![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
Folk tales are remarkably short on mentions of how the fae cope with hot weather. There are sort of general images of the fae enjoying balmy summer evenings and drifting about next to languid pools, but nothing really definite, and nothing that really applies to the backroom of an overheated shop during a met-office-approved heat wave. Mostly because historically the fae have been too damn smart to seal themselves up in concrete boxes to slow-roast through the summer.
This was not a comforting thought to Jem. The fact he was locking up, though, was a plus point, and the prospect of taking a cool shower, and lying down in a dim room with a cross-breeze whilst wearing absolutely no clothes at all was something to look forward too. So long as Kael would leave him alone. This kind of oppressive, sticky, heat made Jem cranky. He loved summer, loved to sun himself, but when it was this hot and humid, all traffic fumes and congested air, it stopped being fun, and then Jem got sweaty and short-tempered and uncomfortable, and the very last thing he wanted was anyone – even Kael – touching him and making him hotter.
Kael was waiting for him, at the top of the stairs that led to their small flat, with a tall glass full of ice, with a smidgeon of water in it. Jem took the glass, gratefully, and Kael ran condensation-slick fingertips lightly up Jem's bare arms. Okay, so maybe Kael was allowed to touch him a little bit.
"You survived, then?" Kael smiled, letting his hand drop. Jem crunched an ice sliver between his back teeth, sending shards of cold around his mouth before he replied.
"Only just. It's like an oven down there."
Their flat may have been small, but the combination of open windows, closed curtains, and a little light spell-work from Kael kept it comparatively cool.
"They say it will be hotter still tomorrow."
Jem groaned, and fished around in the glass for another ice cube to chew, before handing the glass back to Kael. "I have got to take a shower."
Jem started across the kitchen, pulling off his sleeveless shirt as he went, and then Kael was following, and the shock of ice on sweaty skin made Jem squawk and spin around. Kael's teasing smile was irresistible, and Jem was willing to risk heatstroke to give him at least one proper kiss.
Kael's mouth was cold from the ice water, his tongue warming rapidly as they kissed, and Jem's hands came up to tangle in the loose cotton of Kael's shirt. Not even in a heat wave would Kael walk around their house topless. Not that Jem had the breath to complain with, not when Kael's long, chilled, fingers were sliding through the sweat of his shoulders, his back. They stroked and petted, and then vanished, only to reappear dripping shivery cold water to paint patterns over Jem's spine and to tease at the hollow where his backbone vanished into his shorts, leaving lines where the slight breeze made his skin prickle. The blend of hot and cold was heady, and Jem was breathing heavily when he drew back.
"Shower?" he managed to get out.
Kael didn't say a word, just left the water glass on the table, and followed.
This was not a comforting thought to Jem. The fact he was locking up, though, was a plus point, and the prospect of taking a cool shower, and lying down in a dim room with a cross-breeze whilst wearing absolutely no clothes at all was something to look forward too. So long as Kael would leave him alone. This kind of oppressive, sticky, heat made Jem cranky. He loved summer, loved to sun himself, but when it was this hot and humid, all traffic fumes and congested air, it stopped being fun, and then Jem got sweaty and short-tempered and uncomfortable, and the very last thing he wanted was anyone – even Kael – touching him and making him hotter.
Kael was waiting for him, at the top of the stairs that led to their small flat, with a tall glass full of ice, with a smidgeon of water in it. Jem took the glass, gratefully, and Kael ran condensation-slick fingertips lightly up Jem's bare arms. Okay, so maybe Kael was allowed to touch him a little bit.
"You survived, then?" Kael smiled, letting his hand drop. Jem crunched an ice sliver between his back teeth, sending shards of cold around his mouth before he replied.
"Only just. It's like an oven down there."
Their flat may have been small, but the combination of open windows, closed curtains, and a little light spell-work from Kael kept it comparatively cool.
"They say it will be hotter still tomorrow."
Jem groaned, and fished around in the glass for another ice cube to chew, before handing the glass back to Kael. "I have got to take a shower."
Jem started across the kitchen, pulling off his sleeveless shirt as he went, and then Kael was following, and the shock of ice on sweaty skin made Jem squawk and spin around. Kael's teasing smile was irresistible, and Jem was willing to risk heatstroke to give him at least one proper kiss.
Kael's mouth was cold from the ice water, his tongue warming rapidly as they kissed, and Jem's hands came up to tangle in the loose cotton of Kael's shirt. Not even in a heat wave would Kael walk around their house topless. Not that Jem had the breath to complain with, not when Kael's long, chilled, fingers were sliding through the sweat of his shoulders, his back. They stroked and petted, and then vanished, only to reappear dripping shivery cold water to paint patterns over Jem's spine and to tease at the hollow where his backbone vanished into his shorts, leaving lines where the slight breeze made his skin prickle. The blend of hot and cold was heady, and Jem was breathing heavily when he drew back.
"Shower?" he managed to get out.
Kael didn't say a word, just left the water glass on the table, and followed.
Tags:
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
From:
no subject
From:
no subject