You
I am not sure how long I have been trying to fall asleep, but lying in Techno's bed alone waiting for morning for this long felt like a millennia. I could hear that Phil was still here because I could hear the familiar muffled sounds of him and Techno having a conversation downstairs, but it was very faint and I was too tired to be bothered to try to understand what they were saying. There wasn't any clocks, only the fancy one Techno carried on his person that was a beautiful cross between a compass and a clock. Despite heat seeping up through the wooden floorboards from the fire downstairs, I still felt cold. I curl up into a fetal position and pull the heavy blankets and furs over me, shuttering at the cold beginning to nip my fingers and nose.
After some time, it was quiet and the only sounds were the snowflakes tapping on the window panes of the room along with the moaning winds of the storm. I hold my breath when I hear Techno's footsteps entering the room, hopefully tonight won't go as awkwardly as the other few nights did. Maybe somehow we could avoid shuffling around and fighting for sections of the blankets.
How did we end up in the same bed? Initially I was sleeping on the couch downstairs, but sleeping close to the fire made me nervous of accidentally lighting myself on fire. So he moved my bedding back to the storage room with all of the chests; dark, unventilated and musky in there, I had a hard time breathing. Way more difficult than breathing smoke from the fireplace. Frustrated and out of options I ended up in his bed, he refuses to talk about why he even offered it to me. He swore that he drank the wrong elixir and said things he doesn't remember.
We both know that isn't close to being true.
Suddenly I hear his loud footsteps against the hardwood flooring stop and there is a moment of silence before his voice makes me jump in my skin. "I know you are awake." When I don't respond he sighs and clothes could be heard being taken off and put back on. After he changed into his nightwear he plops down next to me, making the bed bounce and creak.
"Is there any more blankets? I'm cold." Clearly agitated by me continuing to talk after expressing his want for peace and quiet, he groans quietly with a huff and replies.
"No. This is the warmest place I could possibly offer you- I went out of my way to put a roof over your head and this is the thanks I get? The least you could do is not complain for being... well, alive." He grumpily grips the covers and pulls more onto himself. "Sorry my home is not to your liking your majesty, maybe the dogs outside will provide you with more warmth than me." There was a long pause after his outburst. He must have drifted to sleep or tuned me out because when I whisper his name another time he does not respond.
I roll onto my back and stare at the ceiling wondering what to do. Sleep was not coming to me easily due to my discomfort and racing mind. Feeling my body becoming numb from my legs up I was running out of ways to keep myself warm.
Fuck it.
I roll back over on my side to see that Techno is in the same position, sound asleep. Shivering, I snuggle myself next to him. I feel his body move before it tenses against me as if I woke him up and he was unsure of what was happening, but he did not react or say anything. He continued to lay there and eventually at some point fell back asleep. With a smile I nuzzle closer to share our warmth. I mutter one last thing before falling asleep, "Goodnight Techno."
Neither one of us had to freeze that night.
