Cold Weather

Ayame x OC

"She had a second to glimpse a sleek white body, before she felt something slithering about under her clothes. Oh God, please don't let that be what she thinks it is."

Yasu shivered violently as she walked through the deserted park.

She really hated winter. It was too cold. And too windy. Definitely too wet.

Not to mention the snow was slippery, and Yasu always had to check where she stepped unless she wanted to slip and fall.

And she was positive she felt a cold coming on.

Yasu sniffed, and rubbed at her running nose. This was the last time she offered to deliver Shigure's manuscript for him. For once, the perverted author had finished his latest novel on time, however, he had "conveniently" come down with a cold and had said it 'wouldn't be safe for his declining health' if he faced the 'chilling, cold wasteland.' It seemed it was perfectly fine for Yasu to though.

She had grudgingly agreed to deliver it for him. After all, how could she deny an old friend after he gave her his puppy-eyed look? Sometimes she swore that man was an actual dog. It was eerie how many of his traits could be likened to a canine. The loyalty, the playfulness, and when he was really happy, she could practically imagine a wagging tail. Yeah, if she had to choose which animal best suited him, it would definitely be a dog.

And said dog would definitely be locked in the laundry once she returned to the sanctuary that was Shigure's home.

He was probably warm, comfortable and happy right now. The bastard.

A particularly strong gust of wind had Yasu huddling deeper into her woolly jumper, the frigid air biting the exposed skin of her cheeks.

Yasu had bundled up in many layers of clothes before she had braved the artic weather outside. Currently on her body was a long-sleeved shirt, two jumpers, two pairs of Shigure's pants (they were warm and comfy. Sue her), two and a half pairs of socks (she had lost one in the washing), a thick beanie, a long soft scarf, the warmest pair of boots she owned and a giant woolly jacket. Kyo had said she looked like a giant, walking marshmallow. She had shoved a leek into his mouth.

It was the fact that she had worn so many layers of clothing to keep warm, which made her shocked to find a pile of clothes lying discarded in the middle of the path.

Was someone running around in this weather…naked?

Yasu hesitantly approached the clothes, afraid that the owner might suddenly appear streaking past her. Wouldn't that be a story to tell others?

She toed the pile of the clothes gently, shuffling the clothing around with her foot as she searched for a wallet or some form of identification. She wasn't going to go return the clothes; that would be creepy, but the situation did make her curious as to who they belonged.

Moving about the clothes a little more, she had a second to glimpse a sleek, white body, before she felt something slithering up her pant leg and under her clothes.

Yasu froze; her eyes wide open and staring straight ahead. She barely even breathed.

Oh God, please don't let that be what she thinks it is.

The thing in her clothes shifted slightly, before it seemed to turn and begin to make its way upwards.

Oh God, oh God, oh God. What if it was dangerous?

She felt it slither slowly over her chest, and if she didn't know any better she would think it was taking its sweet time on purpose. But that thought was quickly discarded once she realised she was staring directly into the eyes of a pure white snake.

She just about fainted.

There was a snake in her clothes.

There was a snake in her clothes!

She barely kept herself from screaming. If she panicked, she might distress the snake and it might bite her. And who knew if it was poisonous or not. She couldn't imagine the experience would be pleasant either way. She decided against making any movement as well. If she could live without needing to breathe, you better believe she'd stop the rising and falling of her chest also.

So there she was, seemingly having a staring contest with her possible death as her mind whirled a mile a minute to come up with a plan. Maybe if she slowly moved her hand behind its head, she could grab it before it knew what she was trying to do.

It was worth a shot.

Cautiously, she pulled her hand out of the warmth of her right pocket, letting it rise up slowly to be level with the snake's head.

"H-hey, there," she stuttered nervously, "No need to look at my hand. Just keep looking at me. That's rig- no, no, no!" She froze immediately when the snake suddenly swivelled its head around to look at her hand.

Oh God, please don't bite me.

The snake reared back and Yasu screamed, her clenched her eyes shut, only to feel it…nuzzling her hand?

One of her eyes peeked open, and then other. It…it really was cuddling into her hand.

The snake was contently rubbing his head against the smooth skin of her palm, eyes closed and what appeared to be a smile on its face.

Don't be stupid, Yasu. Snakes don't smile.

But if she had to call what it was doing right now, she would definitely have to say that was indeed what it was doing.

Tentatively, she started to lightly stroke the top of its head. Forget telling a story about a streaker in the park; imagine telling people she had petted an albino snake that had slithered its way inside her clothes…and it had smiled.

Surprised, Yasu felt herself enjoying this experience, "Who's a good little snake?" she cooed, "Who isn't going to bite me because I'm its friend?"

The snake bobbed its head up and down, seeming to enjoy her speaking to it. A sudden gust of chilling wind, however, hand the snake shivering and quickly burrowing its way back into her clothes, seeking her body heat. That would make sense, since snakes were cold-blooded, they were more susceptible to heat and cold.

Yasu stilled again, and she felt the snake squirming slightly before it huddled directly under her bust.

She sighed lightly, before she started to make her way back to Shigure's, her arms awkwardly held away from her sides in case she disturbed her new friend. It was clear to her the snake wasn't going to move of its own free will anytime soon, and it would be cruel to rip it off her and cast it back into the cold.

It would probably die in this weather.

Briefly, her mind wandered back to the pile of clothes that belonged to an elusive streaker. If whoever it was wasn't careful, they'll probably die of hyperthermia.

It wasn't too much longer when Yasu finally arrived at Shigure's doorstep. Her little passenger hadn't moved too much, save for the few times it had tried to burrow deeper into her chest. Poor thing must've been freezing.

Yasu slid the door open and quickly rushed inside, slamming the door closed behind her to block out the cold.

"Shigure, you lazy bastard! Come and welcome me back!" she yelled out as she took off her boots.

The snake suddenly popped out her clothes and landed on the floor, "I'm here too!"

Yasu blinked.

Did that snake just speak?

It did, didn't it? But how…

There was a pop, sounding like a small explosion, and smoke suddenly filled the room.

Through the haze, Yasu was able to make out long, light grey hair and yellow eyes.

And skin. Lots of skin.

There was a naked man where the snake had once been.

An attractive naked man, but that was way beside the point.

Wait.

Yasu suddenly remembered the pile of abandoned clothes in the park. The white snake had slithered out of those. And said snake hardly acted snake-like at all. No, it was way too intelligent and friendly. So that could only mean…

Her cheeks turned red when it finally clicked where this man had been for the past few minutes.

"You perverted bastard! You were snuggling up to my chest!"

Just a little something that popped into my head while I was having my nightly walk. It was freezing, and for some reason I thought of Ayame. And poof, here we are now. Hope you enjoy it.

If you hated it or loved it, drop me a review? It can even just be a dot or something.

I'm not desperate.

- Roltris