Cold Hands, Warm Heart

Posted on Sun Nov 1st, 2020 @ 8:15pm by Lieutenant JG Shaille Levine & Warrant Officer Koh Ottasu
Edited on on Sat Dec 5th, 2020 @ 3:31pm

Mission: Enforced Intermission
Location: Personal Quarters

Entering the living area of their shared quarters, Shaille shivered suddenly as the chill from the cool air hit her damp hair. Rubbing her hair vigorously with a towel, she walked up behind Koh, dropping the towel on a chair and sliding her arms around his waist from behind, cold hands sneaking under his shirt to rest against his warm fur. "I think our shower is broken," she said, resisting the urge to shiver again. "The water is like little balls of hail falling from the faucet, it's absolutel freezing!"

Koh shivered at the touch, but when those icy claws wrapped around him and snuck up under his shirt, he made the most adorable noise. It was a combination of panic, surprise, and exposure. "Gaaaahooooooo!" but he made no attempt to push her away. He suffered, as a Son of Ts'usu was taught to, in situations like this.

"It sure FEELS that way." he commented, once he was thawed enough to speak. "I'll put in a complaint with the ... who covers that on a Federation ship? Is that still the Operations Officers? The Chief of the boat? The Ship Second? I don't even know who to complain to, what kind of officer am I?" he complained, ironically, but couldn't turn his head to look her in the eye.

"Hold on, okay get those icy mitts off of me, and move them up here. Just, put your palms against the back of my ears, and rest your hands there. Please don't grab them." he motioned up to his ears, though he wasn't breaking the hug anytime soon.

Slowly her hands moved to his back, sliding slowly up over his fur until she reached his neck before she quickly slid them out from under his shirt and slid her cold hands up over the back of his head and over the back of his ears. "Better?" she asked with a smile as she leaned her body into him, her front against his back. "You're nice and warm. Can I keep you?"

"Mmmmmm, only if you promise to feed me." he said with a smirk, "And yeah, much better. Stars, your hands are cold, were they just using coolant in the showers now?" he asked, now slightly more honestly concerned. He paused, "Mom used to run cold water over my ears when I had a fever. When I got older, I would hang my head over the bed and dunk my ears into a cold bucket of water. This... kinda feels like that." he recalled.

"Remember when we were in that Charybdis or whatever, and you found me nearly upside down with my ears dunked in a bucket? Yeah, good times." he chuckled softly.

Shaille laughed softly, her hands softly caressing the back of the lower base of his ears. "Even then, feverish and near delirious with your ears dunked in water there's still no one else I'd rather be with," she said with a smile. One hand stroked slowly upward before moving back to the base of his ear. What can I say, I'm a sucker for the ears."

He gave a chuckle. "And I trusted my life and my care to you. And never regretted it." he offered, a smile on his features. "I kinda want to get that maintenance request in, but I really just want to stay right here." at her touch along his ears, he was content. Sometimes he shivered, and sometimes it was even from the cold.

As the cold of her hands eased, Shaille slid her hands back down his back before moving to step in front of him, leaning into him. "What do you want to do? Stay in and watch a movie?"

Koh smiled softly, wrapping his arms around her and leaning his forehead softly against hers. "We stay in. We watch a movie, maybe something funny. I think we could all use a little funny." a pause, "And, in Terran. Or Standard. Or... honestly whatever it is you call your language. Ts'usugi comedies need a little more explanation." he... explained.

"Bundle up under the covers to make sure this chill doesn't stay around." he offered.

"Now, that sounds like a perfect plan to me," Shaille responded, closing her eyes. "You really are the perfect Son of T'su," she pulled away and looked up at him, rising onto her toes to brush a soft kiss across the corner of his mouth. "How about You get the snacks and I'll get the blankets?"

He gave a chuckle, "Perfect son? Hardly. Just a good son that got lucky." he smirked, "Rabbit feet, remember?" he snickered before reluctantly breaking the hold they had on one another to head to the replicator for some snacks. "Popcorn, lightly buttered, lightly salted. Potato chips, lightly salted." he started the order. Then came a pause, a silence by its very nature, quite audible.

"Try again, replicator. Pop-Corn. Light Salt, Light Butter." and the sound of the replicator doing its best filled the kitchen. Then the sound of a confused Son of Ts'usu. "Umm, dear. I think it's more than the shower that's on the fritz." and he entered the room with two bowls. The first had green potato chips, covered in butter. The second had three ears of corn, burned to a crisp.

Shaille returned from the bedroom with a spare blanket from the closet and glanced at the array of snacks. "Close, but no cigar," she said with a shake of her head. "So, we'll skip the snacks. What do you want to watch?" she asked as she dropped onto the couch and pulled the blanket up over her, waiting for him to join her so she could snuggle in.

He sat down with her after putting the 'snacks' off to the side, and snuggled up with her under the comfort of the comforter. "You know, I'm not entirely sure. Terran comedies are still a little new to me. You've got that Mal Brooks guy, and then there's that Wilder guy. He's funny, but I think he might actually be insane." he listed off a few.

"There are a few others, and while they're pretty vulgar from what I know of Terran standards, they're kinda funny too." he admitted. "Would it be bad to request the one about the civilian transport where everyone gets sick?" he smirked, "That one I found absurdly amusing."

Setting the movie up to play, Shaille nestled back into his side, comforter up around them, content to relax and just spend time together.

The screen flickered and after a moment a creepy music started playing, the screen remaining dark except for an occasional strobe of light. Finally, as the music started to reach a crescendo, a single lone female appeared in the middle of the screen as the light strobed, the terrified look on her face made it clear that 'amusement' was not at all the intent of this particular movie. As the light strobed again a dark figure could be seen behind the female, and with the next strobe there was a piercing scream and the screen was covered in blood and body parts.

Koh jumped. He'd deny it later. He'd absolutely deny it later, but at the moment, he jumped. "GAAAHHH!" he pointed at the screen, fur a little bristled, "T... this isn't a comedy? This isn't even morbidly funny." he observed, then looked at Shaille to see if this was her doing, or if the replicator, the shower, and the entertainment center were part of a larger conspiracy.

While she didn't jump, her face had paled visibly before she kicked away the covers and jumped for the entertainment center, turning the whole thing off before turning back toward Koh, laughing, mainly because if she didn't laugh she'd probably have cried. "That... that was NOT entertaining..." she said with a shake of her head. "Please tell me you didn't do that?"

"Emperor's Oath, I did no such thing." it sounded solemn enough, and one didn't throw around the Emperor's title on a prank from what she knew. He caught his breath, and gave a nervous chuckle to join in her laughter. "Okay so... ship's haunted?"

Climbing back onto the couch and pulling the cover back up, Shaille snuggled in against him once more. "So, no movie and no snacks. What's next?"

Koh took a moment to just snuggle with her for a moment. Until it was safe...

"You know, it's been a long day. Maybe we could turn in for the night? Head to bed, snuggle ourselves off to sleep..." he paused, "And then I wake up in the middle of the night with no covers." he teased.

Shaille poked him in the ribs playfully. "Hey, you're the one that steals the covers, I don't need them...." she paused, a cheeky grin on her face. "I have you to keep me warm."