Re: Polo and Dreameh's fanfic RP... ;D Jimmy/Kougu [Probably mature]

[Polo trapped in an inkpot]

At first, Jimmy didn't seem too inclined to take the hand Kougu offered, but when he insisted, the other man finally agreed. 
"Fine," He said shakily, “Just don't tell Charlie.” Kougu didn't echo Jimmy's laugh. He had noticed that the other man tended to fight fear with humour, but where he stood, the ground under his feet felt so thin that he didn't even have the courage to take a deep breath, let alone laugh out loud. And besides, he didn't exactly 'get' Jimmy's joke anyway. 
Slowly drawing in his breath, Kougu eased his weight forward, and closed his outstretched hand around Jimmy's. For a moment it looked as though they were about to shake, but then Jimmy shifted his grip, and Kougu flexed his fingers, tightening his hold. In an instant, confidence jolted through him. No matter what, he would get Jimmy out of this alive. He would make up for his failure before.
“And for the love of God," His friend muttered weakly, just as another ominous cracking sound echoed from the ground, "Don't let go.”
"I won't." He looked Jimmy right in the eye, and smiled weakly. "I promise."
He could feel his palm starting to sweat under the heat of Jimmy's grip, and as the ice beneath them creaked again, he felt his fingers begin to slip. A crack shot between them, and in a flash Kougu had pulled his hand free from Jimmy's. For one heartstopping moment it looked as if he was going to leave Jimmy to die just to save his own skin, but then he slapped a vice grip around the man's forearm, and swung him around with all his strength.
"Jump!" He ordered, throwing his weight back and flinging Jimmy across the ice like a ragdoll to send him skidding to safety. By the time his fingers had slipped from Jimmy's arm, the ice under his feet had already crumbled.
For a moment time seemed to stand still, but then Kougu came to the disconcerting realization that there was no longer solid ground under his feet. In the time it took him to accept this fact, he was already falling.

The water hit his back like a cold punch, and any cry he might have uttered was drowned instantly as cold water filled his lungs. The shock of it paralyzed him momentarily, and he stared up above him to see the twinkling light of sun in the cracks between giant, floating chunks of ice, growing gradually further and further away. That was when it hit him. I'm sinking.
The cold tore at his very soul as he struggled upwards, thrashing about in the water. He was not a strong swimmer at the best of times, but through sheer desperation, he made it to the surface. Except that there was no surface there. Heavy chunks of ice floated overhead, and though Kougu shredded his fingers to the bone scrabbling at them, they were simply too heavy to push aside. And the more he struggled, the more his vision darkened as the last of his breath left his lungs, and his body began to freeze. He clawed helplessly at the shallow gaps between the ice, and at last he found grip on the edge of an iceberg. His arm could barely fit through the gap, but he clung to it for all he was worth, struggling to pull himself up.  His lungs burned, and he foolishly took in a breath of water, so damn cold that it sent his head reeling. His grip slackened, and slowly, his fingers began to slide.
I can't do this... He thought as he struggled desperately to see the sun, even as his vision faded rapidly to black, This is it, after all. I'm finished.

[Dreambug]

Despite Kougu's promise, Jimmy could hear the uncertainty in his voice. Or was it fear? He definitely saw fear in the man's eyes. It was probably mirroring his own. He knew he was terrified, for one. But what was ore terrifying was that he could feel their fingers slipping. But when Jimmy tried to adjust his hold, Kougu slipped from him immediately, pretty much on purpose. Jimmy shot him a look of horror, hearing the ice creaking beneath them both. If he fell through there, he'd die in minutes. He'd seen on hospital dramas of people dying in cold water, not from drowning, but from the body shutting down and eventually going into cardiac arrest.
This thought made his heart flutter desperately. I don't want to die out here.
Just then, Kougu grabbed his arm in a vice grip and the next thing he knew he was flying, only momentarily, through the air, and he skid on a surface colder than the snow. When he raised his head he saw that he was lying on his stomach, and Kougu had disappeared. Completely.
No, there was a patch of shattered ice, like glass, a few metres away from where he lay. Kougu was-
“Kougu!” He screamed, crawling forward desperately, but the ice began to crack at the contact. He kept screaming Kougu's name, as if his words alone would drag his friend out of the water. He felt so helpless. Unable to move, he laid still on the ice, gasping for air, and watched as the bubbles reached the surface slower and slower by the second. Any minute Kougu would inhale water and drown, and here Jimmy was, too afraid to move in fear of his own safety.
F*ck this. He growled, and wriggled out of his ruck sack. It was heavy enough as it was. Then, using the weight of the rucksack by flinging it infront of him to test the thickness of the ice, he crawled forward to the hole in the ice and tossed the ruck sack out of the way. Then he reached down as far as he could to feel for Kougu's hands.
Nothing.
Then, a few feet away, a shadow sloshed around beneath the ice. Too desperate to be a fish or seal, if they even existed in this mountain range. Swearing in desperation, Jimmy yanked out the pocket knife and flicked it into it's handle, then used it as a small club to break the ice further. A hand had found a crack close to him and was clawing desperately at it, but the water made the ice slippy to hold. Swearing louder this time, Jimmy smashed away at the ice, ripping it away with his hands until it was big enough for a small human to fit through. Then, just as the fingers slipped away from the ice, he grabbed it in a vice grip. His other hand clawed shakily at the other bits of ice, although it hurt like hell from his stitches pulling at the flesh.
In one swift movement he pulled, and a head and a pair of shoulders soon attached to the arm, and disappeared from the water. Jimmy made a quick grab under Kougu's arms and yanked him above the water, then flung him onto the ice. It was stronger where he was, as it must have been near the edge of the river. He used the last bit of strength he had left to roll Kougu onto the snow, then stretched over to get his bag. The warm blanket was inside.
“Kougu. Kougu, stay with me.” He ordered as he unzipped the bag and pulled the warm blanket out. “Come on, mate. Breathe. Now.”
Frowning, he slapped Kougu's pale face, and aimlessly started pressing down on his chest. He knew nothing about CPR, just that he'd seen it before. “Wake up, mate. Kougu, wake up!”

[Polo trapped in an inkpot]

Just as Kougu was about to sink to his death, with the world closing in around him, he suddenly saw a hand reaching out toward him, like the arm of God come to carry him home. There was only one problem... He didn't believe in God. 
Jimmy!
With the very last of his strength, Kougu reached out for the hand; stretching, straining... And just as consciousness finally slipped free from his grasp, he felt a rough palm close firmly around his arm, and begin hauling him upwards to safety. 
The icy water made his limb body heavy, but somehow, Jimmy managed to pull him from beneath the deadly ice, tossing him onto solid ground like a big sack of sugar. He thumped down onto the snow and lay there in a heap, completely motionless. His heart was beating, but his chest didn't move. He had stopped breathing. 
“Kougu. Kougu, stay with me.” a voice called from miles away, pulling him firmly back toward reality even as his consciousness tried desperately to drift away. A hand caught him sharply across the cheek, and the shock stunned his lifeless body back into action; like a robot on standby coming back to life.
“Wake up, mate." Jimmy pleaded, bruising his chest with the pressure of his hands, "Kougu, wake up!”
Jimmy thrust down on his chest again, and Kougu suddenly regained consciousness with a shock, spitting out a mouthful of water and collapsing onto his side, coughing and heaving. He gasped for air, his blue lips trembling too desperately to form a single word. Drenched and freezing, he shook from head to toe, trembling so violently as he coughed on his hands and knees that it looked as if he'd fall over at any moment. 
At last, he gasped in a shuddering breath, managing to fill his burning lungs, and collapsed onto his back on the snow, still breathing heavily as his limbs shook like leaves in the breeze. He was still as death as he lay there, but when he opened his eyes to look upon the world once more, finally, his eyes found his saviour. 
"J-Jimmy-?" He coughed, grunting painfully and sitting up, clutching his chest. His body ached in every frozen muscle, and his lungs themselves felt tender and raw from the icy water. 
"You..." He broke off, shivering too violently to finish his thought. 
"I'm alive." He muttered, so utterly shocked that he looked about ready to faint. 
"Y-you," His teeth chattered, nearly drowning out his words, "S-saved me..."
Clearly, the idea was well beyond his comprehension.

[Dreambug]

The final thrust of his hands agaisnt Kougu's chest seemed to do the trick, and Jimmy reeased a breath he hadn't realised he was holding when water spluttered out of Kougu's mouth. The sound of life at this moment was not a heartbeat, but the wonderful sound of lungs breathing, coughing, spluttering onto the floor.
Jimmy didn't waste any time. He covered Kougu in as many layers as he could manage, even sacrificing his own coat to keep Kougu's chest warm. The last thing they needed was him going into shock.
He heard Kougu spluttering his name, but he just ignored it. The second time he shushed it. Speaking would make him weaker, and Kougu needed time to really calm down and warm up. Kougu kept trying to get up too early, and it was affecting his breathing, but he couldn't keep his head in the snow for very long, otherwise it would do as much damage as the water. So Jimmy placed a supportive hand on his back to keep him from falling.
“Y-you... S-saved me...” Kougu stuttered through chattering teeth.
“You sound surprised.” Jimmy stated, raising an eyebrow. For one, Kougu knew the way back to the car and he didn't. “Besides, you saved my arm. It's fair...” He frowned at this. “I think.”
Shrugging, he wrapped Kougu more tightly in the mess of coats and blankets. “Anyway. Don't talk for a bit. Just concentrate on getting warm. Hard, I know.” He glanced at the neverending snow around them. “Once you can walk, we'll head back.”

[Polo trapped in an inkpot]

"You sound surprised.” Jimmy replied, as though crawling over thin ice and risking his own life to save someone else was a perfectly normal thing to do, “Besides, you saved my arm. It's fair... I think.” 
"Well, sure..." Kougu mumbled under his breath, "But-" He shivered, nearly losing his balance. He had braced a hand on the ground to hold himself upright, but his arm trembled violently, refusing to support his weight, and soon enough it felt ready to buckle completely. That was when he felt Jimmy's hand at his back, and he let his arm relax, using the pressure to keep himself from falling down. Still shivering from head to foot, he glanced an Jimmy with wide, dark eyes - pupils dilated from shock. He licked his cold lips, and for a moment it seemed like he wanted to say something, but another teeth-chattering shiver stopped him right away. He pulled the blanket closer around him, fumbling with numb fingers, and swallowed anxiously. Never in his life had he felt so utterly cold before. It took the meaning of the word to a whole new level. 
Seemingly noticing his plight, Jimmy took the dry layers of coats and blankets and pulled them more tightly around his shoulders, leaving Kougu to shiver gratefully as he hunched his shaking shoulders inside his cocoon.
“Anyway."[color] The other man continued as he gave the blanket one final tweak, "Don't talk for a bit. Just concentrate on getting warm. Hard, I know.” Kougu nearly smiled, but his lips were too cold to bend, "Once you can walk, we'll head back.”[/color]
"I can w-walk." He stammered, clenching his jaw to keep his teeth from chattering, "I'm just f-fine now." This time he really did manage a blue-lipped smile, although it did not make his lie any more believable. Still, he certainly seemed to believe it, so with the cold still biting into his flesh, he pushed his hand against the snow and began clumsily arranging his limbs, like a baby horse standing for the first time. He yawned as he found his feet, feeling tiredness grip him like some deadly disease. It occurred to him briefly that he would love nothing more than to lie down and sleep; curl up in the soft, fluffy snow and just rest until he was warm again, and read to move. Just a few minutes. A few minutes couldn't hurt. 
He scrubbed his eyes viciously with his fists, reddening his face, and stumbled forward a step on jelly-legs. He knew that, no matter what happened, he couldn't let himself sleep. The tiredness was a sign he was freezing. If Winter were a beast, this would be how she captured her prey, and Kougu was not ready to be taken just yet. 
Unfortunately, with each step he took, his feet grew heavier, and the exhaustion weighed down on him more and more. It took all the effort he had to keep trudging toward the car, and after ten meters that felt like a million miles, he tripped over a footprint in the snow, and fell to his knees, catching himself on one hand to keep from falling flat on his face. He stared down at the powdery whiteness below him, wheezing breathlessly, and tried to tell himself to get up. He pressed his palm down, but his arm only shook, and when he tried to move his legs, they felt as if they were trapped under a ton of lead. 
I can't do it... He realized, shivering desperately and closing his eyes as the cold sapped away his strength, I'm not going to make it back... He stared at the trees in the distance, swimming before his eyes. The world started to spin as his eyelids grew heavier. 
I'm going to die here.
Shaking his head against the thought, he pulled one lead foot out from under him, and braced himself on one shaking knee to clamber to his feet. He snatched up the blankets as they started to fall, then stumbled sideways a step, nearly overbalancing as he reached into his pocket. 
"Jimmy," He coughed, scratching out the car keys, and his compass. "Take these and go ahead. The car's that way," He pointed, "I... I think. Follow the compass south, and you should find it. I-" He shivered, then coughed again, "I'll be right behind you. You can start the engine, get the heat turned on..." He trailed off. Jimmy wasn't stupid, but what was he supposed to say? 'Go on ahead and leave me here to die, or you'll freeze'? Perhaps the old Jimmy would have gone for it, but they were friends now. He'd said so himself. Still- Kougu's train of thought stalled as he yawned, shivering and hugging himself beneath the cover of blankets. Who was he kidding? He was going into hypothermic shock already, he could feel it. It was a wonder he was still alive after being trapped in that frozen river for so long, but even as tough as he was, there was no way he could brave the elements all the way back to the car, soaked and freezing. Even Jimmy had to accept that. 
Just go. He pleaded silently, hoping that his brainwaves would somehow reach Jimmy's subconscious, Just go, before we both freeze to death out here. It's all up to you now...

[Dreambug]

“I can w-walk.” Kougu assured him, although it was evident that he was lying. He was a terrible liar. “I'm just f-fine now.”
“Sure you are.” Jimmy frowned at him, watching motionlessly as Kougu struggled with great difficulty to his feet, stumbling about like a gazelle learning to walk for the first time. He was a mess, and certainly in no fit state to be walking anywhere. Jimmy pretended not to notice him gaining more and more fatigue, watching his eyelids droop as he struggled to keep awake. It was his body shutting down, one of the last clues as to what was happening to him. After that, his heart would stop beating.
Clenching his jaw, Jimmy bent down to catch Kougu before he fell to the floor, clasping his arm from the arm bit, resting the other on his shoulder.
It was no use. There was no way Kougu was going to make it back to the car on his own. He'd probably need carrying.
“Take these and go ahead. The car's that way," He pointed, "I... I think. Follow the compass south, and you should find it.”
Jimmy opened his mouth to argue. You've got to be joking.
But Kougu kept talking. “I- I'll be right behind you. You can start the engine, get the heat turned on...”
“Shut up.” Jimmy hissed, dropping to his knees by Kougu, pulling his vision up by grabbing a huge handful of his hair. “Who the Hell are you trying to kid? I didn't let you drag my ass all the way to America, all the way up a f*cking mountain, just to let you give up before we've barely started.” He jiggled Kougu's head a little bit, tugging on his hair. The pain would be enough to keep him awake a few more seconds. “Now. Wake up, so you can help me find the friggin' car.”
He dropped Kougu's head and straightened up to study the ma's weak body, wrapped up in a mess of blankets and coats. How was he going to do this?
If he slung Kougu over his shoulder, all the blood would go tohis head and that could prove dangerous.If he scooped him up in his arms, well, that would just be wrong.But Kougu needed carrying, however he did it.
Scratching his head in a puzzled fashion he wrapped Kougu's arms around his neck, yanking his thin, freezing body onto his back. “For the love of God, hold on.” He begged, jumping up so Kougu was now riding his back in a piggy-back style. A couple of the blankets fell off but there was no time. The sooner he got to the car, the better. “Just... Hold on.”

[Polo trapped in an inkpot]

Kougu took another step, looking completely disorientated, then stumbled and lost his balance. Jimmy caught him, but before he'd even got a grip on what was happening, the other man was kneeling beside him in the snow, hauling Kougu's arm around his own shoulders to balance him.
"Shut up!" He demanded furiously, but Kougu just kept on shivering incessantly, silently fighting the increasing desire to close his eyes and go to sleep. Each breath he took was becoming shallower, and with more space in between. He was in very poor shape, and as the adrenaline of his fright wore off, his condition was steadily worsening. Apparently noticing this, Jimmy grabbed a handful of his hair, tugging his head up and shaking him roughly.
“Who the Hell are you trying to kid?" He snapped, his harsh actions jerking Kougu roughly back to consciousness, "I didn't let you drag my ass all the way to America, all the way up a f*cking mountain, just to let you give up before we've barely started.”
"I'm not," He yawned widely, shivered, and finished, "...Giving up. I'm just taking a break. Just a little, break, then..." He trailed off, his words slurring into nothingness, and yawned again, his eyelids growing heavy. He barely seemed to notice the pain in his scalp, although Jimmy was tugging cruelly on his hair. All that seemed to matter to him was lying down, and going to sleep.
“Now. Wake up, so you can help me find the friggin' car.” Jimmy dropped his head, and Kougu rubbed his eyes with a grunt, trying hard to obey. "Okay..." He mumbled, "I'll-" Another yawn stopped him, and he broke off as he started shivering again. He couldn't remember what he had been talking about. He was beginning to become delirious, and his breathing was so shallow that his chest hardly seemed to move at all. His head drooped, then jerked up again as he caught himself drifting off. Before he could fall victim to the snow slumber again, Jimmy grabbed his arm and hauled him to his feet, pulling both of Kougu's arms around his own neck to support him. This gesture seemed to shock Kougu out of his stupour momentarily. "What are you doing?" He asked, his voice gaining some clarity now, "Jimmy, your arm... I'm all wet, you'll make yourself soaked." He muttered in concern, trying to squirm away from Jimmy's firm grip. His friend was having none of it.
“For the love of God, hold on.” He ordered, and Kougu stopped struggling, watching him dubiously from behind. "But it's still far back." He objected, trying to get his feet back onto the ground, "You can't carry me all that way. Jimmy, think about it. It doesn't make any-"
“Just... Hold on.” Something in Jimmy's voice silenced him then, and he swallowed anxiously, distracted from his drowsiness by his concern for his friend. He honestly couldn't believe that Jimmy would go this far just to help him survive... Obviously he'd have done the same, but that somebody else would stand by him like this was just... Unthinkable. He didn't even mind having his arms draped around Jimmy's neck, or being lugged around like some uncooked carcass. In the state he was in, he knew he wouldn't have the strength to harm Jimmy, anyway. He was perfectly harmless, just the way he liked it. The way his freezing body trembled against Jimmy's back could clearly vouch for that. He was barely breathing at all now. 
"I'm tired..." He mumbled, his head dropping wearily to rest on Jimmy's shoulder. His mind was becoming more and more clouded by the minute, but some long lost knowledge warned him not to go to sleep, so he fought the urge desperately. 
"Don't carry me." His slurred voice pleaded softly, muffled by the back of Jimmy's shirt, "It's not worth it. You're hurt. You need..." He trailed off, losing the train of thought somewhere in the fog of his mind. He could barely think at all, and that was scaring him. Used to his mind being sharp as a tack, it was nothing short of alarming to have it suddenly shut down on him like this. 
I've really messed myself up badly this time... He thought as more shivers wracked his frail body, But for Jimmy's sake, I'd do it again. Against all odds, he's proved himself to be a loyal friend. I must do everything in my power to show that loyalty right back, even if it means dying a cold, freezing death in an icy river.

[Dreambug]

Kougu started to get heavier and heavier against Jimmy's back, and as much as he tried to avoid using his chewed up arm, sometimes he had to use it to catch Kougu's arms whenever they slipped. He could hear muffled words against his back, meaningless words that he knew he wouldn't listen to even if he could hear them. He knew where they led to, and he was no longer interested.
Bent over slightly to keep Kougu's feet off the ground, he started to half-jog through the snow in the vague direction of the car.
He noticed a rock poking out of the ground, and stepped over it purposely, feigning tripping so it snagged Kougu's foot. The motion would hurt, and hopefully that would wake Kougu up and snap him out of his stupid 'leave me, save yourself' attitude. Jimmy was taking no notice of him whilst he was delerious.
“Oops.” He said loudly, not even bothering to sound apologetic, and smirked to himself. A head rested on a shoulder, and for a moment he forgot where he was. What he was doing. All he remembered was the way Charlie used to hug him from behind like that, and rest her head on his shoulder.
Clenching his jaw, he flicked his heel up to kick Kougu from behind. “Come on, big man. You need to stay awake. D'you hear me?” Quickening his pace, Jimmy jumped up to get his grip a little better, pulling Kougu further up his back. “You need to stay awake. You're... You're being rude.”
Really? That the best you got?
“What would Charlie think, if you fell asleep whilst she was talking to you? Seriously. Listen to me.” He kicked him again. “Remember the mission. If we don't kill your father, think about all the damage he could do. He'll destroy the States. Even maybe the world. And you're here taking a nap?”
If the snow was shallow enough to sprint through, Jimmy would have been doing just that. He kept his eyes firmly fixed on the spot in front of him. They'd reached the bottom of the mountain, but it was going to take a few minutes jogging before they got to the car park. “Stay awake. D'you hear me? Stay awake!”

The snow got considerably shallower as they reached the car park, and the fancy BMW was sprinkled with nothing more than a dusting of snow, in comparison to at least two feet of snow further up the mountain. The drive out might be a little risky, but that was the least of their problems at that point. Jimmy dumped Kougu in the back seat like a lump of meet, and quickly began warming the car up as he tossed an armful of blankets over Kougu's pale body.
“You just need to keep up until we get to the hospital, mate.” He gasped, throwing his bag in the passenger seat. “Then the doctors will take care of you. Hold on.”

[Polo trapped in an inkpot]

Kougu was just drifting off, when a sudden sharp pain in his foot jerked him awake. He grunted in pain, and began shivering more fervently as the cold hit him once again. “Oops.” Jimmy said, although he did not sound apologetic. Kougu knew what he was doing, and despite the pain, he appreciated it. It didn't take long, however, before the consciousness he had won began slipping away from him again, and his head flopped back onto Jimmy's shoulder. Then a foot caught him halfway up his leg, and he flinched awake again, giving his head a little shake to clear his delirious mind.
“Come on, big man. You need to stay awake. D'you hear me?" Jimmy said firmly, his voice sounding out as though from a distance. His shoulders struck Kougu's chest hard when he jumped up, and he uttered a low groan as he missed one precious, hard fought breath. One little lurch, and he was winded.
“You need to stay awake." Jimmy pressed, "You're... You're being rude.”
"Hm?" He opened his eyes suddenly, blinking in surprise. Was he being rude? "S-sorry..." He mumbled, managing to muster a response at last. He didn't intend to be rude... That was hardly acceptable. He had been raised better than that, in a way. 
“What would Charlie think, if you fell asleep whilst she was talking to you? Seriously. Listen to me.”
"I'm s- Ow." He broke off when Jimmy kicked him again, shaking his head to try keep awake. He flexed his fingers, tightening his arms slightly around Jimmy's neck. The other man was talking about the mission now, but Kougu was too busy fighting the urge to slip back into drowsiness to take on the weights of responsibility that Jimmy was hefting onto his shoulders. He was right, and Kougu knew it. He had to make it through this. Somehow, he had to hold on. It wasn't the first time he had flipped death off right to its face, and it sure as hell wasn't going to be the last. He shook his head again.
“Stay awake. D'you hear me? He could feel from the roughness of Jimmy's stride that he had started to jog, "Stay awake!
He shivered desperately, but obeyed the order, biting the inside of his cheek to keep from sleeping.
So cold... So damn cold...

Forcing his tired eyes open, Kougu was relieved to see the vague form of the BMW in the distance, growing rapidly closer. He heard it beep as Jimmy unlocked it, and the sound rushed through him like a wave of relief, making him feel lightheaded for a moment. Before he'd caught his bearings, he was tossed unceremoniously onto the back seat. Again the breath was knocked out of him, and he coughed as he propped himself up on his arms, shaking his head like a confused animal dying of rabies. A lump of blankets fell over him, and his arms nearly buckled under the weight.
“You just need to keep up until we get to the hospital, mate.” Jimmy gasped breathlessly, diving into the front seat. Kougu froze. “Then the doctors will take care of you. Hold on.”
"D-Doctors?" He repeated through chattering teeth, suddenly sitting bolt upright, "No." He shook his head fervently, "No way, I can't go to hospital. No." Another terrible series of shivers wracked his bodies, but his eyes were wide as a startled deer's, and any trace of sleepiness had been knocked clean out of him. "I'll be f-fine." He stammered, his frail body still trembling, "I f-feel warmer already. Let's just head back. I'm fine, I swear."
The blue tinge to his skin and his nearly invisible pulse clearly claimed otherwise, but it was clear that Kougu would sooner freeze to death at the side of the road than be admitted to hospital. All the same, in his hypothermic state, he only had so much power. Another series of shivers robbed him of his sudden energy again, and he pulled the blankets miserably around himself, going quiet as his head started to droop again.
I'm fine. He told himself stubbornly, coughing quietly into a blue-tinged hand, It's going to be fine.

[Dreambug]

Kougu scared Jimmy out of his wits when he sat upright like an awakening mummy, and he spun round on his seat to see what the problem was. Well, he knew the problem, but something must have bothered Kougu enough to wake him up like that.
“D-doctors?”
“Yeah.” Jimmy grunted, revving the engine.
“No. No way, I can't go to hospital. No.” He stuttered desperately, looking very much like a deer in headlights. His nerves made Jimmy uncomfortable. “I'll be f-fine. I f-feel warmer already. Let's just head back. I'm fine, I swear.”
Jimmy stared at him. Was Kougu that deranged? His blue lips, bloodless skin and drooping eyes told differently, and what with the fact that he was minutes from going into cardiac arrest... He couldn't afford not going to the hospital. But there must have been a reason... Last time, when he'd been shot, Kougu refused to go to the hospital then, too. Jimmy's uncle had had to look after him from home, even using an IV drip and everything. But this was different. Jimmy wasn't medically trained, and if Kougu got brain damage because of him...
He couldn't let that happen.
“Kougu,” he said, as he reversed out of the car park. “You need help. Treatment. I don't even know what I'm doing.” He turned the heating up as far as he could go, and sent it blasting to the back seat. “We don't know how long you've got before your heart stops beating. You have to go to the hospital. Now.”

[Polo trapped in an inkpot]

Kougu felt Jimmy staring at him, and he looked right back, trying hard to control his shivering, but to no avail. 
“Kougu,” The other man began firmly, turning up the heat as he reversed back. Kougu shivered again as the hot air hit him, “You need help. Treatment. I don't even know what I'm doing.”
"I do." He said quickly, "It's fine, Jimmy. It's fine."
“We don't know how long you've got before your heart stops beating. You have to go to the hospital. Now.”
"No!" This time, Kougu sounded clearly adamant. It wasn't often that he stood up to anyone, but in this case, it was clear that he wasn't backing down. Not even his crippling shyness could drive him into a hospital. He just would not go.
"Please, Jimmy." His voice softened slightly, still hoarse from the cold water in his lungs, "Don't make me go there. I-" He broke off when a particularly violent shiver shook him, "I'll lose my mind. Please..."
I can't.
Still shaking from cold, Kougu looked at Jimmy, his eyes wide and searching. Jimmy's hands were on the wheel, and his foot was on the gas. At the end of the day, this was his call to make. Kougu only hoped that he wouldn't make the wrong one...
As the warm air filled the car, he shivered again, suddenly feeling the dampness of his clothes. He needed to get dry, first. Then he could treat himself, and Jimmy too. They didn't need a hospital. They'd be fine, just fine... All he had to do was hold on, and pull through.
Don't make me go there. Jimmy, please, as my friend, just spare me this one time...

[Dreambug]

“No!”
The firmness here made Jimmy bite his tongue, and he stared at Kougu worriedly through the front mirror. What was it that Kougu was so afraid of? He couldn't understand... But either way, Kougu needed treatment, and Jimmy didn't know what he was doing. Which made looking after him difficult.
“Don't make me go there. I- I'll lose my mind. Please...”
“Shut up.” Jimmy told him, except it was more of a plea. “Look, I know that's not ideally what we want to happen. But...”
But I don't want you to die.
He made a quiet, strangled noise as he struggled to make up his mind and drive at the same time. Kougu going crazy would be a disaster in a public hospital, but what else could he do? Kougu could drop dead any minute. Then what would he do?
Still... Kougu had medical knowledge. He'd proved that many a time.
“Gah... Er- Fine. Fine, screw you. We'll go back to the house. But I swear to God, if you die...” He rammed his foot savagely against the acceleration pedal. Nothing horrible enough came to his rushing mind, so he left the threat hanging. Besides, it wasn't like Kougu would care, anyway.
“Tell me what to do. We've got ages till we get back. How do we warm you up?”

[Polo trapped in an inkpot]

“Shut up.” Jimmy shot back, and Kougu obeyed, watching the man with baleful, troubled eyes, “Look, I know that's not ideally what we want to happen. But...”
Kougu was struck by another bout of shivers, and tweaked the blankets around his shoulders, struggling desperately to warm himself up. Luckily, the car was heating quickly. Still shivering, he watched Jimmy intently in the rear-view mirror, eyeing every change of expression to try figure out what decision he'd come to.
“Gah... Er- Fine." Jimmy groaned at last, and Kougu breathed a sigh of relief,  "Fine, screw you. We'll go back to the house. But I swear to God, if you die...”
"I won 't." He answered, sounding a lot more confident than he felt. His shoulders shuddered again, dropping the layers of blankets. He scooped them up automatically, shrinking into the warmth. 
“Tell me what to do." Jimmy said firmly from the front seat, and Kougu glanced up in surprise, "We've got ages till we get back. How do we warm you up?”
He considered Jimmy a moment, then frowned, looking down at his freezing body. He was still drenched, and his damp clothes clung wetly to his scrawny chest, chilling him as fast as the dry blankets could warm him. "Well, you woke me up, so that's something." he muttered, trying for a smile, which his freezing blue lips stubbornly denied, "But I-" He broke off, yawning widely, then shook his head vehemently and added, "I have to get dry, for starters." He rolled his shoulders, then grabbed the bottom of his shirt with shaking fingers, and managed to peel it off. The moment the contact with the wet material was broken, he felt instantly warmer. His muscles were tight from shivering, and without his usual baggy clothing, Kougu was actually surprisingly toned. Although he was thin, and his ribs clearly showed, he had precise, elegant muscles lining his arms and abdomen. Each time he shivered, they tensed harshly, and in between, his every muscle trembled from exhaustion. He was clearly struggling desperately to fight off his condition, even against the most impossible odds.
"D-Do you have any d-dry clothes?" He asked, teeth chattering again as he pulled the blanket around himself, "Check my pack. There may still be another-" He yawned, "-Jacket in there."

[Dreambug]

Jimmy could hear Kougu fumbling around the back seat, but kept his eyes on the road as they hit the motorway. At this point it was safe to keep stealing a glance behind him, which he then caught a glimpse at each stage of Kougu struggling out of his wet clothes.
At first this didn't bother him. Kougu needed to get out of the cold clothes in order to warm up. But then, just before Kougu wrapped himself in blankets, Jimmy's eyes accidentally flicked over to Kougu's stomach. It was skinny, as he'd predicted, and the lines of Kougu's ribs could be clearly seen, but his muscles were absolute. No, they weren't bulging, but they were there. They were defined, especially around his abdomen. In fact, Jimmy could count all six of his abdominal muscles with one glance, and he didn't even need to squint. It was almost like-
A car beeped from behind him. He was drifting between lanes. Cursing, he steered left and rolled into a temporary parking spot. Kougu couldn't just sit there without a shirt on, obviously.
Once he was parked safely, Jimmy listened to Kougu's suggestions about getting dry, and getting warm. Now they were in the car that would be much, much easier. Without another thought, Jimmy began wriggling out of his numerous coats and jackets. Eventually he reached his t-shirt, and threw his hoodie and fleece to the back seat. He was roasting anyway.
“Put those on.” He ordered, averting his eyes awkwardly away from Kougu's bare skin, although most of it was covered with the blanket around his shoulders.
“Put the wet stuff on the floor and I'll sort it out when we get back.” He noticed Kougu's eyes drooping, and quickly reached forward and patted Kougu's drenched, pale cheek firmly. “Hey. Listen, we're gunna go back and you're gunna have a seriously badass cup of coffee. Then, and only then, can you go to sleep. Got it?”

[Polo trapped in an inkpot]

As he huddled himself in the blankets - faintly damp from pressing against his wet clothes - Kougu heard the soft flicking sound of the indicator, and looked up to see Jimmy pulling the car over. They pulled up on the side of the road, and Kougu shivered again, hugging himself more tightly. In the front seat, Jimmy shuffled around, squirming out of his clothes. Once he'd stripped down to his T-shirt, he tossed a couple of warm layers in Kougu's direction. Dropping the blanket around his shoulders, he caught them, holding the soft material close to his skin. Shuddering gratefully, he pulled the hoodie over his head, uttering a relieved murmur under his breath. It was still warm from Jimmy's body heat, and although it was a little short at the sleeves and wide at the shoulders, Kougu could not have been more grateful for the warmth. Following the hoodie with an equally warm fleece, he shivered again, hugging himself warmly. It was as if the clothes had been left on an electric heater. He might have believed it, if they hadn't had Jimmy's scent clinging faintly to them. It was comforting, somehow. He didn't really understand it, but knowing that Jimmy was there to support him kept him calm and focused, even when delirium threatened. 
“Hey. Listen," Jimmy said beside him, though Kougu clearly wasn't, "We're gunna go back and you're gunna have a seriously badass cup of coffee. Then, and only then, can you go to sleep. Got it?”
Lulled by the warmth of Jimmy's clothes, he closed his eyes and yawned again, only to be snapped quickly back to reality by a pat on the cheek. Grunting in surprise, he flinched away from the contact like an abused animal, automatically grabbing Jimmy's wrist in a death grip. For a moment his eyes locked on Jimmy's, wide and startled, then they dropped toward his hand, fingers locked so tightly about Jimmy's wrist that they left white marks in the skin. Slowly, he loosened his grip, dropping his arm hesitantly to his side, and bowing his head guiltily. He'd got a fright, that was all. Part of him still expected a beating at every touch, and in the delirious state he was in, it was hard to keep a grip on where he was, or who was with him. 
"S-sorry..." He mumbled under his breath,  reaching up automatically to rub his hair as he always did when stressed. Feeling the dampness, however, he flinched away and shoved his hands into his pockets instead. Shivering again, he swallowed anxiously and mumbled, "Okay. I... I think I can make it back. A coffee sounds good right about now." Another shiver shook him, but he bit back to urge to yawn, forcing away the tiredness that tugged fiercely at his eyes. "Hey, Jimmy..." Another shiver gripped him, and then he forced his gaze upwards, his dark eyes shining earnestly, "Thanks."
Thank you for not giving up. For believing in me, even when I didn't. And... For caring, even just a little.

[Dreambug]

Perhaps Jimmy hadn't thought properly through how physical contact might affect Kougu mentally, especially with a father like his, but after hauling the guy to the bottom of a mountain he expected Kougu would trust him with that sort of thing. But the sudden clasp on his wrist, so tight he could feel his bones grinding together uncomfortably and he had to clench his fist to protect them with a tight muscle was enough to startle him, and for a brief moment when he saw the fright in Kougu's eyes, something came to mind.
He's gunna try and kill me.
Steeling his gaze, Jimmy locked eyes with the man and told him sternly, “Kougu... Let. Go.”
Slowly, very slowly, Kougu obeyed.
Snatching his wrist back, Jimmy rubbed the finger marks from the skin protectively. It was his good hand, as well. If that stupid moment had bruised it, he'd get really pissed off. ((Oooooooo.))
“S-sorry.” He mumbled, scratching his hair awkwardly. Jimmy just glared at him. You'd better be, mate.
“Okay. I... I think I can make it back. A coffee sounds good right about now.”
“Yeah, well...” Jimmy mumbled, sitting back in the driver's seat, still rubbing his wrist absent-mindedly. “We've got a way to go, yet. So you'll have to hang in there until-”
“Hey, Jimmy...”
For a brief moment Jimmy stopped being irritated by Kougu, although he had a feeling this wouldn't be the last time Kougu wuld piss him off in this way. Maybe he'd need to keep his guard up.
“Thanks.”
Oh.
Raising an eyebrow, Jimmy shot Kougu a questioning look. Thanks, for what? For saving his life? For lending him his clothes? For not getting openly pissed off when Kougu grabbed his wrist?
He presumed the former, as it seemed to be the most realistic option. Well, he deserved it. But he wasn't used to being thanked for everything, and the soft look in Kougu's eyes made him uncomfortable. So, unsure what to do with himself, he cleared his throat.
“Don't mention it.” He murmured with a sigh, closing the door to the car and starting the engine again. “You just keep warm. The whole 'blue lips' thing is a little creepy.”
With that, he revved up the engine again, and pulled back out on th motorway.
“And keep talking to me, alright? I told you, you're not allowed to fall asleep yet.”

[Polo trapped in an inkpot]

“Don't mention it.” Jimmy replied, clearing his throat awkwardly, and retreating back to the front seat, “You just keep warm. The whole 'blue lips' thing is a little creepy.”
"Sorry." Kougu said again, muffling his voice slightly as he raised a hand to cover his lips. It seemed that half his life was spent apologizing, but he didn't particularly care. He didn't have much in the way of pride, and a simply apology was the easiest thing in the world to him. Not that it helped, of course. He knew better than anyone that things once done could never be undone...
A frightful image of a time long ago flashed through the lids of his closed eyes, and he forced them open, blinking rapidly. He didn't even remember letting them close... The engine started, and Kougu nestled himself deeper into the blankets. His body heat was still escaping rapidly through his soaked jeans, but he had no intention of removing those. Not while he was still in his right mind.
“And keep talking to me, alright?" Jimmy ordered firmly from the front seat, "I told you, you're not allowed to fall asleep yet.”
"I know." He answered quietly, "I'm... Awake."
For a few minutes, Kougu watched the cars dart past outside the window, occasionally assuring Jimmy that he was still awake. But as time wore on, the colours on the traffic turned to a blur, and Kougu felt his eyelids grow heavy. He struggled to stay awake, but no matter how hard he tried, his temperature was still plummeting as the cold water evaporated from his legs, and he could feel his breathing growing slower and shallower, and his pulse dissipating to near nothingness. Before he'd even realized it was coming, he was passed out on the back seat, dead still and cold as ice. The car was rapidly pulling up to the house, but Kougu remained totally unaware. He had tried, but in the end, his groggy mind had lost to the intense exhaustion in his body.

[Dreambug]

Jimmy kept talking throughout the journey, talking pointlessly about things just to get a reaction out of Kougu, who he could tell was running out of time. A man only had so much self control before fatigue took over, and despite Jimmy's best efforts, Kougu was getting colder and colder.
By the time they reached the house, Kougu was no longer answering any of Jimmy's question. Not a tired murmur, nor a fake laugh could be coaxed from his lips. He'd been completely knocked out.
“Kougu?”
No reaction. Jimmy parked the car, got out and jogged to the door o the back seat, swung it open and shook Kougu's shoulder firmly. “Kougu. Wake up.”
Nothing.
“Wake up, or I'll punch you.”
Still nothing.
“Wake up, or I'm taking you to the hospital.”
Wow, it had to be serious. Kougu didn't react to any of Jimmy's words, and when he leant into the car – probably a bad idea – to pat Kougu's pale cheek, he still didn't get a reaction. Swearing, he checked Kougu's pulse with a pair of fingers. It was barely there.
“Okay. Okay... Er... Um... Er...” Trying his utmos best not to panic, Jimmy ran his hand through his hair and wheeled round to stare at the ivy-infested walls of their holiday home, as if that would ce. It didn't.
“Okay. Quickest way to warm someone up.”
If I'm warm, the quickest way I find to cool down is take a cold shower. Maybe-
Yes! He needed to get Kougu into a bath. Quickly.
Swallowing his frantic breathing, Jimmy threw off al the heavy blankets from Kougu's body leaving them forgotten on the foot area of the car, and scooped Kougu up in his arms. He was met with a horrible pain in his arm, but as it was the arm carrying Kougu's head, he bit back the cries and forced it to carry him. It shook at the pressure and he had to speak the voice-recognition lock instead of the pin number, and ran straight to the downstairs bathroom, nearly dropping Kougu in the porcelain bathtub with his poor grip.
Quickly, he started pouring the hot water, but it took a while to warm up. Whilst it did so, Jimmy quickly busied himself with taking off Kougu's clothes. ((*wolf whistles*)) He didn't even care if the man's clothes were getting wet. He would rip them off if he had to.
In fact he managed to take off Kougu's shirt before the water reached his chest, and slid off his pants. Except, when he got to the man's underwear, he glanced at it, pulled a face and shook his head. Nope. Not worth it.
Once the water was at a reasonable height, Jimmy checked the temperature again. Not too hot to cause him to go into shock, and he'd always be able to warm it up later. He sat squatted by the bath, still in his t-shirt, and slapped Kougu's face again. Please wake up.
“Kougu.”
Rolling his eyes, Jimmy picked up the jug and poured it over Kougu's cold head. The difference of temperature should be enough to wake him up. Otherwise... He wasn't sure what he'd do.
“Kougu, wake up.”

[Polo trapped in an inkpot]

Kougu remained dead to the world all the while as Jimmy carried him into the house, then dumped him into the tub and started undressing him. The only reaction he gave was a dull groan here or there, but it was clear that he was totally unaware of what was going on. Until, that is, a jug of hot water was tipped straight over his head. “Kougu, wake up.” Jimmy said beside him, but the man's voice was lost in the sudden rush of panic that enveloped him. The first thing he became aware of was the water on his face, and in a flash, he was submerged again, struggling beneath the ice. A gasp of air drew water into his lungs, and he splashed backwards with fright, his chest heaving as he coughed desperately with breath he didn't have.
"Wh-wha..." He stammered, pushing his wet hair out of his face and staring at Jimmy, stunned. His pupils had stretched so wide from shock, his eyes looked black, and the way he looked at Jimmy, it was as though he was certain that the man who had saved him had just tried to drown him.
But as the heat returned to his body, so clarity began to return to his mind, and he slowly tore his gaze away from Jimmy's, taking in his surroundings. The whiteness surrounding him came from walls and tiles, not from snow, and the slippery surface beneath him was porcelain, not ice.
We're at home. He realized at last, This is a bathroom. I must have passed out...
"What-" He repeated, then his eyes fell on the pile of clothes on the floor.
Aren't those...?
He felt the colour returning to his face before he'd even confirmed what he'd already guessed, and it was with quite an effort that he finally managed to force his eyes down to face his own naked body, stripped to his boxers in the tub. He shivered, this time not from cold, and felt his cheeks start to burn as his pale face turned suddenly red. Clearly embarrassed, he sank down into the water, drawing his knees up to his chest and wrapping his arms shyly around himself. Aside from his own mother, nobody had ever seen him in his underwear before. Even if Jimmy had become like something of a brother to him, feeling the man's eyes on him as he sat there shivering in nothing but his skin was... Hell, it was terrifying.
"I, um..." His eyes darted around on the ground, too shy to meet Jimmy's gaze, "I guess I... Passed out, huh?" Shying away from the elephant in the room,  he rubbed his arms awkwardly, his wet hair shining raven-black as it fell over his eyes.
"Uh... Thanks for... I guess." His cheeks flushed further with the gaps in his sentence, and he shrunk further into the corner of the tub, sincerely wishing that he had a towel or clothes of some sort. With humiliation burning the heat back into him in the warm water, he was honestly starting to wonder if he wouldn't have been better off freezing to death.
"You know you could have just put me in front of the fire or something..." He mumbled shyly under his breath, making a halfhearted reach for a towel hanging nearby, then chickening out, and wrapping himself up in his arms again. His cheeks flushed burgundy.

[Dreambug]

Kougu seemed a little surprised when he finally gained consciousness. Well, that was an understatement. He spent several moments coughing and spluttering, then staring at Jimmy like he'd just grown a new head, sprouted fangs and was about to eat him. Shock and confusion was the first stage. Jimmy just stared blankly at him until realisation dawned, and Kougu calmed down. It didn't take long, although te reaction he got to saving the man's life was not one he expected from Kougu.
He was... Shy.
In fact, too shy to meet Jimmy's eye. What was with that? Kougu would face all sorts of horrors, but then when it came to being put in a bath to warm up, even in his underwear, he was blushing from all angles of his face. Really blushing.
“I guess I... Passed out, huh?”
“Yup,” Jimmy replied, trying his hardest not to smirk.
“Uh... Thanks for... I guess.” He mumbled, quieter this time, and tried to curl up into himself, probably to hide from Jimmy. Jimmy would have left the room, except this reaction was far more entertaining than cable TV. “You know you could have just put me in front of the fire or something...” Kougu murmured,reaching for a towel, then apparently thinking better of it, and cowering away again.
“No I couldn't.” Jimmy shook his head, grinning deviously. “That would have sooner burnt your skin. This was the quickest and best way to warm you up. I'm gunna go check what else I need to do, to keep you from passing out again.”
But right now I'm rather enjoying seeing you embarassed for the first time... Ever.
“Stay in for now, In fact, stay until it starts getting cooler. Just don't fall asleep.” He pulled a face. Wouldn't want Kougu dying after all this effort to keep him alive.
“I'd say I took your clothes off with my eyes closed, but...” Grinning, he pulled himself to his feet. “There wasn't much time, between you dying, I mean.” He winked cheekily, and headed across the room to examine the towels. He couldn't have Kougu getting out and ruining this whole process until he was truly warmed up.
Shrugging, he picked up the pile and moved them as far away as possible from the bath, on the highest shelf, so Kougu wouldn't think about grabbing for one.
He then grabbed Kougu's clothes and headed out the room. “I'm gunna go do research. And don't look like that.” He nodded to Kougu's expression. It was a view to behold. “Enjoy relaxing until your temperature is back to normal.” He grinned, then grabbed the door and closed it behind him. “I'll be back in a minute!”

[Polo trapped in an inkpot]

Kougu had rather expected Jimmy to be as embarrassed about this situation as he was, and in a number of ways it made it remarkably worse when he saw the smug, amused expression on the man's face.
“No I couldn't.” He answered, completely unashamed. His grin made Kougu start hoping that he was frozen enough to just melt in the hot water. “That would have sooner burnt your skin. This was the quickest and best way to warm you up. I'm gunna go check what else I need to do, to keep you from passing out again."
"You could give me a towel for starters..." He muttered, looking distinctly miserable at the fact that Jimmy's eyes were still on him. He had never felt so uncomfortable in his life. 
“Stay in for now," The other man told him, ignoring his request, "In fact, stay until it starts getting cooler. Just don't fall asleep.” Kougu opened his mouth to object, only to shut it again abruptly at what Jimmy said next. 
“I'd say I took your clothes off with my eyes closed, but...” Kougu felt his cheeks flush even brighter as Jimmy bluntly addressed the topic that he had been so carefully avoiding, “There wasn't much time, between you dying, I mean.”
He groaned, covering his face with his hands. "Jimmy," He mumbled pleadingly, "In case you haven't noticed, I'm half-naked here. Can't I please have a little privacy?"[/i] He raised his head just a little, peeking over his hands, to stare beseechingly at Jimmy. He would have been down on his knees if he hadn't been desperately trying to shield his body from view.
When he saw Jimmy shrug and turn away to get a towel, Kougu breathed a sigh of relief, a smile curving his lips as he wrapped his arms about his shivering shoulders again.
"Than-" He began, then he saw Jimmy turn away, and his smile was instantly replaced with a frown, "What are you doing?"
Jimmy put the towel on the top shelf, as far away as humanly possible, and Kougu's face fell. "Jimmy?!" He asked incredulously. 
Then, he picked up Kougu's clothes. He relaxed for just a split second, before he realized that the other man was removing those, two. "Hey! Jimmy! What are you-"
“I'm gunna go do research. And don't look like that.” Kougu realized that he was gaping at Jimmy in open-mouthed horror, and quickly closed his mouth, looking every inch like a scolded child. “Enjoy relaxing until your temperature is back to normal. I'll be back in a minute!”
Even after Jimmy had left the room, his mocking grin remained imprinted on Kougu's eyes. Groaning in despair, he sank down into the water, hoping that it would magically drag him away from his great humiliation. No such luck.
Eventually, as his face began returning to the normal colour, Kougu seemed to resign himself to his fate, and relaxed slightly in the hot water, letting it warm his icy body.  He was so cold that the water chilled quickly, and he had to tap the 'H' nob a number of times to keep warm. After a while, however, it began to pay off. He stopped shivering, and the painful tingling running throughout his body was stemmed somewhat. He licked his lips to find them warm, the icy blue tinge long gone now.
I made it. He thought, with a heavy sigh of relief. Then, at last, he pulled the plug and hopped out of the bath.

It was a shocking and chilly dash across the room, but luckily he was tall enough to whisk the towel down in a flash. The ensuing gust of air chilled his wet body, and he shivered as he wrapped himself in the towel, quickly rubbing himself dry. Once all the moisture was gone from his skin, he wrapped the towel firmly around him and kicked open the bathroom door. Glancing suspiciously around for Jimmy, he rolled his shoulders, and fled quickly to his room, kicking the door closed behind him. He kept the towel wrapped around himself until he'd found some clean, warm clothes still stashed in his suitcase, then he dropped it, and stripped off his wet boxers with a dramatic shudder. That had been uncomfortably cold.
Snatching up some clean underwear, he pulled it own, then dressed himself in a pair of warm fleece pants, and a thermal black polo neck. Finally, he pulled a thick hoodie over his head and shoved his hands into the pockets with a shiver.
Then, taking a deep breath, he braved the terrifying world outside of his room and pushed open the door. Willing himself not to start blushing again, he walked off in search of Jimmy, finally finding him hunched over a computer in the study. He was reading some Wikipedia entry about 'hyperthermia', ((Don't worry Jimmy, I did the same thing. )) and looking thoroughly confused. This time, it was Kougu's turn to smirk.
"Actually," He said, leaning over Jimmy's shoulder to point at the screen, "It's hypothermia. With an 'O'. You're researching heat stroke." He chuckled under his breath, then straightened up again, "Besides, I'm fine now." He stood there for a moment, rubbing his arm uncertainly. He was gradually getting over his embarrassment in the tub, and once again he was struck by just how much Jimmy had done for him. Even if it was for Jimmy's sake that he had got into this state in the first place, he still owed this man his life. Jimmy had done everything humanly possible to keep him alive, and if he hadn't, Kougu knew that he would probably be dead. It was a shocking realization, since he was well used to being on the 'saving' side, rather than being saved, except by himself. ((All by myself... Don't wanna be... All by myself...))
"Hey, Jimmy..." He mumbled, gnawing anxiously on his tongue. "I, uh..." He raised a hand uncertainly, and gave his friend an awkward clap on the shoulder.  It may have been a microscopic gesture in the context, but coming from Kougu, it meant one hell of a lot. "Thank you." He said earnestly, "Really. I owe you my life."

[Dreambug]

Jimmy left the room looking very proud of himself, and although his gestures may have seemed harsh or unfair, he knew what he was doing. Kougu needed to look after himself and if Jimmy had to restrict his movements by any means necessary in order to make him do that, then he would.
After dumping Kougu's wet clothes in the washing basket, Jimmy headed straight to the computer to start researching other ways of curing 'hyperthermia' on wikipedia. He found lots of scientific facts, long, complicated biological words, but could make no sense of any of them.
Running his hand through his blonde hair, he headed to the kitchen to make himself the cup of coffee he'd been craving since he'd left the house. Then he headed back to the study, warming his hands around the mug.
He still found no sense in the words, and the treatment was totally nonsensical. Putting frozen peas or ice bags under the arm pits and groin wassupposed to keep them from freezing to death? What the Hell?
He didn't realise his mistake until Kougu came over – half scaring him to death by suddenly appearing over his shoulder – and pointed it out.
“Actually, it's hypothermia. With an 'O'. You're researching heat stroke.”
Hearing Kougu's chuckling from behind him Jimmy blushed, quickly going back and changing the spelling. He guessed he deserved to feel a little embarassed, especially since he'd been so smug with Kougu and had rather enjoyed humiliating him.
“Besides, I'm fine now.”
Raising an eyebrow, Jimmy turned round in his desk chair and ran his eyes over Kougu's body. He was now dressed in fleece, as well as a thick hoodie, and his long, ebony hair had been slightly towel dried, so it stuck up messily in all directions. The blue tinge from his lips had also gone.
Okay, so he was fine, at least. He wasn't just saying that.
Nodding in agreement, Jimmy closed the window with his search on and began to stand up. It was time he had himself a well-earned hot bath, especially after everything he'd gone through to get Kougu back alive. He was still slightly cold from the journey.
“Hey, Jimmy...” an awkward voice said behind him. “I, uh...” Then, making him jump, a hand clapped lightly on his shoulder, and he glanced at it like it was a bee that had just landed happily on his shoulder.
“Thank you. Really. I owe you my life.”
Releasing a sigh, Jimmy felt a little bit of stress leave is shoulders/ He knew Kougu would be grateful for being given the chance to live another day, but to hear it outloud was another thing entirely.
“You don't owe me anything.” He told him earnestly. “And I'm not just being modest, here. Back home... Well, things may well be different with who owes who. But now... We're in this together. You know?” He mirrored Kougu's gesture, patting him on the shoulder gently. “Now all that's important is we beat the bad guys, and to do that we need both of us to be alive and healthy. No more ''leave me, save yourself' crap, either. So next time things get hard, because I have a feeling they will, do me a favour.” He locked Kougu's eyes firmly. “Don't give up. For America's sake.”
Winking, he turned away and strolled to the kitchen, gulping down the rest of his coffee. “Now how about that coffee you were mumbling about earlier?” He winked again and boiled the kettle, beginning to prepare one for Kougu. “Oh, and there's some tinned beans or soup in the cupboard, or if you're not hungry you could just have a stock cube in hot water or something. But you need to start eating three full meals when you can, mate. The healthier you are the easier all this will be.”

[Polo trapped in an inkpot]

Kougu felt Jimmy jump at his touch, and even though he relaxed afterwards, Kougu still felt faintly guilty as he dropped his hand back to his side. He rubbed his hair anxiously, shifting uncomfortably on the spot. 
“You don't owe me anything.” Jimmy answered at last, and before Kougu could object, he added firmly, “And I'm not just being modest, here. Back home... Well, things may well be different with who owes who. But now... We're in this together. You know?”
He said nothing, but hearing the word 'together', Kougu's expression  softened slightly. Jimmy was in this just was much as he was. It was no longer his mission alone, and Jimmy was not just some guy he'd hired to help him. This man was his friend; his partner in this mad mission to save the world. And frankly, he didn't believe he could have chosen anybody better.
He was startled out of his thoughts when he felt a pat on his shoulder, and after his usual initial flinching, he looked up at Jimmy, his dark eyes searching the man's face in disbelief. He wasn't used to anybody showing him affection - aside from Charlie - and especially not another man. The greatest affection his father had ever shown him was in missing his vital points when he beat him to within an inch of his life.
Kougu shivered at the kindness of the touch on his shoulder. He was so unused to it that he felt his skin grow warm where Jimmy's hand had rested. The other man was still talking, but he had lost the ability to listen. All he could think about was the memory of Jimmy's hand on his shoulder, and the remarkable relief that one small gesture of kindness had brought him. 
When he noticed Jimmy's eyes locked on his, he quickly blinked into focus, to hear the man conclude, “Don't give up. For America's sake.”
Slowly, a smile formed on his lips, and he nodded. He wouldn't promise anything. He knew he had a habit of giving up on himself, although with anybody else, his determination would carry him to impossible lengths. Still... He could try.
I can't afford to die, after all.
With a brief wink in his direction, Jimmy started walking toward the kitchen, and Kougu followed like an obedient Lab, stopping when Jimmy did with his thumbs hooked into his pockets.
“Now how about that coffee you were mumbling about earlier?” Then other man said with another friendly wink. He seemed happy. “Oh, and there's some tinned beans or soup in the cupboard, or if you're not hungry you could just have a stock cube in hot water or something. But you need to start eating three full meals when you can, mate. The healthier you are the easier all this will be."
With a breath of amusement, Kougu let his lips slacken into a smile, and shook his head as he pulled open the cupboard.
"You sound like my mother." He said, silently repressing the memories that leaped to his mind at the thought, "Don't worry, I'll eat." And, true to his word, he scratched through the cupboard until he found some Cup-a-Soup, then borrowed the kettle from Jimmy to prepare it. He didn't much feel like soup - some chocolate would have gone down better - but he knew it would help to warm him up.
"How's your arm?" He asked, fetching a teaspoon from the drawer to stir his soup, "You better not have pulled out any stitches lugging me around."
Setting down the soup, he caught Jimmy's arm - obviously not caring if he interrupted him - and quickly checked the stitches. Then, nodding in satisfaction, Kougu released him, and took a sip of soup.
"I think I made a good choice in bringing you here." He mused quietly, leaning back on the counter and blowing on the soup, which had burned his tongue quite cruelly, "We make a good team."  A subtle smile curved his lips, and he smirked with amusement as he thought back over their history. "Who would have guessed?"

[Dreambug]

Jimmy's serious expression soon melted away when Kougu didn't look like a scolded child, but seemed actually quite amused by what Jimmy had said. Realising how patronising he must have sounded, Jimmy chuckled under his breath.
“You sound like my mother.”
“No I don't.” Jimmy argued, although he was laughing at himself. “Oh,” he added, “and eat your greens.” He scolded, raising an eyebrow. Then he grinned, waving Kougu off with a flick of his hand, and passed Kougu in the direction of the door to the dining room.
“Don't worry, I'll eat.” Kougu assured him, rooting around the cupboards for what little sawdust-type-food lay around. There wasn't much, but he found something. Then, as he boiled the kettle, he approached Jimmy, who cowered shyly away at the mention of his arm. “You better not have pulled out any stitches lugging me around.”
Flinching away from Kougu's grip, Jimmy looked away as the man examined his wounds, cursing once or twice as the stitches felt sore under Kougu's touch. Lifting that man and dragging him around had made the skin around his wounds red and sore, but the stitches, remarkably, remained together.
“I think I made a good choice in bringing you here.” Kougu concluded as he stirred his soup. Jimmy raised an eyebrow at this. His ripped up arm had brought Kougu to that conclusion? How did that work? “We make a good team.”
This, Jimmy couldn't argue with.
“Who would have guessed?”
Jimmy could tell from the faraway look in Kougu's eyes that he was thinking about how they reacted to each other when they first met. Well, Jimmy pointed a gun in Kougu's face, and from what he could recall, Kougu did the same. It was amazing how two people who hated each other, after realising they were the same in a way, ended up being partners. It amused him exactly how that had worked it.
“I certainly wouldn't've.” Jimmy agreed with a smirk. “But I guess we've both grown up since then. I know I have.” He winked, then gestured vaguely to the door.
“You go chill out. I'm gunna go have my well-deserved bath now.” He grinned, glad to finally be able to say that, and wandered out the kitchen, his face lit up right until he found the bathroom and locked the door behind him.


Then, and only then, did he let himself break.


Kougu... KOUGU!
His own cries from that horrific moment on the mountain echoed through his mind, over and over again. He could hear his own voice crying out in terror as his life flashed before his eyes. Some people could say he'd stared death in the face, but he disagreed. That phrase made him sound brave. At that moment, he hadn't been brave at all. He'd been terrified. More than he wanted to admit to Kougu.
Of course, he'd whispered that it was scary, but that was the last he'd mentioned of how it had affected him. But of course it had affected him. He just didn't let it until Kougu was up and alive.
He found himself shivering violently, and not all that was from the cold, as he made his way to the bath and sat in the invitingly hot water.
For a brief moment he enjoyed it's embrace, like a long missed hug from one's own mother.. It was bliss, but it was temporary. Nothing good lasted forever.
The minute his head rolled back onto the bathtub and he closed his eyes, he saw it. The bear, it's black eyes, nothing but huge pupils, staring into him hungrily. It wanted his blood.
KOUGU!
Gasping, his eyes flashed open and his head snapped up. He stared long and hard at the back wall, unblinking, as he tried to remove the horrible memory from his mind. But it remained there, every time he closed his eyes. He would see it.
The truth is, the journey up the Coldclaw mountains had shaken Jimmy up, far more than he'd care to admit. Everything from the bear attack to nearly losing Kougu and even nearly losing Kougu's fingers would haunt him forever, he feared. And this was only the beginning. He'd see far more horrors on this journey to bring down the US president Noah, and he would have to learn to deal with it on his own. He just wasn't sure how much he'd be able to take.
He glanced down at the bandage on his arm. That would need washing and soaking too. But it would hurt. In fact it would probably hurt as much as it did when the bear had made the damage in the first place. Jimmy swallowed nervously.
With one shaky hand he peeled the bandage off and stared at the stitched up pierce marks all down his arm. Some muscle was even evident where the bear had held on, nearly tearing it from the bone. It didn't look half as bad now it was stitched up, but he would never forget how it looked, and smelt when it had first happened.
Biting hard on his bottom lip, he slowly lowered his arm into the bath water.

At first he felt nothing, then everything at once seemed to register, and he had to cover his mouth with his hand to keep from crying out. Although the wounds were closed off now, they were still puncture marks and were very deep, as well as the sore skin around them. It was a sharp, piercing pain that stung his flesh and muscle all up his arm, and it made him tremble. He could hardly cope with it, and this was the after effect.
How am I going to cope with this? What if it messes me up?
He gnawed on his lip under his hand.
What if I never see my family again?
This thought caused his eyes to water with gentle tears, and for a brief moment, he let them blur his vision. But crying wouldn't work. It wouldn't undo the horrors he'd witness, or would witness, nor would it help. ((It would, but you keep thinking that, Jimbob. It'll mess you up for later. )) What he needed to do was concentrate on learning to put up with them, storing them in a box and shoving them in the corner of his mind. Perhaps give them a few layers of duct tape. And then stick them in a treasure chest, chain it closed and throw away the key.
But the fear that he'd never get home again didn't cease. He wondered if it ever would.
Clearing his throat, he took his other hand and splashed his face. The tears washed away with the rest of the water, like they'd never happened. Although it wouldn't fool Kougu.

He appeared downstairs in a pair of grey sweats and a long-sleeved black top and trainer socks, then strolled into the kitchen to make himself some food. His bright, energetic demeanour was back again.
Jimmy made himself a bowl of cornflakes and sat on the sofa next to Kougu, crossing his legs and munching messily into his cereal. He wasn't particularly hungry, but the mood he'd gone into in the bathroom had really brought him down, and he needed the distraction. If he had another coffee, however, he'd never sleep.
For a moment he glanced up at the TV screen and scowled. “You're watching the news? Kougu, there's nothing but depressing sh*t on at this time. Put something else on. Hell, I'd rather watch Pingu than this right now.”

[Polo trapped in an inkpot]

“I certainly wouldn't've.” Jimmy replied, and Kougu smiled in response. “But I guess we've both grown up since then. I know I have.”
"I guess so." He murmured quietly, although he wasn't sure he completely agreed. It was true that he had grown in the last few months, but he knew that he could never feel truly changed until his father's hold over him was broken. That is, until the man lay rotting six feet under. His jaw tightened at the thought, and he absentmindedly took another sip of soup. 
“You go chill out." Jimmy advised beside him, pulling Kougu's gaze away from his soup as he gestured toward the door, "I'm gunna go have my well-deserved bath now.”
"Enjoy."He replied politely, finishing the soup, then picking up his coffee mug as Jimmy left.

He headed through to the living room, still faintly cold and shivery even under his warm layers. He supposed it would take a while for the hypothermia to completely wear off... Shrugging, he plopped himself down on the couch and pulled a blanket over his lap, then turned on the TV. He had seldom watched television before, but now that he was on something of an investigative mission, the need had arisen. He pressed '3' on the remote, and put the volume up slightly as a reporter appeared on the screen  - a black haired woman called Kathy Marks - speaking tonelessly into a microphone. He watched with square eyes, drinking coffee like a zombie, as he waited for Jimmy to come back from the bathroom. It took nearly an hour, but the news was still on when Jimmy appeared at his side. Kougu's eyes were locked intently on the screen, and he didn't pull them away when he felt the couch dip in beside him. He was concentrating; the reporter had just mentioned something about the new death penalty instated by President Noah.
“You're watching the news?" Jimmy asked, sounding thoroughly displeased, "Kougu, there's nothing but depressing sh*t on at this time. Put something else on. Hell, I'd rather watch Pingu than this right now.”
"The real world is depressing sometimes." He answered automatically, eyes still glued seriously to the screen, "I need to know what's happening out there to make this mission work..." He nodded toward the screen, which now showed barred jail cells packed full with desperate, screaming prisoners on death row. The general consensus of the cries was 'I'm innocent', and frankly, Kougu believed it.
"Some peace groups have been expressing doubt about Noah's new policy," Kathy Marks said as the camera shot back to her smiling face, "But nobody can argue that since the election, crime rates in America have dropped by an astounding thirty eight percent. Is President Noah the key to a new, safer America? I guess only time will tell. For now, I'm Kathy Marks from Mega News Three. Good night, New York."
Staring tensely at the screen as the end music played, Kougu took another sip of his coffee, then pulled a face. He had been concentrating so hard, he hadn't even realized that it had gone ice cold. Sighing, he set it aside, then glanced at Jimmy at last.
The second he set eyes on Jimmy's face, he frowned. Was it his imagination, or were the man's eyes redder than they had been an hour ago...?
Maybe he was more affected by all this than I thought...
Frowning, Kougu opened his mouth to say something, then thought better of it, and turned back to the TV. He changed the channel, and flicked through a few until he found something a little more lighthearted. He didn't know what 'Pingu' was, so he just chose a show that seemed like a comedy, with a laughing live studio audience. He didn't know what it was - he'd never really watched TV, after all - but it seemed cheerful enough.
 For a while he watched in silence, but even though his eyes were on the screen, his mind was clearly elsewhere. If he didn't know any better, he'd think that Jimmy must have been crying. The thought alone was enough to stun him. Half of him wanted to say something, but somehow, he had a feeling that would be a bad idea. Jimmy was a proud man, far more so than him. Still...
"Are you okay?" He asked quietly, still not moving his eyes from the screen, except to shoot Jimmy a quick sideways glance, which he hoped the man didn't notice.
It never even occurred to me that this whole ordeal might have rattled him. How could I not have seen it? Am I really that numb to fear?

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