The Judgement Of Divinity (TMOE #2)

Chapter 30: Skipping a beat (pt 2)

A not so nice thing however, was getting back there.

Despite what Anthony had claimed, by the time they'd reached his house and hurried inside, Lucius was out of breath and his limbs were somehow both numb and burning at the same time. It was almost infuriating how unbothered Anthony seemed to be by the cold, though at least his frown of concern was present for Lucius' sake.

"What happened?" Tom looked aghast at the sight of them, quickly aiming his attention at Lucius' condition. "First you willingly empty out your blood while heavily intoxicated, and now this? Do you want to die?"

"I've actually decided recently that I do not," Lucius muttered with a clenched jaw, wobbly legs making their way towards the drawing room. "So if you'll excuse me I'm gonna go throw myself into the fireplace."

"You will do no such thing." Tom seized his arm, quite pitifully as it made little difference regarding Lucius' stride forward. "Heating up your body quickly in a state like this could kill you."

"Is there anything I can do that will not kill me?" Lucius groaned. "I'm supposed to not be cold but can't warm myself up either?"

"Not with fire." Tom's shoulders slouched, and he gestured up and down. "First of all, you need to get out of those."

"Wow, what a shock."

"And warm yourself slowly." Tom's expression did not appreciate the sarcasm, but he promptly pulled Lucius' coat off. "With the same heat as your body should have."

All the other three in the room looked awkward, but Lucius who found his brain working awfully slow only gave Tom a tired frown.

"Such as?"

Tom adjusted his glasses with a look suggesting Lucius really was as slow as he felt.

"Body heat. Body to body."

It took some time, but the words finally seemed to make sense in Lucius' poor head.

"But..." he whispered, body feeling even colder than before.

"He shouldn't have to," Anthony whispered to Tom so no one would hear, which was unlikely since Lucius did, and Richard had the perk of being a werewolf. "He's not comfortable with intimacy."

"Well it's discomfort or potential death," Tom said, rather cold-heartedly while untying Lucius' boots. "And it certainly isn't helping that you're just standing around while he's still in those clothes. Now get going."

Anthony still looked awkward as Tom shoved him towards Lucius, and he received a frustrated sigh.

"Fine, Richard will do it."

Richard gawked at Tom.

"Why me?"

"Anthony's a coward and if you revert back, perhaps it's not as bad as human contact. Plus fur is warmer, but not so warm that it should hurt," Tom reasoned. "And I'm not doing it."

"No, I'll—" Anthony pursed his lips with a brief glance at Lucius, who couldn't quite follow the discussion. "I'll do it."

"Oh goodie," Tom concluded and turned around to mark the end of the conversation. "Lucius' bed is still a bloody mess, by the way."

"Right, so... We'll go to my room." Anthony's face was one big apology, and Lucius' lips trembled as they headed upstairs. His legs were heavy, and his mind spun around from pain and fright.

"Anthony, I—" He tried swallowing his distress, but all it resulted in was his words disappearing.

"I know, but we'll figure something out." Anthony squeezed his hand reassuringly, but Lucius had doubts.