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There’s no way he could sleep like this.
Even though Walt had multiple layers of jackets including Jesse’s ridiculous (but now handy) hoodie and beanie he was still absolutely freezing. The cancer had made him weaker and more susceptible to the cold and the weight loss only added on to that. He couldn’t stop himself from violently shivering and even his teeth were faintly chattering. At this point even if he did manage to fall asleep somehow he’d probably just die from hypothermia instead. Lungs full of cancer and this is what does him in? No. No. He had to think constructively here.
Walt got up slightly and pushed his cot up directly against Jesse’s. He layed back down and wrapped his arms around him, squeezing their bodies together.
“Wha— H-HOMO!” Wide awake now, Jesse tried to scramble out of Walt’s grasp but the man only held him tighter. “YO, GET OFF ME MAN!”
“Jesse, would you just stay still?”
“I’m not your bitch!”
Walt moved on top of Jesse pinning him down with his own body. The boy froze. Not moving a single muscle, he stared up at Walt in silence with wide baby blue eyes.
“Jesse. Jesse. Listen to me. It is in the negatives out there. The human body needs to remain above 95 degrees in order to stay functional and alive. I am not trying to do anything ‘inappropriate’ but merely attempting what is known as social thermoregulation.” Jesse just stared at him blankly, obviously still confused. “Huddling for warmth.”
“What, like penguins?”
Walt resisted the urge to roll his eyes, “Yes… like penguins.”
A shiver passed through Jesse. “Whatever man,” he said as he turned his face away as best he could, breaking eye contact.
Walt took this to mean compliance and rolled off of Jesse. He pulled the boy snug against him— Jesse’s back flush up against Walt's front.
Only a few minutes of silence passed by before Jesse broke it again.
“Dude, this shit is way too gay for me.” He started shifting around in Walt’s arms, seemingly attempting to find a more comfortable position before he turned around completely, still in his arms, facing Walt. Even through the dark he could tell that Jesse was now pointedly trying to avoid having their faces meet. “God, this is like, even worse,” he muttered under his breath.
He was obviously about to shift again but Walt snapped out an annoyed “Jesse”, and he stilled once more.
Walt felt Jesse duck his head under his own, hiding his face in Walt’s chest. Was this seriously his method of making the situation ‘less gay’? How ridiculous.
Amidst the bitter cold of the desert night and the harsh howling of the wind the only thing that could now be felt between them was the soft rising of their chests and the warmth of their shared body heat.