The Winter's Widow (MISHBIR VERSION)

Part One~

Mishti placed her shaking hands atop the bar of the balcony, her bare feet turning different shades of purple and blue as they sunk into the snow. The wind hit hard, brushing her black, silky dressing gown off her shoulders so it hung around her elbows allowing the cool air to creep across her skin. Though slightly indifferent to the cold, she still shivered beneath its icy grasp, but missing the sight of the outside world was not something she would ever punish herself with, for too long she’d been a prisoner of her own home, she didn’t want to return to that again.

Flapping the blanket out, he stepped up behind her, not missing how her back stiffened at his closeness. “Here,” he placed it over her shoulders, smoothing it out so it hugged her form “Do you not have any warm pyjamas?” He knew it was wrong to be so affected by what she wore, but it had been so long since he had seen a woman, it had been even longer since he’d seen a woman so beautiful.

Gripping the edge of the material, she shook her head.

“Would you like a jumper?”

Her breaths gathered in her throat, hitching and drowning her voice all at once. She shook her head again.

“Jesus, Mishti” his eyes dropped to her feet, then he was lifting her into his arms and rushing her toward the bath so he could douse them in something warm. “You could lose your toes” he fretted around her once he’d placed her down and switched on the tap to wash her feet.

Blinking through her tears, she watched him as he knelt in the tub, uncaring for how his trousers soaked in the water as he rubbed her feet between his palms and splashed water onto them. Holding the door handle to keep herself up straight, she hissed at the cold fleshing through her veins, eyes fluttering shut and her jaw clinching in an effort to avoid the icy blaze that was running up toward her knees. At a time like this, she wasn’t sure what to say or what to do, no one had ever tried to take care of her in this way, no one had ever worried for her at all, and if her ex ever even saw her feet he’d lash out at her disrespect. “You, you don’t have to do this” she tried to pull them away.

Abir lifted his head “It’s okay” he soothed, “I want to” and that wasn’t a lie, his fingers had itched to touch her since the moment he’d set eyes on her, she was ethereal and her presence calmed something within him that had never been comforted before. Though she tried to fight it, he continued to pursue, his hand now rubbing soothing circles from her heel to the arch and back down again.

Pushing her body back a little, her foot flexed against his hand, a sigh escaping her ruby lips at the sensation she was slowly losing herself in. She was no fool, she knew this wouldn’t last, getting caught up in the good would only make it harder when the bad finally arrived, but she couldn’t help herself. Her hair dangled down her back, blanket scraping the floor as she moved around a little more, a yelp shook her front forward and her foot back.

The corner of his lips twitched “Ticklish?”

She shook her head “Mm-mm”.

Standing to his full height, he turned the water off and got out so he was stood behind her, swivelling her around, he placed the towel beneath her feet, rubbed them dry, then handed her a pair of fluffy socks “These will help”.

“Thank you” she whispered. “Why, why did you do all of this?”

“If you lost your feet I’d have to carry you everywhere” he held his back at the thought, “I’m not made out for it” he winked.