Meant To Be

Chapter Nine

After several hours of laying on that hill under the stars together, the night air began to grow cold and the rain clouds began rolling in. They made their way back to the shelter and lay down in opposite corners. "So, we'll start travelling next cycle?" Artificer asked, trying not to blush at how cute Hunter's sleepy face was. "Yep, as early as we can." They shared a sweet smile with each other before trying to fall asleep despite the cold.

Neither of them wanted to admit it, but both of them were completely touch starved. Hunter knew she shouldn't, but it was tempting to ask Artificer to cuddle together. Of course, it would only be to help both of us keep warm and prevent us from freezing! Meanwhile, Artificer was having similar thoughts. Should I say anything or would that be weird? No, we have a mission and we can't get distracted by things like that! But, we aren't going to be able to continue until morning... Would it really be so bad if we cuddled just a little bit?

Both of them carefully thought of what to do, unaware that the other was thinking the same thing. It can't hurt to ask, both of them thought at the same time. "Hunter, there's something I want to ask you." If it hadn't been so dark in the shelter, it would have been clear that they were both blushing profusely. "Oh, really?" the orange slugcat said in an unusually high pitched voice, trying to sound casual. "Funny, I had a question for you too!" Artificer giggled a bit, desperately wishing she hadn't said anything in the first place. "Hah, that is funny! Why don't you go first?" Now she was the one talking in a high pitched voice as she tried to avoid saying anything else. "No, you go first!" Artificer took a deep breath, preparing to be rejected. The fur on her face turned even more red than usual as she blushed and she also began to feel a bit dizzy. "Okay, uh, well... What I was going to say is that I'm really cold and you were just so nice to cuddle with last cycle that I, uh... I know that was different and everything! ...Could we cuddle again?" Hunter's eyes lit up as Artificer spoke and it took all of her self control not to hug her as she spoke. "I was going to ask the same thing! You really mean it?" The mother slugcat did not speak and instead replied by moving closer to Hunter until their pelts were touching. Hunter pulled her in closer until their faces were nearly touching and they booped noses. Both of them smiled warmly at each other and Artificer hugged Hunter tightly, both of them finding bliss in each other's touch. "Thank you," she said as Hunter gently scratched the top of her head. "No, I'm the one who should be thanking you."

This chapter is the most fluff I've ever written and I love it. I wasn't planning to make them cuddle until later but I couldn't wait that long! Also, I've been working on this on and off for about a week now so I had all these parts ready to go but it will slow down from here because these were all the parts I had prepared. I will still update often, though! Cover art not by me.