Just a sweet little Dortlich/Kolnas ficlet I had to get out of my system. Obviously I don't own the characters. They belong to Thomas Harris and the good people over at Weinstein.

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The little cabin in the forest was darkening quickly. Presently, Petras Kolnas was lying on a battered sofa, watching shadows dance across the wall in the oncoming twilight. A sudden soft whimper from the other end of the divan caught his attention.

His eyes fell on the thin, wasted form of Dortlich, who stirred in his sleep a few feet away. The youngest of the six remaining soldiers, he had contracted a mild case of pneumonia and had been shifting in and out of conciousness all week.

Under the steady gaze of his companion, the blonde opened his eyes weakly and just managed to sit up. For a moment he looked as though he would faint.

"Where are the others?"

Kolnas slumped back on the cushion. "Scavenging, I'd expect. Those two kids are out in the barn."

The last of the firewood had been gone for days, and the harsh Soviet winter was beginning to take its toll. Dortlich sat huddled on the edge of the sofa, shivering slightly. Kolnas frowned. "Are you alright?"

"It's fucking cold in here."

Hesitantly, the redhead stripped off his own jacket and wrapped it around the smaller man.

Dortlich smiled gratefully, though he was still trembling. "You're going to freeze."

"You need it more." Moving closer, he grasped the other soldier's hands in his own and brought them to his mouth. Gently he exhaled on thin, webbed fingers.

His cohort watched him through wide green eyes.

"Any better?"

The answer was barely more than a whisper. "A little."

Kolnas slid his palms under several layers of military uniform, carefully rubbing circulation back into the fragile body that arched against him.

Dortlich leaned in close. He felt warm breath on his face, and, an instant later, soft lips pressed swiftly to his own.

It was a tender, lingering kiss, infused with the curiosity and caution of romance; yet haunted vaguely by a passion and anger that is so often the companion of war. It concluded with a smile from Kolnas, brushing away mussed red hair and sinking back into the sofa. "Still cold?"

Dortlich couldn't remember a time he'd ever felt warmer.