A/N- What's this? An UPDATE?! Surely, I jest. But no, it is true, TS&TF has at last received its next (tragically short) chapter.
She was going to freeze for sure.
Kim huddled further into her cot, determined not to ask for help, but it didn't seem to do her any good. She just couldn't seem to generate enough heat to overcome the frigid temperatures. Finally, after another ten minutes of hoping she would miraculously get warm all by herself, she gave in.
"J-J-Jackie?" she called between chattering teeth.
Beside her, Jacqueline smiled to herself. She'd wondered how long Kim was going to be stubborn before she admitted to how cold she was.
"Hm?"
"I'm c-cold."
She rolled over to face Kim and lifted up the edge of her blanket roll. The other girl wasted no time in scooting across the space between them and huddling down next to her. Jackie helped her spread Kim's blanket out over them to better insulate themselves, and giggled as her friend latched onto her. Kim wrapped herself around Jackie like a python, legs tangled together and hugging her like a teddy bear. She shoved her cold nose against Jackie's throat as she buried her face in the crook of her neck, and Jackie couldn't suppress a shiver of her own— one that had rather less to do with the temperature.
It had been progressively colder the farther north they marched, and with winter descending, the plunge in temperatures had been an even steeper descent. It was no surprise that Kim, a tropical girl at heart, couldn't deal with it.
It surely didn't help that Kim had been exhausting herself nearly every day. Skirmishes had become almost expected the deeper they forced into Niwani territory, and as the only healer in their company, Kim had been called on to keep their troops in fighting shape. For someone with such a callous attitude, Kim worked herself to the bone healing everything but the smallest of injuries, saving barely any of her energy for herself.
But those were worries for another time. It was late, and cold, and Jackie didn't want to think about how the warriors left for dead or taken prisoner when the Niwani raiding parties engaged them looked like they could be her brothers or sisters with their dark eyes and high cheekbones. She didn't want to think about what she might be called upon to do if the skirmishes became more than just skirmishes and mages got involved. She didn't want to worry about divided loyalty or the worried looks she had seen in Prince Gideon's eyes when she passed him in the camps at night. She didn't want to deal with that, and she knew she would have to eventually, but not yet. Not yet.
Right now, she just wanted to focus on Kim, who glared down anyone who wondered why they were harboring a Niwan girl in their midst, fire mage or not. Kim, who had somehow wormed her way far deeper into Jacqueline's heart than she had ever meant to, and lit a very different kind of fire in her soul.
Kim, who was still shivering against her despite their shared body heat.
Raising one hand cautiously, she inscribed a small arc in the air above them. Slowly, little lines of flame shimmered to life over their bed, a shifting, delicate web of golden fire that settled down over them until it was only inches from their skin. It radiated warmth, but did not burn, and Jackie herself was awed at her fine control over the glowing net of fire. She could never in her wildest dreams have produced this kind of elegant spellwork even as recently as a month ago. Her powers really had grown.
Kim let out a sleepy groan, and shoved her face more firmly into Jackie's neck. "Too bright," she whined, lips moving against her skin.
Jackie was caught halfway between amusement at her sleepy bedmate's complaining and another round of pounding heartbeat at the reinforced intimacy of their embrace. Unable to process either appropriately, she settled for pinching her fingers together, so that the flames simmered down to a soft blue, hot but dim in the small space of their tent.
She closed her eyes, arms still wrapped around Kim. She was just going to focus on the here and now, she decided. She couldn't control the future, but she could control her magic, and use it to keep the woman she was falling for warm.
Jackie fell asleep with a smile on her lips.
Important Announcement:
JacKim Week 2015 is coming soon! That's part of my impetus for wanting to get the last few chapters of this fic out FINALLY— I want to have JacKim Week 2014 finished before JacKim Week 2015 rolls around lol.
Anyway, I know that despite how it seems to me, not everyone in the fandom is in fact on Tumblr, so I thought I'd announce here, where people who enjoy JacKim but AREN'T on Tumblr are likely to see it, that the Week is coming up in the first week of November. The full schedule and the daily themes are available on the official JacKim Week blog (jackimweek DOT tumblr DOT com) so if you're interested in participating in the week by writing (or creating art for!) one or more of the days, hop on over there and check out the themes. Hell, go check 'em out even if you're NOT interested, take a look and spread the word so that we can make the second annual JacKim Week better than the first!
*gets off soapbox*
Alrighty, the final two chapters of this fic should be up within the next few weeks, so stay tuned! Feedback is, as always, appreciated.