmly but persistently.

Casther could tell Val was trying to control his shivering, but his body didn't listen to his command and Casther could see right through the facade. Silently the doctor looked down at himself, his jaw tensing further from his inner quarrel.

Out of nowhere a wave of cold seemed to hit Val. As the cold washed over him, he clutched his arms and pulled his legs towards his chest as his body shook forcefully. Grunting in pain he curled up and tried to tuck his head between his shoulders.

Casther frowned in concern.

As the heavy shivers calmed down, the freezing man stayed in his position concerningly still. Dark strands of hair that fell into his face made it impossible for Casther to read his expression. All he could see was Val's shoulders rising with each inhale, all he could hear was the other man's strained breath. Other than that, Val stayed silent.

And so did Casther.

It was obvious that Val was far from being well. But Casther wouldn't pressure him. He wanted to help, but it was Val's job to accept it. So he stayed silent and waited patiently for the other man to tell him to stay away or not.

Eventually Val whispered into the silence: “...fine.”

Green eyes glanced through black strands of hair up to him.

"But only until I'm a bit more warmed up", he said with a hard voice.

Casther nodded in acknowledgement. Slowly he put his left arm in front of him and shifted his weight on it. The wooden beams creaked under him as he got up the floor. With small steps he made his way over to the bed, afraid Val could change his mind if he moved too fast. Like a frightened deer that gets approached by a wolf.

Was this what Val saw in him?

Carefully Casther sat down at the edge of the bed. He nervously scratched his head, trying to figure out how they should continue from now on. Val just sat there with the wall against his back, the fur pulled towards his chest and his head tilted to his right.

"I think it's best if we..", Casther opened his arms and awkwardly gestured the movement of a hug.

Val glanced at him uncertainly. His frown still hadn't lessened and now he just looked.. exhausted.

"Which.. which way do you wanna lay down?", Casther asked shyly.

Val looked to the side. His hair fell deep into his face, but it still didn't seem to bother him. It was as if he wanted to hide behind it.

"Like before.. I think that's the most logical thing to do.", he reasoned, his jaw tense.

Casther nodded.

The scenes that now followed must've been painful to watch. Both men tried to lay down onto the narrow bed while trying not to make the whole situation even more uncomfortable than it already was.

Concentrated Casther calculated the best position on the bed that wouldn't make Val too uncomfortable, but didn't end with him falling off the edge again. Meanwhile Val was concerned with the question of how close he would have to lay to the other man in order to get warm. As Casther tried to find the right position for his arm so his friend could lay on top of it, Val was concerned with fixating on a random point in the cabin so he wouldn't have to meet Casther’s eyes.

"..sorry", Casther mumbled after he touched Val's hip without meaning to. One second later he nearly flinched as he accidentally touched Val's lower back: "..shit, sorry!".

"Just stay still for fuck's sake", Val snarled at him.

Finally Casther seemed to have found an acceptable place in the mattress. This allowed the black haired man to lay on Casther's extended arm. As Val tried to find a comfortable position, the other man grabbed some of the blankets and placed them on top of them. Once their shuffling came to a pause, they both looked forward. And to each of their surprise, right into each other's eyes.

For a few heartbeats green eyes silently stared into yellow ones, each of them not noticing how they were both holding their breath. The moment realization hit Casther, he could feel his face beginning to burn and he quickly stuck his chin up. In his mind he cursed himself for reacting so childish.

What he didn't notice was Val's equally red face which he tried to hide by tugging his head down towards the gray haired one's chest (which didn't help at all).

As they laid there in the narrow bed, hidden under a pile of blankets and hearts close to each other, Casther's mind began to wander again. He could feel the weight of Vals body on his left arm, he could feel the other man's skin with the other arm he had placed over Val's hips as carefully as possible. Just as dominant was the feeling of Val's cold hands that he had tucked between their chests.

And then there was the feeling of beating hearts. He could feel his own vibrating through his chest. Fast and certain, as if it was talking in his own language.

And he could feel Val's.

His friend's heart had been racing before, but now Casther could feel it nearly stumbling over its own steps. But the gray haired man knew the reason why it was beating so fast and it wasn't the same reason as his kept up with its race.

"Listen Val.." Casther let out a deep breath. "I'm sorry."

His mouth went dry at the thought of the words he was going to speak. It needed to be said, he knew that. But he still was afraid.

"I'm sorry for kissing you," Casther uttered. "It was a mistake and the least thing I should've done is to ask you first."

After swallowing heavily, he continued.

"What I did that day was egotistic. Something overcame me and I didn't stop to think about what you might've liked. Instead I just assumed things that weren’t there," Casther stared up towards the wall, not daring to look at Val.

"I overstepped and with my impulsiveness I damaged our friendship, I know that," he blinked quickly. "I made a mistake and I understand if you're angry at me, upset or whatever you're feeling right now. You have every right to do so and I'll take your blame," Casther swallowed. Hot anxiety boiled inside his gut, making it hard for him to speak.

"But please, you have to believe me: I would never do something that would make you uncomfortable on purpose. And never would I harm you in any way," he felt his eyes getting damp. "If you can't stand me and don't want to be friends anymore, that's fine. But you don't have to be so afraid of me."

Silence came over them again as Casther tried to calm himself with deep breaths. Desperately he waited for a reaction from the black haired man. Anger, frustration, anything would've been fine for Casther. He could bear it.

What he couldn't endure was the creeping silence between them, which felt even colder than the icy winter outside of the cabin.

After a moment that felt like an eternity, Val broke the tension with a whisper. It was more like a breath and it nearly got drowned by Casther's racing thoughts.

"I'm not afraid of you..", Val whispered.

The gray haired man could feel his own frustration boiling up inside him.

"Then why are you avoiding me like that? Why won't you look at me? I can feel your heart beating, Val. I can smell your fear, so don't lie to me," Casther blurted out agitated. All of the control he previously forced onto his voice had slipped.

Full of expectations he stared down to black hair, waiting for something, anything. His heart beat hard against his ribcage. Casther would be fine if Val started yelling at him, but the way he seemed to avoid this topic made Casther even more frustrated.

Then, a whisper echoed through the room.

"It's not you I'm afraid of," Val insisted. His head pressing towards Casther's chest, not daring to look at him.

"What-?" Casther croaked.

____________________________

Val squeezed his eyes shut. A shiver ran over his spine and his heart started beating against his ribs. He pressed his lips into a thin line, being too afraid the wrong words would slip out of him. Carefully he searched through all of the words in his head, failing to find the ones that could describe the storm raging inside of him.

Say something.

Anything.

Tell him.

"Don't you think out of all people, he could understand you best?" again Olivier's words came to his mind.

His lips trembled as he forced the words to come out of his mouth: “I’m not scared of you.”

"I'm scared of myself," Val confessed. "Of these feelings that I can't seem to understand, that I don't know how to act upon. And I'm afraid of this feeling that comes whenever I'm with… you. Scared of what it means."

He squeezed his eyes shut again and bit his lower lip. Val could feel his heart racing, as if it was about to jump out of his chest.

"And I'm not upset at you. I'm angry at myself because I don't know what to do. I feel so clueless and I have no idea how I should act," Val could feel his voice cracking, but he had lost all control over it.

His mind shouted at him to leave, to escape this situation. To run away from what he just admitted.

Just when Val began to hope that Casther might've miraculously missed what he just said, the gray haired man started to move. Casther let go of the embrace he had held Val in. For a second Val thought the other one would just get up and leave after his outbreak.

But instead, Casther grabbed Val by his shoulders. Firm, but gently. Then he could feel golden eyes on him, as the man silently looked at him.

"Look at me," was all the gray haired man whispered.

Val could feel his gaze and turned away nervously. But escaping the other one's eyes was impossible with the man in front of him and the wall touching his back.

"Val, look at me, " Casther spoke in a soft voice.

"Please."

It wasn't a request. It was a plea.

When Val had thought about facing Casther with what happened, he always thought he would be met with upsetness. After all Val was the one who pushed him away so forcefully and then refused to talk to him, right?

But when Val hesitantly looked up to Casther, he was faced with nothing but pure tenderness. There was no hint of resentment or conflict. Casther didn't say anything, he didn't even need to. All he did was to look at him with big golden eyes and a soft expression Val had never seen on him.

It was as if somehow,

He just knew.

Val could feel something inside of him crumbling away. And somehow with this, a lock inside of him opened and the words began to wash out of his mouth.

"I'm sorry," Val's lips trembled. "I didn't mean to push you away. I didn't mean to avoid you like this."

"When we kissed, I just panicked. And then I further freaked out because of my own reaction. I didn’t know how to face this, face YOU. So I ran away. I thought it would be best for us, but I only made things worse."

With heavy blinks he tried to push away the wetness in his eyes. "Everytime I think about that day I get so confused, because I feel so helpless and angry at myself."

One breath stumbled over the other. The spiral in his head threatened to pull him down, until a warm palm touched his left cheek.

Again, Val met the golden eyes that seemed to look right through him. All this time Casther had just listened to Val’s rambling speech, giving him space to phrase the words that have been bothering him for so long.

With the hand resting on his face, the storm that's raging inside came to a halt. All the worried doubts fled his mind and what stayed were the thoughts of how warm Casther's hand was and how bright his eyes seemed to shine.

"It's okay," Casther said with an assuring but firm voice.

They were two words, each of them short. But they were all that Val needed to hear. Warm relief washed over him and as he closed his teary eyes, Val allowed himself to lean into the touch.

"I treated you horribly, acted like an asshole. You have every right to be upset at me. But instead you still took care of me..," Val felt overwhelmed by the gentleness Casther showed him.

"How many times was I being a jerk and yet you still patched me up?" Casther countered, smiling. His lips cracked into a quick laugh: "Looking back it would've saved you a lot of trouble."

For the first time in a while, a smile appeared on Val’s lips. It was small, but honest.

Casther lifted his hand off of Val’s face and sat up. With a wide motion he opened his arms in an effort to gesture a hug. "Are we good?", he asked with a soft expression.

Val looked at his friend for a moment, just to lean forward to accept the invitation. He carefully wrapped his arms around the other man’s waist. As Casther’s arms wrapped around his shoulders strongly, Val could feel his tension wash away. For a while they just stayed that way, hugging each other silently. But this time the lack of words felt less like a winter's frost and relief filled Val’s tired body.

Without noticing Val leaned his head in the crook of Casther’s neck, glad that they were able to finally talk through their struggles. Val had never shown someone this much vulnerability, but never in his life had he felt this safe, this warm.

"You have no idea how relieved I am. After the kiss I thought I messed everything up," Casther eventually broke the silence. "...like I always seem to do whenever I get close with others."

"Don't say that. You don't mess everything up," Val brushed over the other one's back trying to reassure him. "If it wasn't for you, I would be laying on the bottom of that lake completely frozen."

His mind wandered back to that day, to one picture: Casther's hand on his cheek as he slowly leaned closer. A small shiver ran over his neck, but not from the cold. "And..", he whispered next to Casther's ear. "…the kiss itself wasn't a problem. It was… nice at first.. Before I freaked out like that I mean."

Casther slightly perked up at Val's words.

"You said you should've asked me first. If you had, I don't know what I would've said for sure," Val could feel his cheeks warming up at the memory of Casther slowly leaning towards him. He closed his green eyes as he rested his chin on the other man's broad shoulder. "But a part of me would've wanted to say yes."

The doctor’s cheeks burned at his own words, but he didn’t regret saying them out loud.

"And... if I were to ask you now?", Casther whispered into his black hair.

Val held his breath in surprise. He paused for a moment to think about the question.

"... then I'd say 'yes'," he said, hoping his nervousness couldn't be heard in his voice.

They silently let the exchanged words sink in. Then, Casther carefully let go of Val to leave their tight embrace.

Facing Val, he softly rested his palm on Val's hand. Again his big eyes locked onto him, but this time Val felt no anxiety as he met his golden look. Without breaking his gaze, Val turned his left hand for their palms to meet.

The shorter man could feel his heart beating through his chest as Casther raised his own left hand and gently touched Val's cheek. For a moment Val closed his eyes at the contact, allowing himself to accept the show of affection. As if he feared that Casther would take his hand away, Val placed his other hand on the forearm that was reaching for him and opened his eyelids again.

Like this was the sign Casther had waited for, he slowly leaned forward. It felt as if time was moving slower. No cold started to crawl up his spine, no worries threatened to cloud his mind. All Val could see was warm eyes luring him into a sense of comfort. And before he could notice, he leaned closer to Casther as well.

Everything around him seemed forgotten as he felt his hand intertwining with warm fingers or as a soft hand rested on his cheek. It was all that mattered as soft lips met his own.

Almost hesitantly Casther pulled Val into a kiss, fearing he could go too fast. A soft shiver washed over Val at the touch. For a moment he simply let the sensation sink in, then he gently placed his hand on Casther's neck.

It was all the reassurance Casther needed to deepen the kiss. He pulled Val closer, caressing his cheek and causing the other man to further melt under his touch.

Familiar voices of doubt rose in the back of Val's head, but every touch from Casther forced the troubling thoughts out of his mind. So instead of minding them, Val simply let himself further fall into that comfortable feeling of warmth inside of him.

Their kiss felt so different from their first. Back then it was short and more chaste, almost hesitant. But this time it felt intimate. Every touch with Casther felt comforting and he asked himself how he ever could've felt uneasy.

As their touching lips slowly parted, they still stayed close, their faces lingering near each other's. Gently Casther pushed his forehead to Val's.

"So.. Any urge to physically push me away again?" Casther smiled softly without breaking eye contact.

"No.." Val mumbled. His eyes darted from one yellow eye to the other.

Casther reached for a blanket to put it over Val's shoulders. "Come one Val, please speak to me. Don't keep everything in your head where you have to deal with it yourself."

Val signed internally. He always knew when something was going on.

"I'm fine… more than fine actually," Val smiled softly. "But that's the problem: There's still that voice inside my head telling me to stop. Telling me how this is wrong."

Casther hummed understanding.

"Tell me, how did it make you feel? The kiss?", he asked as he gently pushed black strands of hair behind Val's ear.

"It felt… nice," Val admitted with rosy cheeks.

"Then tell me," Casther took the other man's hand into his. "If something would be wrong: How could it feel so good?"

Val looked deep into his golden eyes.

"I can imagine what the chatter inside your head is telling you. But don't pay attention to it. It's not yourself that's talking," Casther mused as he planted a small kiss on Val's knuckles.

Val looked at Casther with curious eyes. Was this really the same man that was known for his impulsiveness? The soldier that faced Drachmas dangers without hesitation? The person who saw so much darkness in his life, who now regarded him with so much tenderness and patience?

As he looked at his friend, Val's heart started to pick up its race again. He pulled his hands out of Casther's grip to place them on the back of his neck. Without missing a heartbeat, Val leaned up to Casther and placed a soft kiss on his lips.

"Thank you," Val whispered.

#they did it guys!!!#just casther being a sweetheart #and val finally showing himself vulnerable and allowing himself to accept his feeling #Brigg's secret love story #casther and val #casther and val fic #oc Casther Wilk #oc Val Beauxclaire #oc writing #writing #oc #mutual pining #slow burn

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decoloraa · 1 year

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Please look at me - Chapter one

Val, a doctor at fort Briggs, is Casther’s best friend. But after an “accident” they both don’t know how to approach each other’s, Val even distanced himself from the soldier. But the fort is small and the North’s cruelty forces the two of them into a situation where they have no choice but to face each other. Will they further grow apart or will they be able to work through their conflict?

[Read on ao3]

Relationships: Casther Wilk/Val Beauxclaire

Tags: sharing a bed, fluff and angst, misunderstandings, friends to ?

Warnings: (vague) descriptions of drowning, internalized homophobia

Chapter one: Warming up

With a loud bang, the cabin's door opened. Forcefully searching his way inside, Casther stepped onto the wooden floor, carrying the doctor's unconscious body over his shoulder. He quickly glanced through the room to see if someone was inside. But his senses didn't pick up any hints of someone else's present.

A proper search would be necessary, but there was no time. He would have to trust his instincts in telling him if they weren't truly alone. Without missing a second Casther closed the door and hurried towards the small bed that was standing in the back of the room.

Carefully he lifted Val off his shoulders, too scared to drop him by accident. The other man felt so fragile, like he could break if Casther wasn't gentle enough. Casther placed his lower body on the sheets, keeping Val's head in place with his left arm.

"Val, hey! Come on buddy, say something!", Casther didn’t have the capacity to hide the terror in his voice.

Patting his pale sheeks with his hands, Casther tried to get an answer from the black haired man, a sign of life. But he stayed silent.

In an effort to control his growing anxiety, Casther exhaled deeply. Closing his eyes he commanded his overbearingly beating heart to calm down. Clutching the shoulders of his friend, he stayed still for a moment.

And then-

"There!" Casther gasped in relief. A heartbeat. It was quiet, but it was there. Within a matter of seconds, Casther jumped into action again.

"I'm sorry, but I need to get you out of these", he apologized and started peeling Val out of his soaking wet clothes.

Removing the heavy clothing was harder than he had anticipated. A thin line of ice had already set on his coat, but Casther knew there wasn't a moment to spare. Val’s blue lips made the urgency clear.

"You can't die on me here, I won’t allow it", Casther heard himself whispering.

His fingers trembled, but not from the cold. He slipped the freezing man under a blanket he found curled up beneath the bed and piled any piece of dry fabric he found onto him.

While rampaging through wardrobe after wardrobe, Casther took a proper look at the cabin for the first time. It was more of a room that offered enough space for a fireplace and a bed. While it didn't necessarily look deserted, everything seemed to be cared for.

It didn't seem like one of the hideouts they had for scouting groups, but Casther had never learned all of their locations. Was this a hunter's hideout? Would they have to expect some company? He couldn't identify anyone's scent being prominent, so they might be safe for now.

As he eagerly dug through a tall wardrobe, he let out a shout of excitement.

"This is a bear's fur!", Casther looked at the thick material.

"Wow, this thing is huge. Must've been one of the brown bears from around here", he concluded. Many times he had heard of their size and power, but luckily he didn't have to meet them face to face during the three years he'd been at the fort.

Casther ran over to Val again and tucked him under the massive blanket. He nodded in success. Small victories still counted. Below all the blankets Val looked so small, fragile. Casther sat by his side for a second and let out a sign of relief as he registered the other man was still breathing.

Some minutes have passed, minutes that felt like a lifetime to Casther. After placing Val under a mountain of blankets, he had noticed a little fireplace. Making fire wasn't his strongest ability but he was glad everyone at Briggs was so keen about learning to light one. Soon a small flame was starting to brighten the room.

Not daring to leave him out of his sight, Casther sat next to Val for a while. His mind wouldn't stop racing.

Again and again the scene played in his head. Val as he walked through the snow a couple of meters ahead. Any efforts of warning him failed and before Casther knew, he could hear the layer of ice cracking under the doctor's feet.

They were lucky that Val hadn't broken into the middle of the lake, so all Casther had to do was reach into the icy water. But the cold winter air was equally cruel as the freezing water and Casther worried about the odds.

Why did Val run off like that? Casther had told him to stay close, why didn't he listen? It was as if the other man wanted..

..to get away from him.

Casther swallowed.

His mind started playing all different kinds of possibilities. Possibilities of what might go wrong, what else he could do. He tried to force his thoughts to calm down.

Inhale, exhale.

Casther reached under the blankets to grab Val's arm, just to feel his own desperation grow. Cold. Usually he's capable of noticing even the most subtle changes in temperature, but his friend didn't seem to warm up.

What was he supposed to do? Val would know the necessary steps, but on his own he felt helpless. So helpless.

"Fighting is the only thing you're good for. What use do your powers have now? None", he whispered.

While running his hands through his short hair, he closed his eyes. With a groan he covered his face in his palms, elbows resting on his knees. Casther gripped into his own gray strands of hair, his left knee tapping up and down in a fast rhythm. Brooding he looked over to the small fire and then back to the doctor.

Should he-?

His mind wanders to that day. The day he blew it all. Val's shocked face had burned itself into his mind. He looked so hurt, even scared. And it was Casther’s fault.

Casther messed it up, like he always did. He managed to scare away his friend. Ever since that day things had been weird between the two of them. Casther wanted to talk about it, apologize, try to make things right.

But Val kept his distance and refused to even look at him.

"Come on, Casther. You have to do something", Casther whispered.

Once again he checked his temperature. Did it fall? He didn't know. He just didn't know what to do. All he could do was wait and hope and it was eating him up.

Casther startled when he noticed movement in front of him: Val winced, his eyebrows furrowing as his whole body began to shake. He was in pain.

And with that Casther made up his mind. He took a stand and looked down onto his own clothes. He hadn't noticed how wet they were, probably from carrying the soaked man all the way here. With stiff fingers he started to peel out of his jacket. Then slipped out of the heavy boots.

As he was slowly undressing he realized just how cold his limbs had become. Not in a dangerous range since he always found himself being more resistant to the cold (another benefit from being part wolf), but he still started to shiver.

"Well this will get awkward", Casther swallowed nervously.

As he stood there with nothing but his underwear, his lips twisted in embarrassment. He looked at Val.

"Get over it, idiot. You need to stop him from freezing. That's what's important", he whispered to himself.

The gray haired man stepped forward to the bed. By slowly lifting up one piece of fabric after another, he worked his way underneath the thick pile of blankets. He paused for a second and then slipped under the fabric to lay next to his friend.

The bedframe was rather small, so he had to move closer to Val in order to fit onto it. He winced as he touched the other one's cold skin. It was like ice. After a moment of consideration he let out a resigned groan.

"Fuck it.", he cursed as he tried to move Val from his back onto his side.

As they were now facing each other, Casther moved closer.

And pulled Val into a hug.

Casther tried to ignore his skin screaming at the cold skin touching him. Even harder he tried to ignore the heat that was starting to spread in his face from his own awkwardness.

"What are you, fifteen?!" he cursed to himself.

His face felt like it could rival the fire that was cracking in the back of the room. Pouting from his own embarrassment, he tried to think of something else. But all that was coming to his mind was the mental picture of Val falling into the frozen lake.

Shivering Casther tucked Val's head under his chin. Carefully Casther moved his arms into a more comfortable position, which allowed him to pull Val closer to his warm chest.

"I hope this will help", Casther mumbled worriedly. Doubts entered his mind. What if it was too late? Intuitively he pressed Val closer. No. He will pull through. Val is strong, he will make it.

After a while Casther's move seemed to have shown the first signs of success. The bed was starting to warm up and he even dared to believe some blue had left Val's lips.

As the stress faded and a glimpse of hope came, Casther felt himself growing dizzy. He shook his head. He couldn't allow himself to fall asleep. After all, he needed to know once the cabin's owner would return. Even more important: He had to notice Val waking up. The thought of him waking up before Cashter left his face burning in awkwardness.

But then, he was exhausted and the pile of blankets on top of them didn't help with keeping him awake.

And then there was the black haired man tugged in his arms. Val's steady breath felt soothing to Casther and he quickly felt himself being drawn to its rhythm.

In.

And out.

Val's heartbeats echoed through Casther, the rhythm luring him into a sense of calmness. Without noticing Casther buried his face into damp black hair.

Exhale,

Inhale.

With the relaxation Casther's senses began to thrive, having his surroundings to wash over him further. He took in all of the different smells around him. The cabin's rustic wood, the lake's muddy water, the burning wood in the fireplace, the earthy smell of the blankets and..

Lavender.

Lavender mixed with a deep soothing smell he couldn't quite name. Traces of something that was most likely an expensive cologne. And Lavender.

With every breath he took, Casther could feel it washing over his senses. The wood, the smoke, everything wandered into the back of his mind and all that filled it was the subtle smell of Lavender.

But instead of overwhelming him, it grounded him.

Without thinking Casther tightened the embrace. And as he listened to the black haired man's breath, felt his heartbeat and nuzzled into his hair, he could feel himself slipping into a deep rest.

#here's the fic!! writing is new to me so feedback is welcomed #they’re idiots but pls be patient with them #i had sm fun writing this #thanks for Lea for proof reading ❤️#casther and val #oc writing #fma oc #my fic #writing #sharing a bed #friends to more #friends to lovers #fluff and angst #oc Val Beauxclaire #oc Casther Wilk

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